"Do members of Congress pay into our Social Security system? If so, how much of their pay goes in?" — Shirley Jones

"What if anything, do members contribute to their pension plan and what is the protocol for drawing a pension?" — Henry Rybczyk

"How much does a retired congressperson receive from 1. Social Security 2. the Congressional retirement plan, 3. all other sources?" — Harry Meinholtz

Contrary to a slew of Internet rumors, members of Congress do pay into Social Security and do so at the same amounts as they would if they were employed in the private sector.

Members also receive a congressional pension, the amount of which depends on the number of years a member served in Congress, the member's age at the time of retirement, and the member's salary.

Members of Congress did not participate in Social Security before 1984, however. 

The Social Security Amendments of 1983 (PL 98-21) made a number of significant changes to the Social Security system, including requiring that all members of Congress, the president and vice president, federal judges, and other executive-level political appointees participate in Social Security.

Before 1984 members and other federal employees were covered by a separate pension plan called the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), which had been created in 1920. 

That program had not been designed to coordinate with Social Security.  As a result, Congress to create a new retirement program for federal employees, leading to the enactment of the Federal Employees Retirement System Act of 1986 (PL 99-335).

Members of Congress elected before 1984 were allowed to remain in CSRS or change their coverage to FERS. All Members elected in 1984 or later are covered automatically under FERS, unless they opt out of that program. However, no matter what, they are all covered by Social Security.  

At present, members pay payroll taxes equal to 6.2 percent of the Social Security taxable wage base into the Social Security system. If Members are enrolled in CSRS or FERS, they pay a percentage of their salary into that pension fund as well.

Under both those programs, Members of Congress are eligible for a pensionat age 62 if they have completed at least five years of service, at age 50 if they have completed 20 years of service, or at any age if they have completed 25 years of service. 

The amount of that pension depends on years of service and the member's average peak salary.

Both programs also provide survivor benefits for the spouse and dependent children of deceased federal employees or retirees.

According to the Congressional Research Service, "as of Oct. 1, 2007, 435 retired Members of Congress were receiving pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service. Of this number, 286 had retired under CSRS and were receiving an average annual pension of $63,696. A total of 149 members had retired with service under both CSRS and FERS or with service under FERS only. Their average annual pension was $36,732 in 2007."

Major thanks to CRS for all this information and more. Check out their report yourself for more details. You can also see the page of the Office of Personnel Management(the federal government's version of an HR department) for details about the retirement plans and how benefits are calculated.

— Frances Symes, Congress.org

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