McCain received disability pension of $58,358 in ‘07

Sen. John McCain has long said he is in robust health and is strong enough to hike in the Grand Canyon, but he is also receiving what his staff Monday termed a “disability pension” from the Navy.

When McCain released his tax return for 2007 on Friday, he separately disclosed that he received a pension of $58,358 that was not listed as income on his return.

On Monday, McCain’s staff identified the retirement benefit as a “disability pension” and said that McCain “was retired as disabled because of his limited body movements due to injuries as a POW.” McCain campaign strategist Mark Salter said Monday night that McCain was technically disabled. “Tortured for his country – that is how he acquired his disability,” Salter said.

Certain types of military and veterans pensions are either partially or completely tax exempt, depending on the seriousness of the disability. In McCain’s case, the exemption is 100 percent. If McCain had to pay taxes on the full amount of the pension, it would have increased his tax bill by roughly $18,000 based on the percentage of income he paid to the federal government.

McCain, who spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, was released in 1973 and returned home on crutches to begin a painful physical rehabilitation. He later regained flight status and commanded a Navy squadron before retiring from the service in 1981.

McCain would be the oldest man to enter the White House if he was elected president, and questions already have been raised about his health. McCain twice has developed melanoma, a potentially deadly form of skin cancer. That he is legally designated with a disability pension might raise further questions.

McCain shattered his knee and broke both arms when he was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967. In his autobiographies, McCain said his knee still bothers him in cold weather and he is unable to raise his hands above his shoulders.

Elmo Baker, a retired colonel and president of a Vietnam War prisoner of war group, said many former POWs are getting some type of military pension that is partly or fully tax free. Baker said he is receiving payments that are 70 percent tax free, “but I didn’t have as many injuries as McCain did.”

Many Vietnam POWs are receiving payment under a program known as “combat related special compensation,” which provides benefits and tax exemptions under a complex system, based on such factors as the type of injury and the years of service.

Paul Galanti, another former POW in the group, said that while McCain’s injuries were serious enough to qualify him for disability, it would not affect his performance as president.

“I don’t know of any physical requirements to be commander in chief,” Galanti said. “He would have a nice car to drive around in and a nice airplane to fly in.”