Ousted Ley to receive hefty pension in silver lining
Sussan Ley is quitting politics after losing the Liberal leadership after less than a year in job. But it isn’t all bad news for the long-time MP.
Sussan Ley’s taxpayer-funded post-politics pension could be north of $250,000.
Ms Ley announced that she was “stepping away completely and comprehensively from public life” after losing the Liberal leadership to right wing factionalist Angus Taylor.
The party’s first female leader, she was ousted after just nine months in the job.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Losing her job has meant she has lost her $442,649 salary, which was made up of a base salary of $239,270 plus an 85 per cent loading, according to a 2025 decision by the independent Renumeration Tribunal.
But her decision to retire from politics altogether has guaranteed her an annual income higher than the salary she would get if she were to stay on as a backbencher.
Ms Ley is part of the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Scheme (PCSS), often referred to as the “old” parliamentary pension scheme.
The PCSS was closed to new members who entered Federal Parliament after the 2004 election.
But because Sussan Ley was first elected as the Member for Farrer in 2001, her entitlements were grandfathered under the old rules.
Unlike the standard accumulation superannuation received by newer MPs, who receive a percentage contribution into a fund, the PCSS is a defined benefit scheme.
This means it provides a lifelong, inflation-linked pension based on a percentage of her final parliamentary salary and length of service.
She is one of the few remaining sitting MPs still covered by the arrangement, alongside other long-serving politicians including Anthony Albanese and Labor senator Penny Wong.
While the exact private financial details of an MP’s pension are not publicly released, it is possible to estimate based on the official formulas of PCSS and Ms Ley’s career history.
Based on her service since 2001 and her senior roles, her estimated annual pension would likely fall between $250,000 and $280,000.
To break that down, her length of service has meant she reached the maximum possible base rate of 75 per cent of an MP’s salary.
Her pension also got an annual bump of more than 6 per cent for every year that she held senior positions.
Unlike most private pensions, Ms Ley’s pension was indexed to the salaries of sitting MPs, meaning it increased whenever parliamentarians received a pay rise.
Under PCSS rules, she has the option to trade in up to 50 per cent of her lifelong pension for a one-off tax-free lump sum payment, which would then reduce the annual pension amount she receives.
Originally published as Ousted Ley to receive hefty pension in silver lining
