Thank you for contacting me regarding the information you have received about congressional pensions. I am glad to have the benefit of your views on this issue.
All Members of Congress pay into Social Security and most are eligible for a pension. Congressional pensions are currently calculated by three variables, the average of the three years of highest paid salary, the number of years of service, and the accrual rate. These variables, along with the inability to project how long a member will live and the fluctuation in cost of living, make it almost impossible to project how much a retired Member of Congress would receive in pension payments in a lifetime. Members that served for at least five years are eligible to receive pension when they reach the age of 62. In Fiscal Year 2006, 413 retired Members of Congress were receiving pensions. Of these, 290 were under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). The average length of service for these members was twenty years and the received an average of $60,972. During that same time, there were 123 Members of Congress under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), receiving an average of $35,952 a year for about sixteen years of service.
It is important to note that Members of Congress serving after 1984 (when the FERS plan took affect) do pay into Social Security. Members elected prior to 1984 were given the option of switching their enrollment to FERS or remaining in CSRS. However, even those members who elected not to change to FERS were required to begin paying into Social Security.
Thank you for allowing me to be of service. Please contact me if I can ever assist you.
With best wishes, I am
Sincerely yours,
Roger F.Wicker
U.S. Senate
I not quite as bad as I thought it was.
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