Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who filed for bankruptcy in the wake of a $148 million civil court ruling and faces a mountain of unpaid legal bills, said he now regrets not having the safety net of a government pension.
Most recent Big Apple mayors pocket pension checks after leaving office, but Giuliani, 79, failed to apply for the benefits, according to city payroll records obtained by the taxpayer watchdog group Empire Center for Public Policy and his official disclosure filings.
Had he taken a pension, the two-term former mayor who left office at the end of 2001 would’ve been eligible for about $26,000 in annual payments after turning 62.
That translates to about $442,000 he could have collected the last 17 years.
When asked why he never applied for a pension, Giuliani told The Post: “Giving back to the city I love. Although I would like to take it now.”
He then admitted, “I don’t know how to go about it.”
Giuliani should have planned better for his future — even if he seemed financially set for life when his eight-year tenure as mayor ended, said a former top city official.
“This might have seemed like chump change to someone like him who left City Hall with multi-million-dollar book deals, but I bet he wishes he had [pension payments] now,” said the official. “In his situation, every penny helps.”
Giuliani also isn’t receiving a federal pension for his six years as Manhattan’s US Attorney and other government work.
However, Giuliani as mayor did pay into the city’s deferred compensation plan, which he valued as a $50,000 to $100,000 asset in 2007 disclosure filings submitted during his failed 2008 presidential bid.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio collects a $113,131-a-year pension after serving two decades in elected office, including public advocate and on the City Council, according to the New York City Employees’ Retirement System.
Former Mayor and Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins collected $59,657 yearly before his death in 2020, and former Mayor Ed Koch received $49,065 annually before his 2013 death.
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg didn’t accept pay while serving as mayor from 2002 through 2013 and also opted not to receive a pension.
Once hailed as “America’s Mayor,” Giuliani estimates owing $153 million with assets of up to $10 million, according to Manhattan federal court filings.
He filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 21, days after being ordered to shell out $148 million in damages to two former Georgia election workers who alleged the former Donald Trump lawyer falsely accused them of committing voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
Giuliani’s attorney, Joe Sibley, has said that the ruling is “the civil equivalent of the death penalty” and “will be the end of Mr. Giuliani” if he fails to win an appeal.