The Homa Files

I’ve always wondered what retired members of the Congress and Senate got to live on when they retired.  Here’s the scoop:

* * * * *

Members of Congress are eligible for a pension at age 62 if they have completed at least five years of service. (Certain partial pay early options are also available)

The amount of the pension depends on years of service, an accrual rate (2.5%), and the average of the highest three years of salary.

For example, after 30 years of Congressional service and a high-3 average salary of $161,800, the initial annual Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension for a Member who retired in December 2006 at the end of the 109th Congress would be: 
                $161,800 x 30 x .025 = $121,350

Federal law limits the maximum CSRS pension that may be paid at the start of retirement to 80% of the Member’s final annual salary

The average annual pension for members of Congress who have retired under CSRS is $52,464.

Note: It’s unclear whether the qualifier is Congressional Service or civilian government service … both terms are used.

* * * * *

Source:
http://www.senate.gov/reference/common/faq/retirement_for_members.shtml

* * * * *

Want more from the Homa Files?
Click link =>  The Homa Files Blog

* * * * *

This entry was posted on August 28, 2008 at 6:24 am and is filed under Government & Politics, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.