Report: Andrew Cuomo Remains Eligible for $50K a Year State Pension

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D-NY) downfall will reportedly come with a $50,000 per year lifetime pension he will be eligible for even though he resigned.

Cuomo announced Tuesday he would step down from his position in 14 days after an investigation found he allegedly sexually harassed several women.

But the windfall for the governor was because he accumulated 15 years of state service thanks to 11 years serving as governor and four as attorney general, a pension expert recently told the New York Post.

“So if you’re wondering, without a felony conviction and several other steps, Cuomo would be eligible for his full pension, at taxpayer expense, for the rest of his life,” Tim Hoefer, president and CEO of the Empire Center for Public Policy, stated.

The organization looked at the numbers based on Cuomo’s annual pay and service and claimed he would be eligible for $4,222 per month in retirement income or $50,662 per year for life.

The Post article continued:

Currently, a public official could have his or her pension reduced or revoked if convicted of a felony under the “Public Integrity Reform Act” approved by Cuomo in 2011, his first year as governor. But resignation for wrongdoing or impeachment does not trigger a claw-back of a public official’s pension. Legislation has been introduced to impose pension forfeiture for a public official and apply it retroactively. But the measure requires passage of a constitutional amendment and its passage is doubtful.

On Wednesday, incoming New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) would not rule out pardoning Cuomo if he faced criminal charges, Breitbart News reported.

“It’s far too premature to have those conversations,” Hochul, New York’s lieutenant governor, said.

Meanwhile, the Cuomo pension issue drew ire from his critics.

“The only reason I would support Cuomo getting a pension is if he donated it to the harassment victims or the nursing home families whose loved ones died from COVID because of his policies,” commented Tracey Alvino, whose father was infected with the coronavirus in a Long Island nursing home and eventually died.

Alvino, who called Cuomo’s $5.1 million coronavirus book deal “blood money,” continued, “Otherwise New York should pass a law denying a pension to someone who resigns in disgrace for misconduct or is impeached.”