Q: Now that Penn State’s Board of Trustees has fired football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier, will these men get golden parachutes or any retirement benefits?
— Michelle Hutchinson, Marietta
A: Paterno, who had been Penn State's football coach since 1966 and had worked at the school since 1950, is "theoretically" in line for a pension of more than $500,000 a year, according to The Associated Press. He is eligible for a pension that is equal to 100 percent of the average of his three highest salary years, the article stated. Paterno's salary rose from $541,000 to $568,000 the past three years. There also is a "long-service supplement" that could boost Paterno's pension to 110 percent of his final average salary. Even though he was fired as Penn State's president, Spanier remains a tenured professor at the school and is still employed by the university's Health and Human Development department, according to interim Penn State president Rodney Erickson. Spanier is a family sociologist, a demographer, a marriage and family therapist, a renowned researcher and was the founding editor of the Journal of Family Issues, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He made more than $800,000 last year as university president, according to ABC 27 in Harrisburg, Pa. Former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who was charged with 40 counts of sex crimes against eight boys, collects $59,000 a year from his state pension and withdrew $148,000 when he retired in 1999, according to the AP.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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