Commonwealth Court Holds No Pension Offset Unless Employer is Self-Insured

In Welliver McGuire, Inc. v. WCAB (Padgett) the Commonwealth Court addressed the argument that an Employer is not entitled to offset for a pension if the Employer is not self-insured. Kramer v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Rite Aid Corporation), 794 A.2d 953 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2002), petition for allowance of appeal granted, 820 A.2d 700 (Pa. 2003) held the Employer is not entitled to an offset for severance benefits unless it is self-insured. The Court applied the reasoning in Kramer and held an Employer is entitled to an offset for the Employer's contribution to a pension only to the extent it is self-insured. This decision will be impacted by the Supreme Court's holding in Kramer, which will be argued in Harrisburg on December 2, along with Colpetzer/Zerby.