Today, 39 MPs will join an exclusive club of Canadians eligible for the best pension plan on the planet. These 39 MPs were first elected on January 23, 2006, meaning that as of today, they are vested and eligible to withdraw.

These MPs will be eligible to collect $1,927,000 in annual pensions by the time of the next federal election in 2015, in addition to $1.8 million in one-time severance payments.

By the (hypothetical) 2019 election, these pension payouts will cost $2,732,000 annually in addition to $1.1 million in one-time severance payments.

Included in the newly vested 'Class of 06' are Jim Flaherty and Tony Clement, the two men charged by Prime Ministers with cutting spending and tackling the deficit. Both of these ministers will be eligible to collect more than $68,000 by the 2015 election, and more than $96,000 by the (hypothetical) 2019 election.

As Jane Taber at the Globe and Mail points out, these two men - in addition to Foreign Minister John Baird - were a part of the Mike Harris government that culled the MPP pension plan provincially in Ontario. We will soon know if history will repeat itself.

For detailed pension and severance eligibility for each member of the Class of 06,' go to page 59 of the CTF's Report on MP Pensions.

By: Derek Fildebrandt
Posted: January 23, 2012
Topic: Federal

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