A pension plan that mistakenly distributed half of a retiree’s pension to his ex-wife must pay the retiree what he is owed before the plan recovers a dime from the woman, a federal appeals court has decided.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that retired Dr. Robert Milgram can recover about $1.5 million in the case he brought under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §1132(a)(1)-(3).