PORTLAND, Ore. — For months, Margaret Swoboda, a 100-year-old retired federal employee from Northeast Portland, fought a frustrating battle to prove she was still alive — and to get back the federal pension payments that kept her financially afloat.
Her $2,400 monthly pension, which she had received without interruption for nearly 40 years, was abruptly stopped on September 1 after the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) flagged her account and demanded “proof of life.” The agency required a notarized form, a copy of her state ID, and a photo of her holding a current newspaper showing the date — all within 30 days.
But Swoboda, who is legally blind, never saw the initial letter sent in June. By the time her son discovered it, the deadline had passed. That set off a scramble to gather the documents, obtain a new state ID, get the forms notarized, and send them to Washington by certified mail…