The Nation - News from Sept. 5, 1988

A retired South Dakota Republican congressman’s September pension check of $6,966 will put him over the million-dollar mark in retirement benefits. Former Rep. Ben Reifel, who retired in 1971, receives $83,589 annually. In May, former Republican Sen. Margaret Chase Smith of Maine became the first senator to get a millionaire pension, said David Keating of the watchdog private National Taxpayers Union. “While most Americans can only dream of a million dollars in retirement income, dozens of retired legislators will soon become pension millionaires,” Keating said.