At first blush, Hennepin County District Judge Janet Poston's order last week that two Minneapolis pension funds recover about $76 million in overpayments made to a group of police and fire retirees and survivors might seem unfair to retirees and widows on fixed incomes.

But in this case, the judge made the right call in the interests of the retirees and property taxpayers. There has indeed been unfairness -- largely for taxpayers who have paid more than they should have to support the fund over the years.

Last year, Mayor R.T. Rybak estimated that 60 percent of the 2010 proposed tax increase would be eaten up by the two funds to cover just 1,400 pensioners. Other city officials say the overpayment of benefits between 2003 and 2009 was $35 million for police and $17 million for firefighters -- funds that could have been used for other city functions or to lower property taxes.

Seeking needed relief, the city sued the Minneapolis Police Relief Association (MPRA) and the Minneapolis Firefighters Relief Association (MFRA), alleging that they had miscalculated contract provisions, resulting in overcharging the city. The two funds were closed to new members in 1980. At that time, the state helped establish a formula under which a combination of city contributions, member contributions, state aid and investment income would fuel the fund. But the downturn in the stock market and other unreasonable provisions of the agreement substantially raised the city's obligation. Fund managers have said that the city was trying to renege on negotiated promises and that officials inflated the city's obligation. They also argue that the city can control annual increases because the benefit is tied to whatever is negotiated for current workers.

The court wisely disagreed. Contract provisions for the two funds are unreasonable by contemporary pension standards. One provision allowed retirees to get extra payments based on overtime worked by current employees. Another called for the city to make up benefit differences when the market was down, but in good times reward retirees with a 13th check.

The judge's recent order calls for 860 retired police officers or their survivors to repay the city an average of $60,000. Among retired firefighters, 563 beneficiaries must repay an average of $43,000 each. The court said the fund operators should start collecting by July 1. In 2008, the average police pension was $47,467, the average firefighter received $43,553 and survivors got $24,150.

Fund operators have not said whether they will appeal the May 18 ruling. But they say they will appeal a November decision that cut the police pension by 12 percent and firefighter pensions by 9 percent, effective Jan. 1. That order from the same judge said the city was overcharged because the benefit formulas included certain fringe benefits when calculating benefits.

The fund managers should develop a repayment plan that is equitable for retirees but also reduces the city's future obligations. And the retirees should seek help from the fund managers whose choices caused the problems in the first place.

That's not too much to ask to restore balance to a pension payment system that for too long was so heavily stacked against the city and its taxpayers.