The former officer who has been charged with second-degree murder for his alleged role in the death of George Floyd on May 25 could still receive over $1 million in pension benefits even if he is convicted.
Former officer Derek Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder after video footage showed him kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest.
He also faces charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, according to the Star Tribune.
Chauvin was fired immediately following Floyd’s death after 19 years on the police force.
I’m at the Hennepin County Jail where former MPD officer Derek Chauvin is scheduled to make his first court appearance, via video monitor, from the Oak Park Heights prison where he is held. I’ll add details to a thread here after it gets underway. @kare11 pic.twitter.com/vm5P5WZMta
— Lou Raguse (@LouRaguse) June 8, 2020
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However, even if he is convicted of second-degree murder, he could still collect his pension benefits during retirement, CNN reported.
Minnesota is not one of the states that allow for the forfeiture of pensions for employees convicted of crimes related to their work.
Pension benefits are a form of compensation, similar to retirement savings accounts, earned throughout a worker’s career and partially funded by taxpayers.
Do you think Chauvin should be able to keep his pension benefits?
According to the Public Employees Retirement Association of Minnesota, participants contribute 11.8 percent of their pay to their pension, and employers contribute 17.7 percent.
“Neither our Board nor our staff have the discretion to increase, decrease, deny or revoke benefits,” a retirement plan spokeswoman told CNN.
“Any changes to current law would need to be done through the legislative process.”
A CNN analysis estimated that Chauvin would be eligible for annual payments around $50,000 a year if he chose to start getting them at age 55.
Those benefits could exceed $1.5 million over 30 years.
“Pension forfeiture for misconduct is pretty rare,” D. Bruce Johnsen, a law professor at George Mason University, told CNN.
“With this terrible tragedy, it might be a good time to push in this direction.”
Many people on Twitter seemed to agree:
Derek Chauvin: a bunch of bull! what job pays you a pension after you have been fired, and then charged with murder. They have been covering their butts for a long time because all of them are crooked and they wanted to make sure that they got paid when they committed.
— Diana Love-Nelson (@shaun2293) June 12, 2020
Guess I don’t understand how Derek Chauvin is still eligible for his 1M$ pension even if he’s convicted of killing George Floyd. If a nurse is found guilty of malpractice, they lose EVERYTHING. Pension, license, benefits regardless how long they’ve been working.
— Lindsay RN🏥🩺💉💊❣️ (@LKRuedisale) June 13, 2020
This nonsense needs to be part of police reform: Minneapolis Owes Derek Chauvin A Pension – Even If Convicted Of Murder https://t.co/bWxE0Z6eSF
— Frank Figliuzzi (@FrankFigliuzzi1) June 13, 2020
According to Forbes, previous court rulings have said that pensions can be seized as a form of restitution.
However, Minnesota is not one of the states the rulings apply to. It remains unclear whether or not Chauvin will owe restitution and what that means for his pension
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