Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s financial disclosure form highlights one of the things that make him unusual as a modern political candidate: the relative simplicity of his financial life.
Walz’s finances are straightforward and modest relative to the standards of many politicians who made their wealth in the private sector, judging from his disclosure, which was released by the Federal Election Commission on Friday. Many recent candidates for high office, by contrast, report millions in income and assets from multiple sources on their forms.
Walz reported a $210,287 income from his job as governor of Minnesota from January 2023 through August of this year and a bank account with between $15,000 and $50,000 in cash.
He reported no debts whatsoever. He no longer owns a home or rental properties, which had been reflected on his tax returns in prior years. And he doesn’t report owning any individual stocks or bonds.
But Walz does have a few retirement savings accounts.
He reported having between $100,000 and $250,000 in a 2030 target date retirement fund, up to $15,000 in a Vanguard midcap index fund and up to $15,000 in a State Street short term investment fund.
And because of his life in public service — first as a school teacher and member of the National Guard, then as a congressman for 12 years and his nearly six years as Minnesota governor — Walz will receive pension income, although it is not clear from his disclosure exactly how much.
He reported that he is currently eligible to receive $1,111 a month from the defined benefit plan of the Teacher’s Retirement Association of Minnesota but that the full value of his pension is not “readily ascertainable.” It’s unclear if that is because any pension income he may earn from his tenure as governor is not included yet. Under Minnesota state law, his time as the state’s chief executive may add to the amount of pension he can earn under the state’s Teachers Retirement Association plan.
In addition, Walz will be eligible for Social Security benefits and a pension as a former member of the US House of Representatives. Under FEC rules, neither need to be reported on the disclosure form.
Walz himself has raised the issue of the pensions he has earned on the campaign trail.
On Labor Day, in Milwaukee, the governor referenced a Wall Street Journal article that indicated he might be better off than people thought because he has earned a pension. “They did (a) story that said he’s actually richer than his statement says, because he has — and I quote, like this is an evil thing — ‘a defined benefit pension plan.’ That is my wish for every American to have a defined benefit pension plan,” he said.
– CNN’s Aaron Pellish contributed to this report.
