Reply #10: Sorry - but this is an old Hoax - even Henry Hyde - below - debunks it! [View All]

The "Congressional retirement plan" is a bogus story. Congress gets the standard government retirement plan that everybody else in Washington gets. And, yes, they pay into it.
Go to the General Accounting Office and see for yourself.


Congressman Henry Hyde reply about Social Security
Q. "Our Senators and Congressmen don’t pay into Social Security, and of course, they don’t collect from it."
A. This statement is false. Public Law #98-21 required Social Security coverage for all Federal employees, including members of Congress, who entered Federal service after 1983. The law also required all incumbent Representatives and Senators to be covered by Social Security regardless of when they entered Congress.
Like all other workers covered by Social Security, Members of Congress have Social Security taxes withheld from their paychecks (6.2% of salary). Members of Congress also are subject to the same benefit eligibility and payment as other Social Security beneficiaries.
Q. "When they (Members of Congress) retire, they draw their same pay until they die, except that it may be increased from time to time, by cost of living adjustments."
A. This statement is false. When Members of Congress retire, resign or are not reelected, they no longer receive a salary. However, if eligible by age and years of service, they may receive a retirement annuity like other Federal employees. Annuities are calculated by a formula using their highest three years of salary, years of service and a accrual rate. As for other federal retirees, the annuities of Members of Congress are less than the salary they received while in office.The annual salary of a Member of Congress in 2000 is $ 141,300.
( For the sake of brevity The Absurd Report edited the balance of the reply, which dealt with formulas, laws, cost of living increases determined by CPI, etc.)
Q. "Former Senator Bradley, and his wife, may be expected to draw $ 7,900,000, with Mrs. Bradley drawing $ 275,000 during the last year of her life. This calculated on a average life span."
A. The figures in this statement appear to be highly exaggerated. Senator Bradley has 18 years of creditable federal service and is not eligible to began drawing his full federal annuity until he turns 60 in 2003
Based on an average highest three years of annual salary ($ 136,700), times years of service (18) times an accrual rate of 0.025, the Member would receive an annuity of $ 61,515 in 2003 (this amount would be reduced if the Member elected a survivor benefit for his wife). If the Member lived to age 90 in 2033, his annuity would be $ 149,529 (current life expectancy is 76.5), based on an annual 3% COLA.
During the 30-year period from 2003 to 2033, the Member would receive $ 3,018,244. If the Member elected a survivor annuity, which would reduced the amount listed in this example, his spouse would receive 35% of his final annuity of $ 149,529. Based on this calculation, the survivor benefit would be $ 80,040.
Q. "… they(Senator Bill Bradley and his wife) paid nothing in any kind of retirement, and neither does any other Senator or Congressmen."
A. This statement is false. Although Members of Congress participate in the same retirement systems as all other federal civilian employees, their contributions requirements are higher than for other civil service workers, and their retirement computations are more liberal than most others. This is because the average tenure of a Member of Congress is significantly shorter than other Federal employees.
(again , for the sake of brevity The Absurd Report edited the balance of the reply, which dealt with formulas, laws etc.)
Q. "This fine retirement comes right out of the General Revenue Fund: our tax money."
A. This statement omits crucial information about financing of the Federal retirement system. When Federal employees and their employing agencies make contributions to the CSRDF, such money is deposited in the general fund and a government security of equal value is created and credited to the CSRDF. These securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government and have the same standing as U.S. Savings Bonds. When funds are needed to pay retirement benefits, securities credited to the CSRDF are converted to cash with money from the general fund.
The circulating e-mail also attempts to make the reader forget that U.S. taxpayers are the employers of the Members of Congress and other Federal employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report that 97% of all medium and large employers in the United States pay for their employee retirement pension benefits without worker contributions.