Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) will remain eligible for his congressional pension and other benefits whether the disgraced lawmaker resigns from Congress or is expelled by his fellow lawmakers.
The 45-year-old said Monday night he plans to leave the House of Representatives after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has threatened to move ahead with a measure to expel both Swalwell and Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) if they doesn’t leave Capitol Hill by 2 p.m. Tuesday.
If Congressman Swalwell has not resigned with the Clerk of the House by 2 PM today, I will continue my resolution regarding his expulsion. His statement about his “plan to resign his seat” is not binding and is wormy. The same goes for Tony.
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) April 14, 2026
“His statement about his “plan to resign his seat” is not binding and is wormy,” Luna wrote on X in reference to Swalwell.
No matter how he leaves, Swalwell would still get his pension, federal healthcare benefits and other perks granted former lawmakers — like access to the House floor and membership in the congressional gym.
Swalwell likely needs the funds as he’s one of the poorer members of Congress.
He raided his retirement savings to supplement his income during his abortive California gubernatorial campaign, after pulling down a congressional salary of about $184,000 in 2024.
However, he and wife Brittany Watts reported a combined annual income of about $444,000, according to publicly disclosed tax forms.
Lawmakers are eligible for a pension at age 62 if they attain five years of service. Swalwell was first elected to Congress in 2012.
The average annual annuity received by lawmakers is $45,276, though some with more years of service, such as retiring Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), will receive six figures of pension income.
In the wake of lying Long Island lawmaker George Santos’ expulsion from Congress in December 2023, Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) introduced legislation that would bar lawmakers booted from their chamber from collecting taxpayer-funded pensions.
Nunn’s proposal died in 2024, at the end of the 118th Congress. He would have to re-introduce it for lawmakers to vote on it.
Santos, elected in 2022, did not have enough years of service to qualify for a pension. But he maintains other perks, like access to the House floor.
Then-Rep.Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) came under scrutiny when she announced she was quitting Congress just after she passed the five=year threshold to receive her pension.
Greene began serving on Jan. 3, 2021, and left office on Jan. 5, 2026.
The annual pension benefits for lawmakers cost taxpayers about $38 million per year to pay out.
