Posts Tagged ‘severance’
Lose your bid for re-election? Canada may provide severance pay!
Don’t worry – I’ll be OK!
Daylife/Reuters Pictures used by permission
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation today released its calculations of estimated pension and severance payments paid to the 113 MPs who were either defeated or did not seek re-election in the May 2, 2011 general election. Defeated and retiring MPs will collect $4.9 million in pension payments in their first year, reaching a cumulative total of $111.5 million by age 80. In addition, another $4.3 million in severance cheques will be issued to former MPs…
“While many MPs went down to defeat last night, most are still big winners,” said CTF National Research Director Derek Fildebrandt. “Even though losing an election can be hard, MPs should find a nice soft landing with their ‘golden parachute…’”
Defeated or retiring MPs are eligible to collect a fully-indexed pension at age 55 if they have served at least 6 years in the House of Commons. MPs who have not served the minimum years and receive no pension collect a severance equal to 50 per cent of their total salary. Former MPs who are eligible for a pension but have not reached the age of 55 are entitled to both a severance and pension. If a member turns 55 years old within six months of being eligible for a pension, a reduced severance cheque is paid to them. Lump sum severance payments range from a low of $78,866 to a high of $116,624 – a figure paid out to defeated Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and several ministers.
Defeated Labrador MP Todd Russell was less than once month short of qualifying for his pension, being elected in a May 24, 2005 by-election. Fildebrandt noted, “By keeping Mr. Todd out of Parliament, the voters of Labrador saved Canadian taxpayers almost $600,000 in pension payouts.”
Why must so many nations consider loving lifetime care for politicians a national priority? Here in the GOUSA, we provide Congress with a healthcare plan the rest of us can only dream of.
The payback from Beltway politicians? “Screw you” – I’ve got mine. Find an insurance company to take your money.
Microsoft asks laid off workers to return part of severance
Microsoft says it made an accounting error when it laid off some employees last month and now feels the best way to correct the error is with what will likely add up to a public relations blunder.
The software giant, which recently laid off 1,400 employees, sent letters (see image below) this week to some of those former workers letting them know that their severance payouts were a bit too “generous” and respectfully requested that the former employees pay back that money, according to a report Saturday on TechCrunch.
“An inadvertent administrative error occurred that resulted in an overpayment in severance pay by Microsoft,” the letter states. “We ask that you repay the overpayment and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to you.”
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the authenticity of a letter posted on TechCrunch, but declined further comment, saying it was “a private matter between the company and the affected people.”
There are veiled threats, of course. How else would you expect Microsoft to deal with their own mistake?
