W000332
Tuesday, November 13, 2001 11:22 AM
Fwd:WTC Victim - Concerns about Proposed Victims Compensatio
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Senator Jon Corzine
1 Gateway Center - 11th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102-5257
RE: WORLD TRADE CENTER VICTIMS
FEDERAL COMPENSATION PROGRAM
( Employee)
Dear Senator Corzine:
My husband was a 52 year old employee of for 20 years, and is one of the many employees who is missing at the World Trade Center. Unfortunately, he was on the 101st Floor at the time of the terrorist attack. To say that my two children and I are devastated and are feeling a great loss is to grossly understate our feelings. He was a wonderful husband and a very involved father, and will be greatly missed.
As a result of this horrible tragedy, my family is now in a state of great
uncertainty. We have not only lost our husband/father but the sole supporter
of our household. I am in the midst of seeking financial relief and have
tried to keep abreast of all developments relating to governmental programs
currently being discussed. The Federal Compensation Program has been one
option that I am eagerly awaiting the details. However, there have been some
rumors that have not only upset me but have made me feel like my husband has
become a victim a second time. I have heard that Congress is working on a
formula in order to figure out the compensation a family will get under this
Federal Compensation Program. It is my understanding that a victim's annual
compensation and age on September 11th will be determining factors in that
formula. It is also my understanding that in the formula the amount of years
that one is expected to work is also a critical factor. Lastly, it has been
suggested to me that Congress is contemplating using the age of 55 years or
60 years as the baseline for one to retire, and, therefore, compensation
would not be figured for any years past that. I am of the further
understanding that the expected workable years will also vary according to
the industry (in our case, that being the brokerage industry). To say that
the above factors, in my opinion, are grossly unfair and lacking in justice,
once again, understates my feelings.
My husband was a healthy 52 year old man, who had every intention of
working until he was at least 65 years old. Retirement before 65 was simply
not an option for him since financially we were not prepared. He worked for
for 20 years, as I mentioned before, and had very little fringe benefits. The Company did not provide a pension and while my husband
did make contributions into a 401K, his Company did not make any additional
contributions into that account. Additionally, the market has been such that
my husband lost a great deal of the money he had put into the 401K Plan. For
these reasons, we could not have afforded retirement and, therefore, he would
have worked until 65 years old or older.
I am certain that I am not the only one in this situation. Therefore, since
you are my State Senator, I ask that you truly represent my family (and, most
importantly, my deceased husband) when Congress puts together the final
details for the Federal Compensation Program. It is not my desire to take
the litigation route, especially since my family is not in a position to wait
for the Courts. I have two kids that need to be taken care of and without a
fair compensation program I will be unable to adequately provide for them.
Since my husband was 52 years old, he had at least another 13 years that he
would have had to work. My husband's life was cut short by terrorists.
Please do not make him a victim again by cutting short the years that he
planned to work. He would never have considered retirement before the age of
65 and I am simply asking that Congress take our situation into consideration
when they fine-tune the formula in which they use in determining the
compensation that the victim's families receive. It is the only fair and
just way to treat this unfortunate matter. Please do not allow Congress to
victimize us again by not providing us with the support that my husband had
planned to provide.
I would appreciate your response to the above as soon as possible. If you
would like, you can either reach me by telephone at or at . My e-mail address is . I
am having a difficult enough time dealing with the loss of my husband, and,
in addition, having to deal with the financial problems that I am now faced
with is way too much to bear. Thanking you in advance for your prompt
attention,
Very truly yours,
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