How much do taxpayers pay to 'sexting' Rep.Anthony Weiner?

How much will US taxpayers pay for the 'retirement' of Representative Anthony Weiner, who decided to resign from the Congress in the wake of a damaging online sex scandal?

The amount he will get in retirement is close to one million dollars, according to reports.

The calculations made by the National Taxpayers Union suggest that Weiner could draw on pension and benefits worth more than $1 million in his lifetime.

Weiner was first elected in 1998 and was considering a run for New York mayor in 2013. He is 46 years old now.

He could receive $46,224 annually if he waits until age 62 to draw his pension, according to the USA Today. If he opts to receive it early, starting at age 56, he would receive $35,357 annually.

Weiner said in his resignation speech that the controversy that erupted following revelations about his lewd tweets and online sex escapades had become a distraction for his colleagues in the House. But he gave no hints of retiring into oblivion, but vowed to continue his work towards the betterment of society.

Earlier, Weiner had steadfastly refused to resign even when his lewd tweets and images made their way to Internet on a daily basis.Some of the images exhibit his naked body and private parts as Weiner held a camera to photograph himself. Fellow Democrats stepped up pressure on Weiner to resign, fearing his sexting scandal will affect the reputation of the party and its electoral fortunes.

Meanwhile, Weiner said he was taking some professional treatment and was on leave from the Congress. But more images surfaced on a daily basis, heaping embarrassment on his pregnant wife and ruining his hopes to weather the storm.

It also emerged that some of the lewd images were shot in the Congressional gym. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had called for an ethics probe on Weiner after it emerged that he had used Congressional phone lines to indulge in sex chats with a woman.

Weiner has admitted that he had inappropriate online relationships with six women. Transcripts of interactions with one woman, a casino worker from Las Vegas, revealed that he indulged in explicit sexual chat with her, online and on the phone.

Weiner's resignation will relieve the Democrats and the focus will now shift towards re-election for the vacant Congress seat.

Many theories are already circulating as to what Weiner will do now. Some observers say he would turn into a successful political commentator on TV, the way Eliot Spitzer rebuilt his career after a sex scandal ruined his public life. Others make a bizarre suggestion that he will run for his own Congress seat.