From NY Post: The vast majority of the record number of congressional lawmakers not seeking re-election next year, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), will collect annual pension benefits that cost taxpayers some $38 million per year to payout.
The timing of Greene’s abrupt retirement, as well of the six-figure sum Pelosi will receive after serving nearly 40 years in Congress, have brought attention to the little-known perk for ex-pols and renewed calls to end the program.
Under federal law, members of Congress qualify for annual pension benefits only after completing five full years of service
“I can’t read her mind, but it certainly seems as if it was timed to make sure she got vested,” said Demian Brady, the vice president of research for the National Taxpayer Union Foundation.
“She wasn’t in there for very long,” Brady continued. “So it’s not a huge pension, but it’s a little extra that she’s going to get.”
Brady calculates that under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Greene will start collect an $8,717 per year pension. Her total pension payouts may add up to over $265,000 throughout her lifetime.
For Pelosi, Brady estimated a pension figure that is “one of the most substantial” on record for any current or former member of Congress in FERS. He calculates an estimated $107,860 per year upon retirement in 2027.
Retirement benefits for former members of Congress were over $38 million in 2022, according to the most recent publicly available data through Congressional Research Services.
Read more at NY Post
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