Amid Furor Over State Pensions, Congress Gets Much Bigger Ones

[sinkingfeeling]

http://www.truth-out.org/amid-furor-over-state-pensions-congress-gets-much-bigger-ones68474

For all the theater, members of Congress, regardless of party, aren't saying much about their own retirement plans, which are much more generous than those held by most Americans. In fairness, the nation's lawmakers hold responsibilities more comparable to top corporate executives than to average workers, but there's no available data on CEOs' retirement packages, which typically feature forms of compensation other than pensions, such as stock options.

That's not the only advantage Congress enjoys. The accrual rate, a calculation used to determine the rate at which a beneficiary accrues full retirement benefits, is much more generous for federal lawmakers than for most Americans.

Most pension plans have a rate of about 1.3 percent to 1.5 percent, according to Labor Department and academic data. Federal employees have an accrual rate of 1 percent for their pensions. However, members of Congress enjoy an accrual rate of 1.7 percent. That means they will retire with greater retirement benefits than those who have defined-benefit plans with lower accrual rates.

[nykym]

1. So how much would a

.7 cut in their plan amount to? Why should they get more than the average worker? I mean c'mon they get more time off than teachers (PS Teachers deserve the time off).

[WatsonT]

2. A really good PR move would be to introduce a bill

that would allow congressmen the option of giving this money instead to the governments of the state they represent.

[midnight]

3. Congressman Paul Ryan is big on getting rid of those entitlement programs....

So I'm real surprised that he is the recipient of the largest percentage of these entitlement programs... Perhaps instead of going after grandma's retirement benefits he can start instead with lowering his percentage to the level of the rest of the federal employees...

[elleng]

4. For information,

'Members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans available to other federal employees. They become vested after five years of full participation.

Members elected since 1984 are covered by the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). Those elected prior to 1984 were covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). In 1984 all members were given the option of remaining with CSRS or switching to FERS.

As it is for all other federal employees, congressional retirement is funded through taxes and the participants' contributions. Members of Congress under FERS contribute 1.3 percent of their salary into the FERS retirement plan and pay 6.2 percent of their salary in Social Security taxes.

Members of Congress are not eligible for a pension until they reach the age of 50, but only if they've completed 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62. Please also note that Members of Congress have to serve at least 5 years to even receive a pension.

The amount of a congressperson's pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest 3 years of his or her salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member's retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary.'

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

5. And a little more to chew on . . .

In 2011, the current annual salary for rank-and-file members of Congress is $174,000. The Majority Leader and Minority Leader in both houses get $193,400. The Speaker of the House takes home a cool $223,500 each year. link

A "new" Congress lasts for two years, and begins when the members of the House of Representatives are sworn in.

So just when does Congress work? For most of us, a "work year" is 260 days. Congress, however, plays by different rules. For example, each member gets "travel days" to return to their district or state on the weekends. For this reason there are no votes scheduled on Fridays or Mondays (travel days). There are also no votes scheduled before 6:30 pm Tuesdays. Given that voting is a principal activity of Congress, this is one way to measure a work period. By this standard each congressman works two and one-half days each week.

But...

There are also "recess" days, which are in addition to normal holidays. When everything is added up, a congressman works 137 of each 365 days each year -- 37.5% So while the rest of us work 260 days a year, Congress works 137 -- 52.6% of the average American's work year. link

A congressman takes home $1,270 each day he shows up for work.

re: Teachers. The more negative comments I read about teachers it seems to boil down to this: (1) they only work 180 days a year; (2) they get paid a lot (between $55,000 and $95,000, depending on your source); (2) they get a pension; (3) they have medical benefits; (4) they have tenure (although it's rarely spelled out what it is); (5) they belong to a union; (6) a union is inherently bad, its members greedy, its leadership corrupt, and the Democratic Party is in their pocket (the Democratic Party being itself inherently evil), and (7) the taxpayer is on the hook for the whole shebang.

The question they are asking (or are told to ask by the Koch brothers) is, "How can we drag teachers down to our level?" rather than "How do I get what they have?" The answer to the latter is the same one that has been there for nearly a century; one which literally at times fought for the 40 hour week, 2 weeks vacation, medical care, pensions, overtime pay and better working conditions. You form and be active in a union.

Ouch!

I strongly believe that the "grassroots" movement against teachers and public service unions is astro-turf paid for by the Koch brothers, etc. It's to their benefit to have an uneducated workforce, or at least minimally competent only in math and English, which NCLB focuses on and which charter schools and TFA instant teachers can "teach." It's a production line for creating Aldous Huxley's Deltas, who are bred to do menial tasks and be the ultimate consumers. Eliminate the arts, geography and civics in school and glorify sports and you've got a group of worker bees who don't question their place in life, and are voracious consumers of corporate products.

"Oh, what a Brave New World . . ."