Lost and Found: It Turns Out McCabe Never Lost His Roughly $2 Million Pension

McCabeIn all of the discussion of the firing of Andrew McCabe, various news outlets focused his “loss” of his pension as opposed to the fact that career officials called for his firing for serious misconduct.  It now appears that what was lost will soon be found for McCabe.  The firing denied McCabe early pension recovery at age 50 of roughly $60,000 a year. However, that only means that he will receive the pension like other federal officials when he reaches the federal retirement age.  If Democratic members have their way, it could be even shorter than that.


The FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System) benefits are vested at five years and thus were not lost with the decision.  He is entitled to recover at the standard period between 57 and age 62.

The OPM manual states the following:

The early retirement benefit is avail-able in certain involuntary separation cases and in cases of voluntary separations during a major reorganization or reduction in force. To be eligible, you must meet the following requirements: [Age 50 and 20 years of service]

There is a special formula for law enforcement and other special classes:

Firefighters, Law Enforcement Officers, and Air Traffic Controllers These groups of employees receive an unreduced benefit at age 50 with 20 years of service, or at any age with 25 years of service. If you are in one of these employee groups, you contribute an additional .5% of pay to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Your annual annuity is: 1.7% of your high-3 average pay times 20 years of service plus 1.0% of your high-3 average pay times years of service exceeding 20. You also receive a Special Retirement Supplement until age 62 that approximates the Social Security benefit earned in Federal service. After you reach the Minimum Retirement Age (MRA), if you have earnings from wages or self-employment that exceed the Social Security annual exempt amount, your supplement will be reduced or stopped. In addition, you are entitled to an annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA), regardless of your age.

McCabe did lose his pension on a temporary basis since he could have benefitted under the early pension rules.  However, some Democratic members are offering him a job to allow him to finish the required period on the congressional payroll.  However, Forbes is reporting that that could be a problem.

Indeed, when you look at 5 U.S.§ 8412, it expressly exempts personal terminated “for cause”:

(d) An employee who is separated from the service, except by removal for cause on charges of misconduct or delinquency— (1) after completing 25 years of service as a law enforcement officer, member of the Capitol Police or Supreme Court Police, firefighter, nuclear materials courier, or customs and border protection officer, or any combination of such service totaling at least 25 years, or (2) after becoming 50 years of age and completing 20 years of service as a law enforcement officer, member of the Capitol Police or Supreme Court Police, firefighter, nuclear materials courier, or customs and border protection officer, or any combination of such service totaling at least 20 years.

McCabe was clearly removed “for cause on charges of misconduct.”

One last cautionary note for those members seeking to fill this gap in pension coverage.  We have yet to see the IG report and the specific of the underlying allegations.  All we know is that the allegations were reportedly serious enough for FBI Director Andrew Wray to push McCabe into terminal leave; OPR career staff to issue the rare recommendation of termination for a Deputy Director, and the Attorney General to fire him a day before his retirement. If any of these jobs require a clearance, those details may prove relevant.

Finally, as I discuss today in a column, there is still the danger of a criminal referral from the IG.  That again will depend on the details.

As for the value of McCabe pension, it is estimated to be around $1.8 million given his relatively young age.  He joined the FBI in 1996 and finished at an ES Level 4 pay scale.  The Federal Employees Retirement System allows for law enforcement officers to receive 1.7 percent of their average highest salary over a period of three consecutive years per year in the agent’s first 20 years of service. They then receive 1 percent of the highest average salary for each year exceeding 20 years of service, which in McCabe’s case would be for a single year.  His highest salary was $160,300 in 2016 and , after James Comey appointed him deputy director. In 2017, remaining in an ES Level 4 position, he receive $161,900 in 2017

He will is also be eligible for cost of living adjustment above his base pension.



103 thoughts on “Lost and Found: It Turns Out McCabe Never Lost His Roughly $2 Million Pension”

  1. Uihlein- “The Biggest Republican Megadonor You’ve Never Heard Of.” (Politico) Uihlein obviously disagrees with Turley about money in politics. Turley’s position- It’s not a problem. Uihlein, It’s the way for a rich guy to get the politicians that he wants, elected.

    Uihlein set his focus on SCOTUS, too. He’s backing the rich against labor in the Janus case. In These Times reported on Uihlein’s allies. 17 of the 19 amicus briefs were from Koch-linked groups.

