UPDATED Triple Pensioner: How Much Does He Make?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The recently retired Providence city official who stands to benefit from three separate pensions could make at least about $70,000 in annual retirement pay.
Thomas Glavin, who retired as the Chief of Staff for the Providence City Council earlier this year, will receive three pensions—all stemming from his 20-year-tenure as a member of the council, before a roughly 14-year stretch as a regular city employee. Glavin is due for three pensions—one for elected officials, one for city workers, and a special pension through Local 1033 of the International Laborers’ Association of North America, which is no longer available to council members.
The figure—which was calculated using his salary information and the city pension guide—does not include the third pension from the union. Local 1033 has previously declined to release its pension records and the city says it does not have a duplicate copy.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTGlavin will receive $7,466 through the elected official pension, according to the city.
But because Glavin has not filed his retirement paperwork, the city does not have an official number for what he will receive through his city worker pension. City retirees have several options for how they can take their retirement pay. Under one scenario, they can take much of it up front in a lump sum payment.
Assuming his pension income is evenly spread out, Glavin could receive $77,666 from his regular city pension.
How it’s calculated:
Because he has been in the regular city pension system for more than 20 years his pension benefit is based on two calculations:
■ The average pay for his final years as a city employee—approximately $90,000—would be multiplied by 2.5 percent and the number of years he served, which was 20. Add the resulting number to:
■ The average pay for his final years as a city employee multiplied by 2 percent and by the number of years in addition to the first 20 years, which is approximately 14.
Those two separate calculations add up to $77,666, which is a rough estimate. As a result of serving on the council and a city employee, Glavin was able to multiply the higher pay of a city employee by the number of years he was on the council to get a significantly larger benefit.
Add in his elected official pension and Glavin would earn $77,666—again, not counting the third pension.
UPDATE: This story has been updated from a previous version to reflect the fact that only Glavin's final salary is used to calculate his benefits.
