Robert, et al,
It is a good idea to check some of these things out at http://www.snopes.com
or one of the other myth de-bunkers. Congressmen are certainly overpaid, but
not as much as this bit would like you to believe. Here is Snopes' response:
Origins: This piece has been circulating on the Internet since April 2000.
So much of it is outdated, inaccurate, or misleading, it's difficult to know
where to begin.
a.. It is not true that Congressmen do not pay into the Social Security
fund. They pay into the fund just as most everyone else does. (A few odd
exceptions to the Social Security program still exist, both inside and
outside of government.)
b.. It was true prior to 1984 that Congressmen did not pay into the Social
Security fund because they participated in a separate program for civil
servants (the Civil Service Retirement System, or CSRS), but that program
was closed to government employees hired after 1983:
In 1983, Public Law 98-21 required Social Security coverage for federal
civilian employees first hired after 1983 and closed the Civil Service
Retirement System (CSRS) to new federal employees and Members of Congress.
All incumbent Members of Congress were required to be covered by Social
Security, regardless of when they entered Congress. Members who had
participated in CSRS before 1984 could elect to stay in that plan in
addition to being covered by Social Security or elect coverage under an
'offset plan' that integrates CSRS and Social Security. Under the CSRS
Offset Plan, an individual's contributions to CSRS and their pension
benefits from that plan are reduced ('offset') by the amount of their
contributions to, and benefits from, Social Security.
c.. It is not true that Congressmen "continue to draw their same pay,
until they die." The size of their pensions is determined by a number of
factors (primarily length of service, but also factors such as when they
joined Congress, their age at retirement, their salary, and the pension
options they chose when they enrolled in the retirement system) and by law
cannot exceed 80% of their salary at the time of their retirement.
d.. The figures given as an example for Senator Bradley (or Senator Byrd,
or Congressman White, depending upon which version one reads) - $7,900,000
over the course of his and his wife's lifetime, culminating in a top payout
of $275,000 - are simply outrageous amounts with no basis in reality. There
is no conceivable way Senator Bradley (or any other Congressman) could draw
anywhere near that amount of money though the Congressional pension plan.
e.. It is not true that Congressmen "paid nothing in on any kind of
retirement," and that their pension money "comes right out of the General
Fund." Whether members of Congress participate in the older Civil Service
Retirement System or the newer Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS),
their pensions are funded through a combination of general tax provisions
and contributions from the participants. Right now, members of Congress in
the FERS plan must pay 1.3% of their salary to FERS and 6.2% in Social
Security taxes.
f.. As of 1998, the average annuity for retired members of Congress was
$50,616 for those who retired under CSRS and $46,908 for those who retired
under FERS. Not bad, but not the highway robbery this piece makes it out to
be.
|