Helena Guergis may be finding herself in the far back benches at parliament, but she’s assured of a comfortable pension when she retires.
As of this week, Guergis became eligible for her MP pension after six years as an MP.
She was elected June 28th, 2004.
Federal regulations say Guergis and the 75 other MP’s first elected that day are eligible for their fully-indexed pensions if they are not voted out of office for six years.
Since an election campaign is 35 days, and none has been called, Guergis and the rest are now technically eligible for the pension.
Guergis’ pension will be more generous than other MP’s, since she spent time in cabinet, which brings a significant boost in pay, and the pension is based on ‘best years’.