Fauci’s federal retirement package to exceed $350,000 per year

The Chief Medical Advisor to the President and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases turned 81 on Christmas Eve, and after working 55 years as a federal employee, Fauci will enjoy a hearty retirement package that includes annual cost-of living adjustments, according to Forbes.

"Our auditors at OpenTheBooks.com estimate Dr. Fauci's annual retirement would exceed $350,000. Thereafter, his pension and benefits would continue to increase through annual cost-of-living adjustments," Forbes wrote.

Fauci was the highest compensated federal employee for a second year in a row, out earning the President of the United States and around 4.3 million colleagues.

In 2020, the most recent year the data was available, Fauci earned $434,312, up from $417,608 in 2019.

In retirement, Fauci will reportedly be awarded "80 percent" of his "high-3 average salary" plus credit for sick leave, according to the US Office of Personnel Management, for a federal employee of such a lengthy tenure.

But while Fauci will be awarded a handsome retirement package, the doctor has no plans to retire in the near future.

Speaking with ABC's "This Week" host Jonathan Karl on December 19, Fauci said that retirement will not come until the end of the pandemic.

"Do you feel a responsibility to stay doing what you're doing until this — until this has truly gotten under control? I mean, like I said, I think you're the hardest working person of any age, one of them in the country," said Karl.

"Absolutely, Jon. There's no doubt about it. This is the thing that I do. This is what I’ve been trained and experienced in doing my entire professional life," responded Fauci.

"There's no way I'm going to walk away from this until we get this under control. I mean, that's the purpose of what we do. That's— that's our mission in life. In the middle of it, I’m not going to walk away."

"You know, we're in a war, Jon. It's kind of like we're halfway through World War II, and you decide, well, I think I've had enough of this. I'm walking away," he added. "You can't do that. You've got to finish it—and we're going to finish this and get back to normal."