16 NY lawmakers get pensions while on job

For most jobs, you have to leave before you can collect a pension. But that's not so if you're a state legislator elected before 1995.

Thanks to an exception in the law, 16 sitting state legislators have been collecting retirement benefits while never leaving their elected jobs. That includes three from Long Island: Deputy Assembly Speaker Earlene Hooper (D-Hempstead), Assemb. Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) and state Sen. Owen Johnson (R-West Babylon).

State law allows a legislator elected before 1995 to "retire" from the Senate or Assembly after they turn 65 and start collecting a pension -- without actually retiring. To do so, a lawmaker typically resigns on or about his/her last day of their term of office -- around New Year's Eve -- then returns after Jan. 1 as a newly elected legislator.

The "grandfather" provisions that allow veteran lawmakers to collect full pay will come across to many as unfair, said one government watchdog.

"It's not illegal, but the routine of 'retiring' and 'un-retiring' is becoming more common," said Russ Haven of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "To many New Yorkers struggling in this economy, it's going to rub them the wrong way and be seen as gaming the system."

He noted that lawmakers and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo recently approved a law to reduce pension benefits for future government hires.

But the loophole for lawmakers can't be altered because the state constitution protects retirement benefits from being retroactively changed.

The loophole was exposed several years ago when three legislators became the first to apply for a pension. It came to light again last week when Assemb. Vito Lopez (D-Brooklyn) talked about being "retired" while debating a bill on the Assembly floor. Lopez filed for retirement on Dec. 31, 2010, about eight weeks after he had been re-elected. State records show he now receives $64,634 in his annual pension as well as $92,000 to serve as an assemblyman.

Johnson, first elected to the Senate in 1972, "retired" on Jan. 1, 2011 -- one of nine sitting lawmakers who joined the ranks of pensioners that day. He receives $53,265 in pension pay, along with $79,500 in Senate salary. John Bove, Johnson's chief of staff, said the now-82-year-old senator put in for the pension after discovering that if he died in office, his family would receive a much smaller benefit.

"He made the decision with his wife and family in mind," Bove said. "He wanted to make sure his wife would be financially protected in the future."

Hooper technically retired on Dec. 30, 2010. She receives $81,858 in pension benefits and $104,500 in Assembly pay ($25,000 of that is a stipend she receives for serving as deputy majority leader).

Of the 16 legislators simultaneously collecting pay and pensions, no one receives more in retirement pay than Hooper. She didn't immediately return calls and an email seeking a comment.

Weisenberg filed for retirement on Dec. 31, 2008. He receives $72,144 in pension pay and $101,500 in legislative pay. He didn't immediately return calls and an email for comment.

Lawmakers elected to the State Legislature after 1995 may retire at age 65 and collect a pension while still serving, but they can only earn a maximum of $30,000 in legislative salary.