Every year the swallows return to Capistrano and every year some members of the New Mexico legislature complain about not receiving a salary. New Mexico is the only state in the nation whose legislators do not receive a salary. Instead, they receive a stipend based on the cost of living in Santa Fe. We are months away from the next regular legislative session but the grousing has already begun.

Whenever legislators complain about not receiving a salary, they never mention their very generous pension benefits. This article will show you how generous those benefits are.

The primary statutes controlling NM legislators' retirement plan are contained in NMSA 10-11-43.1 through 10-11-43.5. The pension amount is determined by multiplying the per diem rate for Santa Fe times 11 percent times 60, times years of service. The federal per diem for Santa Fe is currently $194 per day. From 2012 until 2018, legislators only contributed $600 per year to the plan. Since 2018, contributions have increased to $1000 per year. Most significantly, after a legislator has served for 10 years, he can retire and immediately begin receiving a pension regardless of his age. Let me show you how expensive this can be for taxpayers.

Here is the hypothetical. A male is elected to the legislature in 2012 and retires 10 years later in 2021 when he is 39 years old. He immediately starts drawing a pension. He has a life expectancy of 35.94 more years to live. We multiply the per diem of $194 times 11% for $21.34. We next multiply $21.34 by 60 for a total of $1280.40. We next multiply $1280.40 times the ten years of service for a total yearly pension of $12,804. We next multiply the $12,804 by the life expectancy of 35.94 years for a grand total of $460,175.76. And how much did the legislator pay into his fund to get this princely sum? A total of $7200 ($600 x 7 + $1000 x 3). Remember that this is a low- ball number as the retired legislator is also entitled to cost of living increases on the pension. Ouch.

When we compare the NM legislature's retirement plan to other states, ours appears to be an outlier. No other state has a retire at any age after 10 years plan. The vast majority of other states require that the retiree be at least 55 or older. Nevada provides for retirement before 60 but with reduced benefits. Texas provides for retirement at 50 with at least 12 years of service. New Mexico is also the only state where retirement amounts are not based on salary or wages. As of several years ago, it was also overfunded at 151%.

In the future, whenever you hear a story about the suffering of woebegone NM legislators because they don't receive a salary, you should also expect the story to discuss their very generous pension benefits after 10 years of service. If the story does not, journalistic malpractice has been committed.

Charles Sullivan

Albuquerque

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.