(Alexandria,VA) – Although Americans will soon see the last of Anthony Weiner (D-NY) inCongress, they haven’t seen the last of the bills – according to thenonpartisan National Taxpayers Union (NTU), Weiner qualifies for aCongressional retirement package whose payouts, by themselves, could make him amillionaire.
NTU, whichhas a history of providing detailed pension calculations of Congressionalperks, estimates Weiner would be eligible for a pension starting at $46,224when he reaches age 62. Or, he can choose to begin his pension early, at theage of 56, with a reduced amount of $32,357 per year.
In eithercase, 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 ofCongress may also participate in the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), adefined contribution arrangement that functions much like a 401(k) plan(lawmakers first elected in 1984 and after receive a “match” from taxpayers ondeposits of up to 5 percent of their salaries).
If Weinerhas invested the maximum allowable amount since he became eligible, and hasplaced his investments in the plan’s “Common Stock Index Investment Fund” tothe extent permitted by law, NTU estimates he may have as much as $216,011.96in accumulated TSP assets. In addition, all Members of Congress have beenenrolled in Social Security since the law was changed in 1983.
All figuresassume that Weiner applied his service between 1985 and 1991 as a Congressionalstaffer to Chuck Schumer toward his pension, which is allowed under the rules(NTU conservatively assumed five years from this employment plus his stint inCongress through yesterday). Participation in the pension system is voluntary (but widespread) forlawmakers serving prior to September 30, 2003.
NTUExecutive Vice President Pete Sepp said, “Anthony Weiner’s resignation fromCongress may have put an end to the ‘distractions’ and ‘embarrassments’ thatprevented him from getting back to work, but for American taxpayers, thescandal may have only just begun.”
Accordingto Sepp, one thing taxpayers cannot afford to be distracted from is reformingCongress’s lucrative retirement plans. And even though Weiner has not beencharged with any crimes, an unacceptably high number of Congressmen who havebeen convicted of offenses still receive taxpayer-funded pensions, sometimeswhile they are actually in prison.
Legislationdoubling the number of felonies (to 20) that would be grounds for terminating aCongressman’s pension has been spearheaded by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), and isunder consideration in the House and Senate.
Congressionalpensions are typically 2-3 times more generous than those forsimilarly-salaried workers in the private sector and are more generous thanpensions for most federal workers (again, at the same pay). Plus, theCongressional benefit is protected from inflation with Cost of LivingAdjustments (COLAs), a feature that fewer than 1 in 10 private plans offer.Lawmakers such as Weiner pay 1.3 percent of their salaries toward theCongressional retirement benefit, but this covers just a small portion of an averagepayout.
NTU computesthe pension benefit amounts based on public records concerning length offederal service, current age, life expectancy based on standard mortalitytables used by the life insurance industry, and COLAs estimated at 3 percent ayear, a figure federal actuaries have used in the past for projecting costs ofthe Federal Employees Retirement System (which contains one of Congress’s twopension plans).
Note: The 362,000-member NTU is a nonprofitcitizen group founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, smaller government, andaccountability from public officials at all levels. For questions, or to schedule an interview, please contact DougKellogg at (703) 299-8698 or dkellogg@ntu.org.