Pensions for convicted elected officials?

December 22, 2014 4:03 PM

Do congressmen who have been convicted of felonies still get a pension?

Okay, I know that (assuming the convictions are upheld) my own former governor, Bob McDonnell, will be losing his rights to a governmental pension; but that's the Commonwealth of Virginia, not the federal government. Do congressmen convicted of felonies also lose their pensions? (I'm thinking of Jesse Jackson Jr. in Illinois and Rep. Michael Grimm of New York, for instance.)

Does it all depend on their state, whether it was a felony or a misdemeanor, conviction after a trial or pleading guilty before a trial? How about if it was a financial crime, like cheating on taxes or misappropriation of funds or accepting bribes; or sex crimes (like another Virginia official, who was sleeping with his 17-year-old 'receptionist') --- does the crime make a difference? Or is it merely a conviction in one or more felonies = no pension?

posted by easily confused to Law & Government (3 answers total)

Yes. Pensions can be stripped for high crimes (such as treason) and for some types of public corruption crimes (such as embezzling public funds), but not for run of the mill criminal offenses such as tax evasion and extortion. And there seems to be no provision for revoking pensions upon conviction of violent, sex, drug, or other non-white collar crimes.
posted by decathecting at 4:12 PM on December 22, 2014

Here's a report from the Congressional Research Service that explains the rules as of 2013. Not sure whether there have been any new laws passed about this in the last year, but a quick google didn't turn up any.
posted by decathecting at 4:14 PM on December 22, 2014

These are commonly called "bad-boy clauses." They're prohibited in most private pension plans, which is why you mainly see them in government plans. There are lots of variations, including whether the individual was convicted or charged, the type of crime, whether the crime impacted the pension plan, and many other factors. Lots more information here.
posted by mchorn at 6:15 AM on December 23, 2014