State reviewing Jerry Sandusky's pension

Photo by Mary Wilson/witf

(Harrisburg) -- Pennsylvania's public employee pension system says it will review the status of Jerry Sandusky's pension now that he has been sentenced in the child sexual abuse scandal.

A spokeswoman for the State Employees' Retirement System says the agency will decide whether Sandusky's conviction on 45 sexual abuse counts has triggered forfeiture of his pension. The former Penn State defensive coordinator was sentenced Tuesday to at least 30 years in prison.

Sandusky's lawyer, Karl Rominger, contends the pension system has no legal grounds for revoking Sandusky's pension. He says Sandusky will fight any attempt to do so.

Sandusky's pension is a reported $59,000 per year. He also collected a $148,000 lump sum payment when he retired from the university in 1999.