What kind of pension will Al Franken get after he leaves Congress?
Sen. Al Franken, accused of inappropriately touching and forcibly kissing multiple women, is officially resigning Jan. 2. When he does, he will be eligible for his pension.
The only way a member of Congress can lose his or her pension is if he or she committed a felony while in office, meaning Franken — along with other members departing Congress like Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan — can still collect those retirement benefits, as CBS Minnesota noted earlier this month.
CBS Minnesota pointed to a new Congressional Research Service report that says members are eligible for that pension at age 62, if they have served for five or more years. Franken is 66 and joined the Senate in 2009 after his 2008 election, meaning he will have spent nine years in the Senate by the time he departs. That may not be long by Senate standards, but it's long enough to qualify for a pension.
Franken came to the Senate under the newer of two pension plans — the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), offered to House and Senate members elected after 1984. FERS, unlike the earlier Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), is intended to supplement Social Security retirement benefits.
How much Franken or any other member receives depends on length of service and a percentage of the average of the three highest years of pay. The average federal pension for members under the CSRS plan is more than $74,000 a year and under the FERS plan is $41,000 per year, according to the CRS report.
Senators who aren't in leadership, like Franken, currently earn $174,000. Considering Franken's relatively short Senate tenure, he should only receive $26,622 per year, according to the equation provided by CRS — average of the top three years of pay, multiplied by years of service, multiplied by .017.
Had Franken retired in December, he would have only technically served eight years, and thus, received about $3,000 less per year — $23,664. It's not likely he was sticking around for the money, however. The former SNL star and comedian had an estimated net worth of $8.7 million in 2015, according to Senate financial disclosure documents on OpenSecrets.org
Franken's office told CBS Minnesota his health care is covered under Medicare.
