Former Liberal MP Bob Nault to receive $4.4 million in lifetime pension

42 former MPs to get lifetime pension; 64 to get severance pay

Former Liberal MP Bob Nault to receive $4.4 million in lifetime pension
Forty-two former MPs are set to get lifetime pensions. Shutterstock

Former Liberal Party member Bob Nault is set to receive $4.43 million in lifetime pension while 41 other former Members of Parliament (MPs) will receive annual stipends for the rest of their lives after losing or opting not to run in the recently concluded national election.

Nault is set to receive $138,000 per year after his more than 20 years of service, according to calculations released by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). Nault was formerly elected as a member of the House of Commons representing the Kenora district. He came in second to Conservative Eric Melillo in the October elections, losing by less than 1,000 votes.

“Losing an election can be tough, but most MPs will have a soft financial landing,” says CTF federal director Aaron Wudrick. “The good news is that thanks to pension reforms, taxpayers will not have to shoulder as much of the burden as they used to.”

Previously, taxpayers contributed about $17 for every $1 contributed by an MP or Senator towards their own pension, says the CTF. Since 2016, it has been gradually shifting towards to a ratio of $1.60 in taxpayer contributions for every $1 put in by an MP or Senator.

Conservative Party member Rob Nicholson of the Niagara Falls, Ont. riding, meanwhile, is set to receive $4.26 million in lifetime pension, distributed at $158,000 annually, after 24.5 years of service. NDP’s Nathan Cullen, of Skeena-Bulkley Valley, B.C. will receive $4.14 million in lifetime pension at $82,000 annually after more than 15 years of service in Parliament.

Also receiving lifetime pensions of $4 million upwards are Liberal Ralph Goodale of Regina-Wascana ($4.10 million, plus 30 years of service), Conservative Brad Trost of Saskatoon-University ($4.04 million, plus 15 years of service) and Independent Tony Clement of Parry Sound-Muskoka in Ontario ($4.02 million, plus 13 years of service).

Cullen and Trost are also set to receive $89,000 in severance pay.

All in all, defeated and retiring MPs will collect $3 million in annual pension payments, reaching a cumulative total of $104 million by age 90. Another $5.8 million in severance cheques will be issued to former MPs.

Taxpayers used to contribute $17 per $1 contributed by an MP or senator towards their own pension. Since 2016, however, it has gradually been shifting towards a ratio of $1.60 in taxpayers' contribution for every $1 put in by an MP or senator, according to CTF.

“MP pension reform should serve as an example for broader public sector pension reform,” says Wudrick. “We encourage the Trudeau government to take the necessary steps to ensure government employee pensions are more in line with what the vast majority of Canadians working in the private sector expect to receive.”

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