Pelosi and Greene retirements thrust $38M-a-year pension perk for Congress into spotlight
By Victor Nava
Published Dec. 5, 2025, 6:00 a.m. ET
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.
“I can’t read her mind, but it certainly seems as if it was timed to make sure she got vested,” Demian Brady, the vice president of research for the National Taxpayer Union Foundation, said of the Georgia Republican’s last day in the House.
Under federal law, members of Congress qualify for annual pension benefits only after completing five full years of service.
Brady was one of the first to point out that Greene, who began serving on Jan. 3, 2021, and will leave office on Jan. 5, 2026, picked a departure date that gives her just enough time to meet the eligibility threshold.
“She wasn’t in there for very long,” the taxpayer advocate continued. “So it’s not a huge pension, but it’s a little extra that she’s going to get.”
Brady calculated that under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) benefit formula for members of Congress, at age 62, Greene will start collecting her $8,717 per year pension, which the expert noted is “lower than the average.”
Based on actuarial data, Greene’s total pension payouts could amount to more than $265,000 over her lifetime, according to Brady.
Meanwhile, Pelosi’s estimated pension figure – given the pay bump she received as House speaker and her election to the House before reforms made the system less generous – will be “one of the most substantial” on record for any current or former member of Congress in FERS, Brady noted.
The California Democrat will benefit from an estimated $107,860 per year upon retirement in 2027.
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https://nypost.com/2025/12/05/us-news/pelosi-and-greene-retirements-thrust-38m-a-year-perk-for-ex-lawmakers-into-spotlight-end-pensions-in-congress/
