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Retirement benefits will vary dramatically for the three retiring northern Victorian MPs

By Ashley Darling

Jul 31, 2026

Wendy Lovell, Peter Walsh and Kim O’Keeffe will all retire at the next election.

The upcoming state election in November will see three politicians from northern Victoria retire from politics, but their post-service entitlements will vary dramatically.

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In 2004, the compensation for retiring politicians was overhauled, closing the previous pension scheme to any new members of the Victorian parliament and replacing it with superannuation payments.

State Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh and State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell both entered parliament in 2002, making them eligible for the old pension scheme.

They are entitled to a minimum of 50 per cent of their parliamentary allowance after eight years of service and this increases with extra years of service and time spent in ministerial positions or as office holders.

Mr Walsh and Ms Lovell have both spent time as ministers and will have served for 24 years each when they step down in November.

The upper limit is 75 per cent of their annual pay, meaning they will both receive at least $160,000 per year after they retire from politics.

State Member for Shepparton Kim O’Keeffe isn’t so lucky.

Ms O’Keeffe will not receive any additional payments in retirement, only benefiting from the 16 per cent superannuation contributions that she has received during her four years in office.

The salaries given to Victorian members of parliament are determined by the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal, which makes decisions independently of the government.