There's only one way to describe the reaction of members, hurt by the repeal of the spousal benefit, to the news that the benefit had been restored for them - overjoyed. "When I got the phone call from the Association with the good news, I was overcome," says Nancy Nadeau, who has been the central figure in our legal battle against repeal. "I couldn't wait to tell my husband that I'd be joining him in the (retiree) ranks and as a full-fledged Association member."

Under the spousal benefit a public employee, not yet age fifty-five and married to another public employee who retires before them, could have their retirement calculated as if they were age fifty-five. What the law basically did was allow couples, who had been in public service together, to also retire together and receive a decent amount of pension in the process.

"Unfortunately the spousal benefit was repealed last year and since then the fight began to restore it for those already in the retirement system," reports Association Counsel Bill Rehrey. "Beyond helping those directly hurt by the repeal, we had to take a stand, for all our members, against what we perceived as an attempt to undermine basic pension rights and benefits."

In addition to the Association efforts, the Massachusetts Teachers' Association (MTA) sued the Teachers' Retirement Board (TRB) over the spousal benefit's repeal. In its lawsuit, the MTA claimed that the repeal violated the federal constitution and law, when it was applied to teachers who were TRB members before the repeal's effective date.

At the same time that these legal challenges were underway, relief from the repeal was also being sought through the Legislature. "We must recognize the MTA's work with us in this regard," reports Legislative Chairman Bill Hill.

"They were instrumental in having Sen. Sue Tucker (D-Andover) insert a provision in the budget that basically excluded current members of the retirement system from the repeal. With that provision in the budget, we went to work with them and other groups to make it law."

But the road to final passage was not smooth. That's because Governor Romney vetoed the provision when he signed the budget.

And here's where the good news comes in. Both the House and Senate unanimously voted to override the governor's veto during the final days of the formal session.

According to the law now on the books, a married couple, both of whom were members of a retirement system before November 1, 2003, can still apply the spousal benefit. That means if one of them retires, then the other, who may be under age fifty-five, can retire with their pension calculated as if they were age fifty-five.

"Most importantly, this is a victory not only for those couples but for all employees and retirees," states Hill. "By overriding the governor's veto, the State House is upholding the protection of pension benefits that retirees and employees not only earned but deserve."