    Just a reminder about the donor class’ success. Labor is receiving the lowest share of national income in U.S. recorded history. And, Princeton Prof. Martin Gilens has documented that oligarchy replaced the United States republic form of government some time ago.

    1. Still wall bouncing and losing the link each time. Oh well lets see if we can salvage something.

      10 days ago District 18 in Pennsylvania had a special election. At the end of the night the only provable figures (minus any rejected or disallowed miscounted) ran about 650. 3900 absentee ballots left to count and two known law suits do to precinct administration irregularities

      The election proctors had the normal recount done for finding any errors and then could make call.

      Ten Days later nothing.

      so. that leaves a lot of room for conjecture. Pennsylvania offers some options.

      If a call is made any party can get a recount by a petititon with three or more registered voters from EACH precinct and must be turned in five or less days after the winner was called.

      A recount can be judicially ordered by of course a Judge.

      A repeat of the special election is an option.

      Leaving the seat empty until the regular elections is an option. The only requirement is a Rep must be replaced by a special or in the regular election not by appointment Only Senators can be appointed.

      I suppose both candidates can agree to one of those options or not. Not Likely

      To compound the fun SCOTUS just ruled the new districting is in force NOW.

      Which brings up the choices of who sit in Congress until the next election OR do two seats sit empty because no one can be appointed.

      Funz and Grinz time it’s an exact time and a court rules each of them take one of the new districts using a coin flip to see who gets first choice.

      That is what we KNOW right now ten days after election day. as of tomorrow.

      All federal laws and all State laws are therefore observed and honored

      Which leaves the precinct irregularities law suits. Those may take years. .

      The excuse not rerun the special and leave the seats empty.

      Why throw this in?

      Notice how everything ties together and there is no dialectic wall bouncing leaving unfinished nor unexplained portions?

      The only thing left is to provide the major sources of information

      Constitution of the United States of America
      Constitution of the State of Michigan

      Oh yes and reportedly, purportedly allegedly 40 have already signed up to run in each of the two new districts.

  2. McCabe is channeling Hillary all too well

    Hillary Clinton lied about flying into Bosina under sniper fire

    “I remember landing under sniper fire,” she said in Washington on Monday. “There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”

    News footage of the event however showed her claims to have been wide of the mark, and reporters who accompanied her stated that there was no sniper fire. Her account was ridiculed by ABC News as “like a scene from Saving Private Ryan”.

    1. She forgot one little detail. To hold those jobs requires a security clearance. McCable no longer has one of those.

    2. Thanks again y’all have fun with Bounty Hunter Report book on Amazon.com

    1. He is only losing the draw at age 50 but not draw at age 60. What will hurt is losing the law license what will bandage that is book and movie deals IF he isn’t convicted of something.

  3. Thanks for the post Jonathan, interesting. I hope this process concludes with a transparently fair outcome for McCabe and everyone else involved in this apparent abuse of power. Folks’ antipathy for the President aside, this type of thing, if true (and it certainly appears to be), must be exposed, adjudicated and punished.

    BTW, it’s Christopher Wray, not Andrew Wray. 🙂

    1. Turley posted the story for the conservative base to create resentment against anyone who worked and earned a pension. The richest 0.1% get a free pass. The donor class impoverishes Americans. As a result, predictably, the 99% turn on each other. The goal is the same as Putin’s-destabilize so that a repressive oligarchy can rule.

      1. We will carefully follow this Turley-Putin plot, now that we’ve been informed of it. 😊😉😂

        1. Nash… still shilling for the Koch’s. State Budget Solutions (Koch-funded) is one of the attack dogs against pensions. ALEC (Koch funded), same animal. Pew took its dog and pony show on pensions to the state capitols with an economics professor for legitimacy (sarcasm) in tow. The professor’s delays in identifying who paid for travel and accommodations was telling. He’s now at the Stanford Institute for the Evisceration of People’s Retirement. Guess who funds the think tanks attacking pensions, other than the Koch’s? John Arnold of Enron who later joined the financial sector in hedge funds. What a surprise. And, guess how much the financial sector adds to GDP growth? It drags down GDP by an estimated 2%.

            1. Meant to include Jayne in the plot, since you singled her out as well..sorry for the oversight.

        2. Inconvenient fact- one of the 2 headliners at the Erik Prince fundraiser for Russophile Rep. Rohrbacher was Va. Rep. Garrett. Guess who funds his campaign? Answer – the Kochtopus.

