What does RET. mean on FEC filings?

RET. is the literal employer/occupation string on the filings in this cluster. It is commonly a truncation of retired, but LobbyVault does not recode it. The cluster totals $4,418,618 from 9,918 contributions and 698 donors. Full RETIRED spellings are other keys if stored separately.

How much have RET.-labeled filers given federally?

The RET. industry cluster totals $4,418,618 in itemized FEC contributions, from 9,918 contributions and 698 donors. The figure is that abbreviation only, not a NAICS code and not every retiree on FEC.gov. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.

Should I add this to a RETIRED industry total?

No. The packets do not identify overlap between RET. and other retired spellings. Adding unknown totals would double-count an unknown share. Treat RET. as its own $4,418,618 cluster. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.

How many unique RET. donors are there?

LobbyVault counts 698 donors and 9,918 contributions. Unique-donor count is matching disclosure text, not a count of retired Americans. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.

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RET. money in federal elections

Filers who entered RET. — a truncated occupation or employer string on federal campaign reports — account for $4,418,618 in itemized receipts on FEC.gov. LobbyVault counts 9,918 contributions and 698 donors. Mean gift size is about $446; mean per donor is about $6,330. The abbreviation is almost certainly “retired” truncated by a form or a treasurer, but the Commission stores the characters as typed. It is not a NAICS code and not a merge of every RETIRED spelling.

Key figures

RET. FEC strings sum to $4,418,618.
9,918 contributions came from 698 donors.
About $446 per gift and $6,330 per donor on a simple mean.
RETIRED and other spellings are not merged into this total.
The abbreviation is FEC free text, not NAICS.

Four characters, $4,418,618

Six hundred ninety-eight unique donors produced 9,918 contributions, about 14 itemized gifts per person—lower frequency than payroll-heavy employer strings. $4,418,618 ÷ 698 ≈ $6,330 per donor. RET. with a period is a different key from RET, RETIRED, and Retiree if ingest kept them separate. This page’s dollars belong to RET. only. Top employer matches RET.

Treasurers often abbreviate occupation to fit older paper schedules. The public record keeps the abbreviation. LobbyVault does not expand RET. into RETIRED on this industry page.

Do not combine with other retired strings

A full RETIRED industry page, if it exists, is a different slug with its own total. Adding that unknown total to $4,418,618 would invent a combined retiree figure the packet does not contain. Neighboring homemaker and AT HOME strings are likewise separate.

Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Occupation breakdowns may list retired and related titles under the occupation index.

What 9,918 contributions omit

No former employer, no age, no party, no cycle year. Recipients are on FEC.gov and on the RET. donor table.

Unique-donor count (698) is matching text, not a census of retirees.

Boundaries

The table is not AARP spending and not a Social Security statistic. $4,418,618 is itemized federal receipts tagged to RET. from FEC.gov via LobbyVault.

All industries lists other abbreviated self-report strings. Occupation breakdowns list related titles.

Source

Industry RET.; $4,418,618; 9,918 contributions; 698 donors; top employer RET. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault.

Use the RET. donor table for 698 unique donors, 9,918 itemized contributions, and $4,418,618. Unitemized gifts are omitted. RET, RETIRED, and Retiree can be other keys. LobbyVault does not expand the four-character abbreviation into RETIRED on this page. Occupation breakdowns list retired and related titles if those keys exist. All industries lists other abbreviated self-report strings. Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault. About 14 itemized gifts per person is lower frequency than payroll-heavy employer strings. Mean gift size about $446 and per-donor mean about $6,330 are arithmetic on the packet. This page does not treat $4,418,618 as AARP spending. The packet has no cycle year and no former-employer field. Combining unknown retired spellings would invent a combined figure. The 698 unique donors are matching text, not a census of retirees. Cite RET. with the period as stored on FEC.gov via LobbyVault.

Truncated RET. text versus spelled-out retired keys

RET. keyed $4,418,618 from 9,918 contributions and 698 donors. About 14 itemized gifts per person is lower frequency than payroll-heavy employer strings. Mean gift size about $446 and per-donor mean about $6,330 are arithmetic on the packet. Unitemized gifts are omitted. RET, RETIRED, and Retiree can be other keys. LobbyVault does not expand the four-character abbreviation into RETIRED on this page. The 698 unique donors are matching text, not a census of retirees. Top employer matches RET. Neighboring homemaker and AT HOME strings are likewise separate. Combining unknown retired spellings would invent a combined figure the packet does not contain. State filings are omitted.

Open the RET. donor table for names and committees. All industries lists other abbreviated self-report strings. Occupation breakdowns list retired and related titles if those keys exist. Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault. This page does not treat $4,418,618 as AARP spending or as a Social Security statistic. The packet has no cycle year and no former-employer field. Amendments can revise historical amounts. The four facts remain $4,418,618, 9,918 contributions, 698 donors, and top employer RET. Full RETIRED spellings remain other slugs. Cite FEC.gov as the source of the literal characters. Repeat the four facts when citing this page: $4,418,618, 9,918 contributions, 698 donors, top employer RET. Unitemized gifts remain omitted. The donor table, all industries, and occupation breakdowns are the only internal links this packet authorizes. Spelled-out RETIRED remains a different key if stored separately.

Questions

What does RET. mean on FEC filings?: RET. is the literal employer/occupation string on the filings in this cluster. It is commonly a truncation of retired, but LobbyVault does not recode it. The cluster totals $4,418,618 from 9,918 contributions and 698 donors. Full RETIRED spellings are other keys if stored separately.
How much have RET.-labeled filers given federally?: The RET. industry cluster totals $4,418,618 in itemized FEC contributions, from 9,918 contributions and 698 donors. The figure is that abbreviation only, not a NAICS code and not every retiree on FEC.gov. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.
Should I add this to a RETIRED industry total?: No. The packets do not identify overlap between RET. and other retired spellings. Adding unknown totals would double-count an unknown share. Treat RET. as its own $4,418,618 cluster. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.
How many unique RET. donors are there?: LobbyVault counts 698 donors and 9,918 contributions. Unique-donor count is matching disclosure text, not a count of retired Americans. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.

Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault.