Rudy Giuliani says he regrets not having pension as he faces devastating $148m legal payout

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said he regrets not taking a city pension now that he's facing a $148m civil court payout for defaming a pair of Georgia election workers.

The former mayor has since filed for bankruptcy, according to the New York Post.

Empire Centre for Public Policy, a taxpayer watchdog group in New York, found no evidence of Mr Giuliani ever filing to receive a pension.

Had he applied, he would have been eligible for approximately $26,000 per year once he turned 62.

The former mayor would have an extra $442,000 in his coffers if he had applied for a pension.

When The New York Post asked him why he never took a pension, he suggested he was "giving back to the city I love."

"Although I would like to take it now," he added.

The former mayor then admitted that he also didn't "know how to go about it."

He also is not receiving a federal pension for the time he spent working as Manhattan's US Attorney and for other government work he performed.

When Mr Giuliani left office in 2001, it was with a reputation for cleaning up the city and for shepherding New Yorkers through the 9/11 terror attacks. He was known as "America's Mayor" and had multiple multi-million dollar book deals.

In an example of at least one act of foresight by Mr Giuliani, the former mayor paid into the city's deferred compensation plan, which he estimates as representing between $50,000 to $100,000, according to a campaign disclosure from 2007, when he was planning an ultimately doomed presidential bid.

Most former mayors have taken pensions, with the notable exception being Michael Bloomberg, who did not accept a salary or a pension because he was already a billionaire.

While he may not have a pension, Mr Giuliani does have an X/Twitter account, and it appears he intends to juice it for cash in the new year.

"Do yourself and me a big favor and join our premier program America’s Mayor Confidential so we become a close knit team for 2024. Go to @RudyWGiuliani on X and subscribe for $10 per month so we can be an army by mid-next year," the former mayor wrote on X/Twitter on Monday. "Only for those who accept the responsibility to re-establish our constitutional rights and pass on to future generations an even greater America than we were given.”