The list of former federal employees collecting more than six figures also includes former Vice President Dick Cheney ($125,976 for 28 years of work, including as a Wyoming congressman, White House chief of staff, and defense secretary). Cheney didn't respond to a message requesting comment.
Gingrich, the former House speaker, receives a pension of $100,200 after 20 years in Congress, according to the data. He has argued as a Republican presidential candidate that government employees ought to shoulder more of the burden for planning their retirements. His campaign spokesman, R.C. Hammond, didn't respond to a request for comment.
The federal retirement system changed in 1986 to bring federal workers hired after 1984 into the Social Security system and make other changes, including offering a thrift savings plan that resembles a 401(k). The earliest a federal worker can retire with a full pension is at 55, with 30 years of service.
Three Highest Years
The amount of a federal retiree's pensions is generally based on his or her three highest-paying years; the commission on fiscal responsibility has recommended switching that to five years as part of a plan to trim benefit costs by as much as $70 billion over 10 years.
"The average American would probably be delighted to trade plans," said Joshua D. Rauh, a finance professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School.
The federal pension shortfall is reflected in other levels of government, such as the California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers), the nation's largest. Calpers pays 536,234 retired state workers an average annual pension of $27,984. California employees contribute between 5 and 11 percent of their salary to retirement.
Like the federal program, California pensions are based on the top three highest-paying years. State employees with more than 25 years of service may base their pension on the single highest year of pay. The California fund currently faces a $51.2 billion shortfall.
"Retirees and employees are going to take some kind of hit," Dave Snell, head of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association's retirement benefits service department, said in a telephone interview. "Congress is honing its blade."