LANSING — According to new reporting from American Journal News, GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars while potentially “double dipping” from multiple taxpayer-funded pensions, despite already “having a net worth of $14.6 million.” Rogers’ use of taxpayer funds to enrich himself follows his record in Congress of voting to protect pensions for millionaire lobbyists while “supporting cuts to military pensions.”
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American Journal News: Rogers collected state pension despite $14.6 million net worth
- Republican Mike Rogers took income from a government pension despite having a net worth of $14.6 million.
- Rogers spent two decades in public office, serving first as a Michigan state legislator and later as a member of Congress. After retiring to Florida in 2015, he served on several corporate boards. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in Michigan in 2024 and is running again this year.
- According to personal finance disclosures, Rogers earned $125,600 between 2022 and 2025 from a Michigan Legislature pension. He may have taken in $275,000 total from the pension if he collected every year since becoming eligible in 2018.
- Last month, the Detroit News reported that the Michigan Legislature pension was running low and that taxpayers would likely need to chip in to sustain it. The pension was closed to new members in 1997.
- When Rogers left the Michigan Legislature, he initially set his retirement date for Jan. 3, 2001, which entitled him to an increased pension payout that went into effect that year. He changed the date to Dec. 31, 2000, after being accused of impropriety.
- In 2025, Rogers became eligible to withdraw from the U.S. Congress pension as well. Senate candidates are not required to report earnings from the federal government, including retirement income, making it impossible to know if Rogers is benefiting from the fund.
- Collecting multiple pensions in addition to a paycheck is allowed, but critics warn the practice, known as “double dipping,” is morally dubious.
- “It’s time we make Washington more like the private sector and the best place to start is to end taxpayer-funded pensions,” Indiana Sen. Mike Braun said in 2020. Braun served in the House with Rogers.
- In Congress, Rogers repeatedly voted to protect pension benefits for lawmakers, while also supporting cuts to military pensions.
- In 2012, he opposed an effort to cut off pension payments for lawmakers who become lobbyists and earn more than $1 million annually. The measure did not pass.
- In 2013, Rogers backed a budget proposal that would have cut cost-of-living adjustments for those receiving military pensions, including disabled veterans. He supported a similar effort in 2014 that reduced pension payouts for most veterans but included a carve-out for the disabled.
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