BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Rebecca Bulger's late husband served in the Army for 25 years and then worked as a civilian for the Army, helping relocate military families for almost 20 years.
They lived off his pensions and when she couldn't get her share of it after his death, she was slowly going through her life savings.
"I'm short on groceries," Bulger said. "I don't drive, so I take an Uber. I sometimes don't have enough money to take an Uber to go to the doctor."
Bulger is 73.
Without pension money, she's risking her health.
"I had to do without my blood pressure pills for a while, some other medication that I'm on, because I couldn't even get to the drug store," she said.
She told Contact 5 she should be getting pension payments through her late husband Walter.
"You'd get up in the morning and salute with him," she chuckled as she looked at photos of Walter from his years in the military.
Walter Bulger later worked another two decades as a civilian with the Army.
The civil service pension was supposed to add about $1,200 a month to her retirement income.
"I can't get that pension," Rebecca Bulger lamented. "I haven't been able to."
After filling out forms for 15 months, she was running out of money.
She was dreading what would happen to the engagement ring from her beloved Walter.
"If I don't get my money soon, I'm going to have to sell it, which is going to be a sad day for me," she said. "It's the only thing I have worth value now."
Contact 5 sent emails to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which administers her pension.
When Contact 5 called the agency for comment, the call was greeted with a recording asking for an email instead. Contact 5 sent four emails and received no response. Contact 5 also called U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel's office, where staffers intervened on her behalf.
Bulger contacted Contact 5 less than a week later.
"Yeah, I'm happy today," she told WPTV.
A worker from the Office of Personnel Management told her she will be getting more than $18,000 in back pension, plus her monthly checks.
What about that engagement ring?
"I'm not going to have to sell it," she said. "And it's a nice one, too, thank goodness."
Contact 5 also received the following statement from Frankel:
"It is important that our military service members and their spouses get the benefits they have earned. That is why constituent outreach is a critical part of the work my office does to serve the Palm Beach County community. If you ever need help contacting a federal agency or getting access to your benefits, please don't hesitate to call my office at 561-998-9045 or visit my website at Frankel.House.gov."
