New Jersey’s public employee pension fund administrators acted inequitably in going after a retired octogenarian who had returned to work part time to help with the state’s recovery from a coastal storm, an appeals court says.

The board of trustees of the Public Employees’ Retirement System sought to have retiree Carmine Pecorelli, now 88, repay the fund $28,275 for benefits he received for a portion of the time he worked part time for the state.