Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) may be resigning under a cloud of scandal, but he is still eligible for a taxpayer-funded congressional pension.
According to a National Taxpayers Union analysis obtained exclusively by the Washington Examiner, the 45-year-old Swalwell would be eligible to receive a taxpayer-funded pension of roughly $22,000 per year starting at age 62.
Demian Brady, the vice president of research at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, told the Washington Examiner the payout is based on when Swalwell first entered office, how long he served, and the average salary from his top three earning years.
“He would be eligible for a starting pension of just over $22,000, accounting for the 10 percent spousal set-aside which is automatic unless the spouse signs a document of refusal,” said Brady. “This also assumes that he took steps to maximize his starting pension amount while serving in office.”
Swalwell, who makes $174,000 annually as a member of Congress, has been in the House since 2013. The California Democrat’s office did not return requests for comment on this story.
Brady cautioned that Swalwell’s estimated $22,000 annual pension could be higher once adjusted for inflation.
Swalwell has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women, including a former congressional staffer. He has denied the allegations. Despite the denial, Swalwell dropped his bid to become governor of California in light of the allegations. On Monday, he announced his resignation from Congress after bipartisan lawmakers signaled they would vote to expel him over the alleged wrongdoing.
“Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong,” the California Democrat said in a statement. “But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.”
Even as he prepares to depart office under a cloud, Swalwell will be allowed to keep the perks and privileges afforded to a former member of Congress. The most significant is a taxpayer-funded pension, which fiscal watchdogs like Brady say can be “two or three times higher than pensions available to employees in the private sector with similar salaries.”
Since 1946, lawmakers with at least five years in office or other federal service can qualify for a taxpayer-funded pension. Yet, until recently, there were safeguards to prevent lawmakers accused of wrongdoing from collecting their pensions.
A 2007 law passed by Congress stipulated that lawmakers would lose their pension upon conviction of public corruption charges or violating national security law. In 2013, Congress expanded the list of crimes as part of a crackdown on alleged insider trading by lawmakers.
But those reforms included a loophole allowing ex-lawmakers to collect pensions while appealing their convictions. In one such instance, two lawmakers sitting in prison were still allowed to receive taxpayer-funded pensions because they had yet to exhaust the appeals process.
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In 2024, Congress passed a law requiring pension payments to be suspended immediately upon conviction for corruption-related offenses, even if appeals are ongoing. To date, not one former lawmaker has lost their congressional pension, according to the National Taxpayers Union.
Swalwell, who is being investigated by the Manhattan district attorney over the sexual assault allegations, has yet to be charged with a crime.
*Hailey Bullis contributed to this story.