Even though he may soon be removed from the public spotlight, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) says British Columbians will still be paying big money for Gordon Campbell long after he leaves his position as premier.
The CTF estimates the leader will collect approximately $100,880 per year in pension benefits, fully indexed, once he turns 65 in January 2013.
The group says Campbell will collect $2,018,819 in pension benefits by the time he turns 80, factoring in a two-per-cent annual inflation.
Campbell could also be eligible to collect $127,324 in "transition allowance," as well as $9,000 for career counselling, training and education.
The numbers are calculated from how much the premier made both as an MLA in the riding of Vancouver-Point Grey and as the provincial leader since 2001.
The CTF calculations are assuming Campbell signed on to a pension plan that he voted to enhance in 2007. But it's impossible to tell because the government doesn't disclose which MLA's from both parties bought back in.
"But anyone who knows the formula knows that you'd have to be crazy not to buy back in," said Derek Fildebrandt, CTF's National Research Director.
"The plan is far too rich, lucrative for anyone with Grade 2 math not to see that it's a great deal for those who are eligible to cash in on it."
The CTF says 75 per cent of Canadians in the private sector have no registered retirement plan at all.
"This whole pension scenario, it does sour his legacy to a degree," said Fildebrandt.
The calculations don't include any retirement benefits Campbell might be eligible for as a result of his years in Vancouver civil politics.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Norma Reid
