Her Guaranteed Pension Was Slashed. Mary Hartshorne Fought Back — and Won.

Working at a hospital for the underserved and underinsured wasn’t without sacrifice. Salary increases were often forgone; they were offered, but staff were told that raises for them might mean layoffs for someone else. “There’s no way we wanted that to happen, so we’d say, OK, we don’t have to have raises this year.’ We were told, ‘Don’t worry because we have that pension for you. That’s guaranteed.’” Mary trusted their word. She knew the church wouldn’t let her down.

That family-like environment and the connection to the church she grew up in made it all the more painful when Mary received a letter telling her that her pension had been reduced, and that in three weeks’ time she would begin receiving far less than she had been promised. “It was awful. I thought they had made an error.”

But it wasn’t an error. As a Catholic-run hospital, St. Clare’s was able to use its relationship with the diocese to take advantage of the church exemption to federal laws that safeguard pensions. When reality sank in, Mary says, “we realized that we had to get into a much more powerful position.” The pensioners began a search for legal representation, and in September 2019, with the help of several local attorneys and AARP Foundation, they filed suit against multiple defendants, including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.

“We didn’t know we’d have AARP Foundation representing us,” says Mary. “I can never thank them enough. They’ve gone above and beyond. They knew all the avenues they could explore. They made us feel like we matter.”

The case has drawn national attention from the beginning, and not just from the press. The New York State Attorney General’s office investigated the situation alongside AARP Foundation, bringing its own lawsuit in 2022. The federal government also got involved, with the U.S. Government Accountability Office opening an investigation into church-affiliated pension plans. “I never thought it was going to balloon like this,” Mary says.

For those who had planned their futures around the pension, the loss of it had been calamitous. Mary had to sell the home where she wanted to live out her days. “My pension paid my mortgage,” she says. “I had a little house on a little lake. It was peaceful and beautiful, and I loved it. But I’m not the only one. Many, many people have had broken hearts, broken plans. It’s just devastating.”

Tireless in seeking a just outcome, she spent countless hours on the phone and in person with attorneys and politicians, arranged meetings and Q&A sessions for the pensioners, and gave dozens of interviews to local media. Standing up to the diocese was risky, but Mary was resolute in her mission.

That family-like environment and the connection to the church she grew up in made it all the more painful when Mary received a letter telling her that her pension had been reduced, and that in three weeks’ time she would begin receiving far less than she had been promised. “It was awful. I thought they had made an error.”

But it wasn’t an error. As a Catholic-run hospital, St. Clare’s was able to use its relationship with the diocese to take advantage of the church exemption to federal laws that safeguard pensions. When reality sank in, Mary says, “we realized that we had to get into a much more powerful position.” The pensioners began a search for legal representation, and in September 2019, with the help of several local attorneys and AARP Foundation, they filed suit against multiple defendants, including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.

“We didn’t know we’d have AARP Foundation representing us,” says Mary. “I can never thank them enough. They’ve gone above and beyond. They knew all the avenues they could explore. They made us feel like we matter.”

The case has drawn national attention from the beginning, and not just from the press. The New York State Attorney General’s office investigated the situation alongside AARP Foundation, bringing its own lawsuit in 2022. The federal government also got involved, with the U.S. Government Accountability Office opening an investigation into church-affiliated pension plans. “I never thought it was going to balloon like this,” Mary says.

For those who had planned their futures around the pension, the loss of it had been calamitous. Mary had to sell the home where she wanted to live out her days. “My pension paid my mortgage,” she says. “I had a little house on a little lake. It was peaceful and beautiful, and I loved it. But I’m not the only one. Many, many people have had broken hearts, broken plans. It’s just devastating.”

Tireless in seeking a just outcome, she spent countless hours on the phone and in person with attorneys and politicians, arranged meetings and Q&A sessions for the pensioners, and gave dozens of interviews to local media. Standing up to the diocese was risky, but Mary was resolute in her mission.

The support from her community kept Mary and the others moving forward. “Something is wrong that this happened to 1,100 of the kindest, most caring, loving people in the world. A lot of people over the past five years have come up to me and said, ‘Don’t stop doing what you’re doing. Don’t give up.’”

“It’s been a long road,” she adds, “but I don’t have any regrets.”

And now she and the other plaintiffs can relish the fact that justice was finally served.

Learn more about AARP Foundation Litigation and its work to give older people a voice in the nation’s courts.

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