6 committee's hearing Thursday focused on former President Donald Trump's pressure campaign against Pence. 6 and he was evacuated from the Senate floor.ĪBC News is publishing the image for the first time on the eve of the House Jan.
If Pence has been making regular contributions, he could have hundreds of thousands in additional funds stashed in a plan that ethics laws do not require public officials to disclose.WASHINGTON, DC - A new photo obtained exclusively by ABC News shows then-Vice President Mike Pence and his family in hiding after rioters broke into the Capitol on Jan. He has also likely been saving a chunk of his federal salary through the Thrift Savings Plan, essentially a 401(k) for government employees.
Pence disclosed two Indiana state-run retirement accounts, worth up to $65,000. The rest of his assets stem almost entirely from the government as well. A spokesperson for Pence declined to comment for this story. (If he waits until he’s 65 to retire, he can get 40%.) Pence earned nearly $112,000 in his final year as governor, so Indiana will owe him around $35,000 per year starting at age 62, an income stream worth at least $500,000. For those four years of gubernatorial work, he’s entitled to 30% of his salary for the rest of his life. He served a single term in the statehouse before being elected vice president. Pence left Congress in 2013 to become governor of Indiana. If he were able to sell that annuity today, he could get around $700,000 for it. “Congress passes laws for their own benefit, and they’ll never shortchange themselves.”īetween the 12 years Pence served in the House and his two years as vice president, he is currently eligible to collect an estimated $50,000 per year from the federal government for the rest of his life. “They’re almost twice as valuable as a regular federal pension,” says Tim Voit, a financial analyst who runs a firm that specializes in pensions. Pence voted in favor of closing this benefit for future Congressmen in 2012, though he remains one of many lawmakers grandfathered into the older, more lucrative pensions. A 1986 federal law based pension payouts for members of Congress and their staffers on a higher percentage of their annual pay than regular federal workers’ pensions. Pence would further benefit from an act of Congressional self-dealing. In 2006, Pence hit his fifth year of federal service-making him eligible for a federal pension, a guaranteed stream of income in retirement. Pence, who had only a few thousand dollars in savings, accumulated more than $600,000 in losses from the business going under, according to his 2006 tax returns. The next year, with the company bankrupt, the value of those shares dropped to zero. In 2004 he disclosed owning a stake in Kiel Bros. Pence, then in his second term in Congress, watched his nest egg crack. Mike's Million The vice president is worth about $1 million, almost entirely thanks to his state and federal pensions. When profit margins on gas and tobacco products fell, the debt-burdened Kiel Bros., also dealing with a handful of environmental fines, was forced to file for bankruptcy. In the early 2000s, the company had grown to more than 200 locations and Pence’s brother Greg was president. growing up, but he never went into the business. The future vice president helped out at Kiel Bros. Pence likely inherited the shares from his father, who was an early employee. With no significant business experience, he ranked among the Capitol’s poorer members, with few assets besides stock in an Indiana gas station and convenience store chain called Kiel Bros. He made a third run for Congress and won. By 2000, Pence was a minor celebrity in the conservative Midwest. Such personal spending was legal then (though it has since been banned) but proved unpopular with voters.ĭefeated again, Pence joined a conservative think tank and established himself as a local radio star, billed as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.” He offered his take on the news of the day (“Is adultery no longer a big deal in Indiana and in America?” he asked during a 1997 national sex scandal) and chatted with state and local politicians. “I’m not embarrassed that I need to make a living,” he told the press at the time. A second attempt two years later erupted in scandal after he used political donations to cover a mortgage, credit card and even grocery bills. The son of a Korean War veteran, Pence spent a few years at a small law firm before mounting an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 1988.
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