Did they contribute to their retirement plan?
If someone spends a lifetime putting into a retirement fund and the $$ grow with interest, it is entirely possible that
they could collect more than their salary.
And if that’s the case, it’s none of your business.
You are talking about withdrawals from a retirement plan (individually-funded 401k's, etc). I'm talking about pension plans, funded by the taxpayer.
I though my "half-pay" comment implied a pension. Perhaps I should have been clearer.
At any rate, you are correct about individual retirement plan pay-outs. If a person has saved all his life, he obviously deserves to reap the benefits.
But too many public pensions are based on unrealistic, slanted formulas. That's taxpayer money slipping away, my FRiend.