I am sick of this lie that is circulating that Congress persons get some sort of special Retirement

[ThomWV]

I posted this as a reply in another thread, but I want to put it out here all by itself. The reason is because in the last week I've received a dozen E-Mails all telling the same story. It is a story that I have seen repeated here more than once and its one I hear people call in to Cspan every morning - and it is a lie. Every bit of it is a lie created by the Republican Noise Machine to cause people to hate Government.

The lie is that Congressmen and women do not pay into Social Security, that they have a special pension plan that lets them have full retirement after a term or two in office, that somehow they have fully paid medical coverage at no cost, and a whole horde of other bald faced lies.

This utter nonsense about Congress getting some sort of great and special pensions and not paying into Social Security and being able to get some sort of full pension after just a term or two of service is not only pure horseshit but its also nothing less than a whole bunch of Democrats acting as the Loudspeaker for the Republican noise machine that has created these filthy fabrications.

Every single bit of it is lies. Congress gets exactly the same retirement benefits and they are accrued exactly the same was as for every other Federal Employee. Your Congressman has the same retirement plan as the Clerk in your local Social Security Office, the same as the USDA meat inspector that graded your hamburger, the same as a researcher at the NIH.

They all belong to the Federal Employees Retirement System, just like every other Federal Employee. They all pay into Social Security, just like every other Federal Employee (hired after 1986 I believe it was). And yes they get a pension that can be drawn on at age 55, but at that age its payout would be minuscule

Come on people, use your brains. If you see something that makes you hate Government or any part of it you might want to find out the truth before you start shouting the horseshit from the rooftops.

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. They can collect their pension starting at age 55. Us at age 67.

Fix that and we'll talk.

[ThomWV]

4. That is such a bullshit line

If you were to retire at the age of 55 from the Federal Government your retirement check would not be enough to pay for the Government Health Insurance that is also the subject of continious lies.

Get a life, its a portable retirement account that you have to sick with just like any other large companies to get any sort of payout. As an personal example, I worked for the Federal Government for almost 30 years, and my retirement check, after I pay for my health insurance and life insurace is less than $300 a month. You want to know how much it would have been if I had walked out the door at 55? It would have been $0.00, I would have had to send them money every month.

[Bluenorthwest]

14. I generally agree with the point you are going for, but....

When you say 'if you were to retire at 55' that is one hell of a large window. Who is 'you'? How much does 'you' make? The same as a Senator? One term is a million plus in earnings. At 50K a year, that is 20 years to make that million. A two term Senator has paid in on income equal to 40 years of 50k a year work. So if 'you' retire at 55 that's one thing, but if a two term Senator does so, quiet another. Of course, the Senator is in the same boat as all the other Federal employees who make over 170k a year. Are there lots of those? Is that the average? 170K plus benefits?

[Bluenorthwest]

8. They can collect at 50 with 20 years in. They are vested in 5

which means a Senator of one term is in fact vested. They can collect at any age with 25 years in, and at 62 with any amount of years of service. The average size is about 60,000 a year.

[SmileyRose]

9. UAW workers can (or could) retire at 46.

under the 30 years and out provision. Though not common, there have been at some point in time workers start earning pension credits at 16 yrs old -- 30 and out means they have the option to retire at 46. But like the federal workers who CAN access their pensions at 55, it's unlikely a 46 yr old union "retiree" would be able to afford to NOT work at something else.

[mysuzuki2]

2. And, like every other federal employee they need 30 years

of service to qualify for a pension at age 55 - this is unlikely. They get the same health insurance choices too. Family coverage for blue cross/blue shield currently runs about $500/month.

[CountAllVotes]

6. for the average two-bit Federal worker

a job with the Feds is hell going nowhere fast and you are right -- the highly touted benefits aren't there -- no dental care, no vision care -- Kaiser HMO or bust! :argh:

[CountAllVotes]

3. I bailed on the Federal government

and yes, you are right. I left in 1985 and collected my "pension" -- monies I had paid into their system for the 10 years.

Being I had a real shit job I got out of the crap job with $6,000.00 which was promptly spent on something I never had -- a car.

It changed to what it is now after 1985 when Reagun was re-elected. :puke:

You have to have 30 years in to get that pension at 55 which would men you been working for them since age 25 or so.

I couldn't take it!

[Zoigal]

5. Yes, but do other fed employees have their own gyms, dining rooms,

doctors, and other perks available? And many of them
probably work as hard as senators and reps.......z

[elleng]

18. Some do.

[Angry Dragon]

7. What is the percentage of private sector jobs that have a pension??

[ThomWV]

13. Who gives a fuck? How many private firms employ over 100,000 people in every field?

[Angry Dragon]

15. I guess it might matter to the people that do not work for a government

I am glad you are so concerned with congress getting all they deserve and to hell with anybody else.
Unless I am not understanding you correctly...........

[grasswire]

10. snopes

http://www.snopes.com/politics/socialsecurity/pensions.asp

[elleng]

11. and they're not entitled to Social Security upon retirement for their years

as Fed Gov 'ee if they began Fed employment prior to 1987, 'just' their pensions, and any SocSec earned prior to Fed employment.
(I'm a retired Fed 'ee, in the 'old' CSRS Fed retirement system, which is not related to investments in stock market as are 'new' ones.)

'New' system:

FERS is a retirement plan that provides benefits from three different sources: a Basic Benefit Plan, Social Security, and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Two of the three parts of FERS (Social Security and the TSP) can go with you to your next job if you leave the Federal Government before retirement. The Basic Benefit and Social Security parts of FERS require you to pay your share each pay period. Your agency withholds the cost of the Basic Benefit and Social Security from your pay as payroll deductions. Your agency pays its part too. Then, after you retire, you receive annuity payments each month for the rest of your life.

The TSP part of FERS is an account that your agency automatically sets up for you. Each pay period your agency deposits into your account amount equal to 1% of the basic pay you earn for the pay period. You can also make your own contributions to your TSP account and your agency will also make a matching contribution. These contributions are tax-deferred. The Thrift Savings Plan is administered by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

http://www.opm.gov/retire/pre/fers/index.asp

[pinboy3niner]

12. C-Span info on this:

When are Members of Congress considered vested and eligible to receive a pension? And how much is that pension? Monticello, Arkansas


Members who have participated in the congressional pension system are vested after 5 years of service. A full pension is available to Members 62 years of age with 5 years of service; 50 years or older with 20 years of service; or 25 years of service at any age. A reduced pension is available depending upon which of several different age/service options is chosen. If Members leave Congress before reaching retirement age, they may leave their contributions behind and receive a deferred pension later.


How much they receive depends on a complicated formula based on when they joined Congress, how old they are at the time of retirement, how many years of service they had at the time of retirement (including previous military or other federal service), their salary, and which pension option they chose when they enrolled. In any case, a Member's pension amount may not exceed 80% of his/her salary upon retirement.


Since January 1, 1984, all Members of Congress also participate in the Social Security system and are required to pay Social Security taxes.

...


More:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010330001834/http://www.c-span.org/questions/weekly68.htm

Snopes and other factcheck sites also have pages responding to (and debunking) the propaganda email messages that continue to be passed around. (grasswire provides some snopes info above.)

[annabanana]

16. When times are good, no one WANTS a federal job..

When times get tough EVERYONE does. This says more about the private sector than it does about the public.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

17. I think the issue is not what kind of retirement govt elected officials get...

It's that Repuke govt officials complain about govt being too big, about govt stealing too much money, but they're sure taking everything the govt position hands out.

Repukes are such shitheads.