Derek Chauvin remains eligible for $1 million taxpayer-funded pension following George Floyd's death, his termination

Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin is still eligible to receive a $1 million pension despite his purported role in the death of George Floyd, according to a Friday CNN report.

What are the details?

Chauvin, who faces charges of second-degree murder in the May 25 death of Floyd, remains incarcerated, but could still benefit from a partially taxpayer-funded pension plan.

A spokesperson for the Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association told the outlet that Chauvin, 44, would "remain eligible to file for his pension as early as age 50."

"Neither our Board nor our staff have the discretion to increase, decrease, deny, or revoke benefits," the spokesperson added. "Any changes to current law would need to be done through the legislative process."

CNN estimates that Chauvin would "likely be eligible for annual payments in the ballpark of $50,000" per year or even more if he opted to begin receiving disbursements by age 55.

"The benefits could stretch to $1.5 million or more over a 30-year period, not including any cost of living increases," the outlet noted.

Neither the Minneapolis mayor's office nor the police department responded to CNN's request for comment.

Can pensions be revoked?

Even though Chauvin is facing murder charges, pensions like Chauvin's are nearly impossible to revoke due to public employment contracts, the outlet noted.

"Less than half of states have laws that allow for pensions to be taken away from police who were convicted of any kind of felony," the outlet adds, citing a 2017 study published in the Journal of Law, Economics, and Policy, "while other states allow pensions to be taken away for specific crimes like corruption or sexual crimes against minors, but not for the conviction of an officer using excessive force."

One of the study's authors, D. Bruce Johnsen, said that losing a pension over misconduct is generally "pretty rare."

Johnson, a law professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, added, "With this terrible tragedy it might be a good time to push in this direction."