Burris to Ride Into the Sunset Empty-Handed

Sen. Roland Burris, who was appointed to replace President Obama in the U.S. Senate and announced Friday that will not seek election to keep his seat, won't have much to celebrate at his retirement party.

Burris, 71, is at retirement age, but he won't get a congressional pension because he hasn't served in Congress long enough.

Lawmakers are eligible for a pension at 62 if they have served at least five years in the House and Senate combined. Burris was appointed to the Senate in late December by then Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Burris currently makes $174,000 a year as a senator. If he sought election next year and won a full term, he would have become eligible for a pension in 2013 of about $14,790, if his salary didn't increase.

Financial problems are what drove Burris to decide not to run. He had reportedly raised only about $20,000 in campaign funds and only $845 in the first quarter of this year.

In all likelihood, an empty retirement package probably avoids yet another political headache for Burris, who has been surrounded by controversy since his appointment.

When Blagojevich named him to replace Obama, the governor faced a federal probe into evidence he had tried to sell the seat to the highest bidder, among other corruption charges. Blagojevich was later ousted from office. Senate Democratic leaders initially objected to Burris' appointment, but they later accepted it under pressure. Burris is currently the only U.S. senator who is black.

Burris has denied paying for the appointment, but he has been alienated in the Senate following revelations that he had closer ties to Blagojevich's camp than he initially admitted.