Peters Took His Politician Pension Early
Former City Attorney Says “Scott Peters could have declined his pension.”
San Diego – Even though Congressman Scott Peters is personally worth more than $100 million, records from the city pension system released today by the DeMaio campaign reveal that he opted to take his government pension early.
On top of that, a former Chief Deputy City Attorney is calling out Congressman Scott Peters for falsely claiming to the media that he could not decline his politician pension while on City Council.
Since deciding to take his pension early, Scott Peters has received over $100,000 in taxpayer-funded pension payouts despite the fact that the City of San Diego pension system is mired in billions in debt. Peters is “Double Dipping” by taking a Congressional salary and government pension simultaneously.
In April, Scott Peters told the UT San Diego that he “tried to decline the pension” but could not “because of the law.”
“Congressman Scott Peters could have declined his pension,” according to local San Diego attorney Ken Lounsbery, a former Chief Deputy San Diego City Attorney and currently a partner at Lounsbery, Ferguson, Altona & Peak. Lounsbery is also a recognized expert in pension reform law.
“As a matter of fact, Carl DeMaio is proof that you can decline the elected official pension in San Diego because he did that on day one of his service on the City Council,” Lounsbery pointed out. In addition to DeMaio, two other city elected officials (Mayor Faulconer and Councilmember Zapf) have used this simple, legal process to decline the pension.
Further undermining his claim that he was legally obliged to take a pension when he did, city records show that Scott Peters voluntarily opted to take his pension early at the absurdly young age of 50 versus the standard retirement age of 55 for elected officials.
Peters also claims that he donates his pension to charity – but fails to point out that he only started doing this after a 2010 report issued by Carl DeMaio calling him out for taking an early pension.
“By spiking his government pension and then taking it early, Scott Peters, who is worth over $100 million, shows he takes extra privileges at our expense,” noted campaign spokesperson Dave McCulloch. “How can a guy worth over $100 million like Scott Peters justify boosting his own government pension and then taking it early?” asked McCulloch.
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