May 24, 2013
Former First Lady Mary Easley's state pension will more than double following an out-of-court settlement with North Carolina State University over her firing three years ago.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Saturday that the settlement effectively treats Easley as if she had been working at a salary of $170,000 since her 2009 dismissal.
Easley was hired in 2005 to run a university speaker's series, but her job was soon expanded with a controversial 88 percent pay increase that ultimately lead to the resignation of Chancellor James Oblinger.
Easley began receiving an annual state pension of $37,171 with credit for more than two decades of state service. The new settlement, signed in late August but not previously disclosed, gives Easley a pension benefit of $80,597 per year.
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