diff --git a/plugins/database/src/db_plugin.cpp b/plugins/database/src/db_plugin.cpp
index a6e8e3e242..39061fa791 100644
--- a/plugins/database/src/db_plugin.cpp
+++ b/plugins/database/src/db_plugin.cpp
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ namespace
         stmt.bind(0, _rule_id);
 
         for (auto result = nanodbc::execute(stmt); result.next();) {
-            const auto& option_name = result.get<std::string>(0);
+            const auto& option_name = result.get_ref<const std::string&>(0);
 
             if (option_name == irods::KW_CFG_PAM_PASSWORD_MIN_TIME) {
                 const auto& option_value = result.get_ref<const std::string&>(1);