      2. Screw the conservative base they took third place in 2016. Screw the liberal base they took second place in 2016. The largest voting block was the 40% plurality that banded together to defeat Clinton as the number one priority, the socialists as the number two priority.

        At the federal level which applies only to two offices it takes a majority.

        Which meant we independent sefl governing citizens controlled the election and in this case preferred Trump The Terminator to Clinton the Terminated.

        The GOP got a free ride but they had rejected Trump the candidate.

        Now in Pennsylvania the question is did the independents get to vote? We’ll find out when and if they release the tally and make the announcement call for one or the other.

        10 days and not a peep. National Security could take lessons…

  4. Hillary Clinton’s life of crime was investigated for two weeks.

    President Trump has been investigated for two years.

    Is that liberal “equal justice” or national incoherence and hysteria?

    1. Do you mean, “Benghazi !!” ? That was investigated over and over and over again, with no malfeasance found. Or what else?

  5. Trump fired McCabe in order to intimidate anyone planning on testifying truthfully in a manner that will hurt him in the Mueller investigation. The Fat Dotard is used to intimidating people to get his way and loves, loves, loves to bully people. Maybe it’s because of his tiny pecker. Anyway, he’s soon to learn a lesson about bullying that he’s been able to avoid all of his life up to now.

    1. Wow youi got a listening device planted or are you part of the spy ring McCabe belonged. What Schmuck Putz you are.

      1. Its amazing how all these Lefties attribute McCabe firing to Trump. McCabe was sent packing on leave a couple of months ago by Wray and no journalists bothered to ask why. This coupled with investigation by inspector general and McCabe’s FBI peers = fire-able offense by any AG. Boo-hoo he has to wait for his pension while cruising around in the Porsche bought by his wife. AG had no choice but to do his job and fire McCabe’s ass. McCabe should shut his mouth and stop acting like a Comey-type victim and thank his lucky stars he was not indicted.

        1. The propaganda penetrates weak minds and then gets regurgitated by useful idiots like Nutchacha.

    2. Hey bonehead it was AG sessions that fired him not Trump, and when you lie to the FBI you get fired end of story… I worked for the for 25 years and I had the same standards hanging over my head everyday. I did not lie and I got my pension…

    3. Natacha said, “Trump fired McCabe in order to intimidate anyone planning on testifying truthfully in a manner that will hurt him in the Mueller investigation.”

      Once again Natacha is right. Moreover, Trump’s intimidation of the FBI and its national leadership was a recurring theme during Trump’s campaign for President in 2016. Rudy Guliani and the New York Office of the FBI planted the false story in the Wall Street Journal with unauthorized leaks that McCabe then corrected with his authorized leak to the WSJ. That false story in the WSJ was damaging to Clinton as well as to the DOJ and the FBI including McCabe. And, of course, Guliani and the New York Office of the FBI blatantly interfered in the 2016 election with the reopening of the Clinton email investigation. Thus Trump’s current intimidation of the FBI is merely a continuation of his previous intimidation of the FBI.

      What’s new is that Trump has been reduced to tweetwalling in his ongoing effort to wage a propaganda and disinformation war against the FBI and the OSC. Trump doesn’t seem to understand that there is no place to hide behind a tweetwall; that his tweetwalling could be admissible as evidence in legal proceedings against the tweetwaller, Trump; nor that Robert Swan Mueller The Third will not be deterred by Trump’s tweetwalling propaganda and disinformation war against the FBI and the OSC.

      1. P. S. If Only Nixon and Agnew had had Twitter. Poor Spiro had to travel around the country the old fashioned way delivering speeches in person to wage his propaganda and disinformation war against Nixon’s enemies.

  6. It appears Trump is going on the offensive full throttle.

    “President Trump is hiring longtime Washington lawyer Joseph diGenova, who has suggested that the FBI is seeking to frame Trump, to his legal team….

    “Make no mistake about it: A group of FBI and DOJ people were trying to frame Donald Trump of a falsely created crime,” he said”


    1. Well, it’s official, then. Trump is now trying to defend himself in pretty much the same way Richard Millhouse Nixon tried to defend himself. Delegitimize the special counsel’s investigation. Can anyone else around here remember how well that strategy worked out for Nixon?

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