There’s a historic number of lawmakers who won’t run again next year, and as a result the federal pension system will need to pay out about $38 million a year in benefits.
Among the most talked‑about retirements are Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Nancy Pelosi of California, both of whom will start collecting their pensions soon after leaving office.
The timing of Greene’s sudden departure, together with the sizable annual check that Pelosi will receive after nearly four decades in Congress, has highlighted a little‑known perk for former lawmakers and reignited the debate over whether Congress should keep the pension program at all.
“I can’t read her mind, but it certainly seems as if it was timed to make sure she got vested,” said Demian Brady, vice‑president of research for the National Taxpayer Union Foundation, when asked about Greene’s last day in the House.
Federal law forces members of Congress to serve a minimum of five full years before a pension kicks in.
Brady pointed out that Greene, who started on Jan. 3, 2021, chose to leave on Jan. 5, 2026, giving her just enough time to hit that threshold.
“She wasn’t in there for very long,” Brady added. “So it’s not a huge pension, but it’s a little extra that she’s going to get.”
According to Brady’s calculations based on the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) formula, Greene will receive $8,717 per year starting at age 62—a figure Brady said is “lower than the average.” Over the course of his life, that could total more than $265,000.
Pelosi’s payout looks even bigger. With the salary bump she earned in her role as House speaker and because she was elected before pension reforms tightened the rules, Brady estimates her annual benefit could be “one of the most substantial” for any former or current member. She’s poised to draw about $107,860 each year after retiring in 2027.
The latest public figures show that former members of Congress drew more than $38 million in pension payments in 2022, according to Congressional Research Services.
The average FERS pension in that year was $45,276. A separate, older system called the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) – which no longer accepts new lawmakers after 1984 – paid an average of $84,504 to 261 people in 2022.
In 2018, when the CSRS roster was 100 people larger and the FERS roster 60 smaller, yearly payouts surpassed $53 million.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R‑Ky.) has long pushed for the elimination of congressional pensions. He says he isn’t blaming Greene for taking the money.
“Senators can opt out of paying into FERS but Representatives may not,” Massie told The Post. “So Representative Greene was unable to decline participation in FERS.
“If a member is required to pay into the program, they should be able to receive it.”
Massie plans to “reintroduce soon” a measure that would strip House members of FERS eligibility and a separate bill that would make participation optional for Representatives.
“If congressmen want to save for retirement, they should do so with 401(k)-type plans, rather than rely on taxpayers to take care of them even after leaving Congress,” he stressed. “To tackle out‑of‑control federal spending, Congress must lead by example by ending defined‑benefit pensions for Members of Congress.”
Florida Gov. Ron De Santis, a former congressman himself, promised in 2013 that he would not use his pension, even though he contributed to the system. He co‑sponsored the legislation Massie wants to revive.
“I didn’t run for Congress for the perks,” De Santis said at the time. “I ran for office to be the type of citizen legislator our Founding Fathers envisioned and to change the prevailing culture in Washington.”
After Greene’s resignation was announced, De Santis amplified his call to scrap the benefit program.
“I don’t begrudge others who made a different choice,” De Santis wrote on X last week, “The important thing is to reform the system for everyone, namely, by ending congressional pensions.”
In a separate post, the former GOP presidential candidate noted that Congress also accrues retirement benefits through the Thrift Savings Plan.
“How many private sector workers get a pension and a 401k? End Pensions in Congress,” De Santis demanded.
The governor also revealed that when he introduced his bill to end the taxpayer‑backed program it “needless to say, did not get a terribly warm reception among the members.”
Brady, a pension‑policy expert and reform advocate, agreed that current lawmakers pose the biggest hurdle to ending the program.
“I think the big roadblock are career politicians,” he told The Post. “They spend their whole, you know, decades and decades in public office, and so they’re going to want that pension once they get out.”
While he says Greene’s precise timing on the eve of the first legislative session of 2026 isn’t “really going to move the ball forward,” he credits the congresswoman with unintentionally shining a spotlight on the pension issue.
Neither Greene nor Pelosi responded to The Post’s requests for comment.
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