Weiner Qualifies for Taxpayer-funded Pension Payout of over $1 Million, Despite Early End to Congressional Career
(Alexandria,
VA) – Although Americans will soon see the last of Anthony Weiner (D-NY) in
Congress, they haven’t seen the last of the bills – according to the
nonpartisan National Taxpayers Union (NTU), Weiner qualifies for a
Congressional retirement package whose payouts, by themselves, could make him a
millionaire.
NTU, which
has a history of providing detailed pension calculations of Congressional
perks, estimates Weiner would be eligible for a pension starting at $46,224
when he reaches age 62. Or, he can choose to begin his pension early, at the
age of 56, with a reduced amount of $32,357 per year.
In either
case, after accounting for Cost of Living Adjustments and life expectancies,
Weiner could be in line to receive a total pension payout over his lifetime of
$1.28 million (retiring at 62) or $1.12 million (retiring at 56).
Members of
Congress may also participate in the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a
defined contribution arrangement that functions much like a 401(k) plan
(lawmakers first elected in 1984 and after receive a “match” from taxpayers on
deposits of up to 5 percent of their salaries).
If Weiner
has invested the maximum allowable amount since he became eligible, and has
placed his investments in the plan’s “Common Stock Index Investment Fund” to
the extent permitted by law, NTU estimates he may have as much as $216,011.96
in accumulated TSP assets. In addition, all Members of Congress have been
enrolled in Social Security since the law was changed in 1983.
All figures
assume that Weiner applied his service between 1985 and 1991 as a Congressional
staffer to Chuck Schumer toward his pension, which is allowed under the rules
(NTU conservatively assumed five years from this employment plus his stint in
Congress through yesterday).
Participation in the pension system is voluntary (but widespread) for
lawmakers serving prior to September 30, 2003.
NTU
Executive Vice President Pete Sepp said, “Anthony Weiner’s resignation from
Congress may have put an end to the ‘distractions’ and ‘embarrassments’ that
prevented him from getting back to work, but for American taxpayers, the
scandal may have only just begun.”
According
to Sepp, one thing taxpayers cannot afford to be distracted from is reforming
Congress’s lucrative retirement plans. And even though Weiner has not been
charged with any crimes, an unacceptably high number of Congressmen who have
been convicted of offenses still receive taxpayer-funded pensions, sometimes
while they are actually in prison.
Legislation
doubling the number of felonies (to 20) that would be grounds for terminating a
Congressman’s pension has been spearheaded by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), and is
under consideration in the House and Senate.
Congressional
pensions are typically 2-3 times more generous than those for
similarly-salaried workers in the private sector and are more generous than
pensions for most federal workers (again, at the same pay). Plus, the
Congressional benefit is protected from inflation with Cost of Living
Adjustments (COLAs), a feature that fewer than 1 in 10 private plans offer.
Lawmakers such as Weiner pay 1.3 percent of their salaries toward the
Congressional retirement benefit, but this covers just a small portion of an average
payout.
NTU computes
the pension benefit amounts based on public records concerning length of
federal service, current age, life expectancy based on standard mortality
tables used by the life insurance industry, and COLAs estimated at 3 percent a
year, a figure federal actuaries have used in the past for projecting costs of
the Federal Employees Retirement System (which contains one of Congress’s two
pension plans).
Note: The 362,000-member NTU is a nonprofit
citizen group founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, smaller government, and
accountability from public officials at all levels. For questions, or to schedule an interview, please contact Doug
Kellogg at (703) 299-8698 or dkellogg@ntu.org.
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