Times-Union readers want to know:
A friend told me that she read on the Internet that members of Congress who only serve one term get full pay. Is that true?
FactCheck.org also recently was asked about congressional pay again and, with the 115th Congress now in session, it decided to do an updateon pension and health benefits for former members.
Members of Congress never receive full pay as a pension when they leave office, no matter if they serve one term or several, FactCheck.org reports.
The basic eligibility for a pension is the following, according to a June 13 report from the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan research arm of Congress:
"Members of Congress are eligible for a pension at the age of 62 if they have completed at least five years of service. Members are eligible for a pension at age 50 if they have completed 20 years of service, or at any age after completing 25 years of service. The amount of the pension depends on years of service and the average of the highest three years of salary. By law, the starting amount of a member's retirement annuity may not exceed 80 percent of his or her final salary."
As FactCheck.org notes, that means that members of the House of Representatives - who are up for reelection every two years - would not be able to collect pensions of any amount if they only served one term. U.S. senators, on the other hand, serve six-year terms and would be able to collect pensions after one full term. But the pensions wouldn't equal their full salaries.
FactCheck.org gives these examples:
¦ Kay Hagan, the North Carolina senator who lost her bid for a second term, finished one six-year term. She will turn 62 this year, and be eligible for a pension of about $16,000, according to the conservative National Taxpayers Union. Hagan's pension would be a little more than 9 percent of her most recent salary of $174,000, the amount paid to rank-and-file House and Senate members.
¦ Retiring Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, 75, whoserved 30 years in the Senate after 10 years in the House, will be eligible for a starting pension of $125,000. His retirement pay would be almost 71 percent of his final salary, but most other members get far less than that.
FactCheck.org quotes the Congressional Research Service as showing that, as of Oct. 1, 2013, there were 367 former Congress members who had retired under the Civil Service Retirement System, the old system that was criticized for its large pensions. Those members received an average annual pension of $71,664. The pensions of the 250 former members who retired under the Federal Employees Retirement System, which began in 1987, averaged $42,048 in 2013, CRS said.
Also, pension benefits for members aren't calculated by adding together previous salary amounts. Benefits are determined by the average annual salary for the three consecutive years of highest pay, the number of years served under a member's pension plan and the "accrual rate" at which benefits accumulate for each year of service, FactCheck.org reports.
Although viral emails put House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's retirement pension at $803,700, that simply isn't true.
Pelosi, who has been in Congress since 1987 and who will turn 75 this year, would receive 1.7 percent for her first 20 years, and 1 percent for each year after.
FactCheck.org reports that CRS shows that it would take at least 66 years of service before Pelosi could retire and immediately begin receiving even 80 percent of $221,467, the average of her highest three years of salary.
Pelosi would get a generous pension when she retires, but it's not going to be $803,700.
Those viral pension emails also incorrectly say that members of Congress receive free health care in office or upon retirement.
Insurance coverage for members of Congress switched from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program - government-subsidized private insurance plans that cover federal employees and retirees - to the health care exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. House and Senate members must buy a plan under the small-business health options program to receive a government contribution toward their health coverage, FactCheck.org notes.
Some congressional retirees, will still be eligible to get insurance through the FEHB program if they meet certain criteria, such as continuous enrollment in a health plan offered under that program.
But under no retirees' program is the health coverage free. On average, the government pays 72 percent of the premiums for its workers, up to a maximum of 75 percent depending on the policy chosen, FactCheck.org reports. The federal workers pay the rest.
Carole Fader: (904) 359-4635
