Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Read more
Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene will be eligible for her congressional pension after she steps down in January, by a matter of days.
The Republican firebrand announced last week that she would prematurely exit her job as the House representative for Georgia’s 14th congressional district.
“I will be resigning from office with my last day being January 5, 2026,” she wrote at the end of a four-page statement.
According to the National Taxpayers Union, members of Congress qualify for a congressional pension if they have served five full years in Congress.
Greene arrived in Congress on January 3, 2021, meaning that she will be just over the five-year minimum when she leaves.
open image in gallery
Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., center, will resign from Congress on January 5, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
This does not mean that Greene, 51, would receive her pension immediately. Members of Congress are eligible for their pensions once they hit the age of 62.
The annual congressional salary is $174,000 and members of Congress receive 1 percent of their salary annually as part of their pension. If a member has 20 years of service, and serves until the age of 62, they receive 1.1 percent of their salary as a pension.
According to the NTU, this would make Greene eligible for a pension of $8,717 a year. And if you take into consideration the average lifespan of an American woman, and tacking on an annual 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment, Greene could receive more than $265,000 in pension benefits overall, NTU reported.
By contrast, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has served in Congress since 1987, will be eligible for a pension of $108,800 annually.
But the pension pot would appear to be a drop in the bucket for Greene’s net worth.
According to Quiver Qualitative, which tracks financial transactions from members of Congress, Greene has a net worth of roughly $25.1 million. She also owns stocks in major companies like Meta, Google’s parent company Alphabet, Amazon and Tesla.
open image in gallery
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene will sit out of the race to find her replacement, refusing to endorse any candidate ahead of Georgia’s special election (AFP/Getty)
In recent years, members of Congress from both parties, ranging from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), have pushed to ban members of Congress and their spouses from owning stocks.
Under the Federal Employees Retirement System, members of Congress pay into their retirement plans like normal workers do, according to the NTU. Members of Congress can also access a Thift Savings Plan that allows them to supplement their retirement accounts with additional savings.
Greene announced that she would resign from Congress days after legislation she supported to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein passed almost unanimously through the House of Representatives.
Greene joined two other Republicans–her occasional rivals Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Lauren Boebert of Colorado–to sign a discharge petition by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to force a vote on the files after House Speaker Mike Johnson opposed it. The discharge petition also set her on a collision course with close ally President Donald Trump, who un-endorsed her.
Greene also criticized Republicans like Johnson for failing to come up with a plan to extend enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace during the government shutdown.
Greene said she would sit out and not make any endorsement for a special election to replace her.