In Tip-Top Shape

While Congress attempts to tiptoe around the issue of federal raises, its most prominent pensioner has left the constraints of a Government salary far behind. Tip O'Neill in retirement is Tip O'Neill in clover. Had he stayed on as Speaker of the House, O'Neill, 74, would be earning $100,800. In retirement, he stands to rake in as much as $400,000 this year.

To supplement his $83,000 federal pension, O'Neill recently signed a contract to deliver six speeches a year at $20,000 each. He has a $1.5 million deal with Random House for his autobiography, which is due out this fall. He turned down invitations to join the boards of three major corporations. O'Neill has also spurned offers to appear in an American Express commercial and on Hollywood Squares, and to play a judge on Superior Court. Says he: "I am trying not to exploit the office of Speaker. If people are still interested in me in six months, then we might talk. But for right now, nothing."

However, O'Neill has been listening to his old golfing buddy Gerald Ford. The former President has proposed that they team up for celebrity tournaments, which have supplemented Ford's income since he left the White House in 1977. Tip is finding there's plenty of green outside the Beltway, and it isn't all on the golf course.