Saving Medicaid & SS: Here's The Easy Solution

[stopbush]

Simply take away the current pension and retirement health care plans for every member of Congress and put them on Medicare and SS like the rest of us. Believe me, they'd fully fund the thing in a nanosecond...probably even raise the benefit levels to something livable.

[flamin lib]

1. Uh, they are on SS and Medicare just like us.

They also have a contributory retirement plan, but then you can open an IRA too if you want. Hey, it's your money, you can invest as much as you want after you buy food clothes and shelter.

[TexasSissy]

2. No, they're not. They have their own systems for those things.

They have their own health care plan, which doesn't end on retirement. And they have their own retirement package.

Now, some of them may have Soc Sec benefits coming from PRIOR work they did, when Soc. Sec. taxes were taken out of their paychecks and paid on their behalf. They don't lose that, when they become congresspeople.

[stopbush]

3. Sort of...

Salaries and Benefits of U.S. Congress Members

Rank & File Senators and Representatives make $158,100 a year  
 
The current salary for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $158,100 per year.  


• Members are free to turn down pay increase and some choose to do so.


• In a complex system of calculations, administered by the Office of Personnel Management, congressional pay rates also affect the salaries for federal judges and other senior government officials.


• During the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin considered proposing that elected government officials not be paid for their service. Other Founding Fathers, however, decided otherwise.


• From 1789 to 1815, members of Congress received only a per diem (daily payment) of $6.00 while in session. Members began receiving an annual salary in 1815, when they were paid $1,500 per year.   


Congress: Leadership Members' Salary (108th Congress)
Leaders of the House and Senate are paid a higher salary than rank-and-file members.

Senate Leadership
Majority Leader - $175,600 
Minority Leader - $175,600 

House Leadership 
Speaker of the House - $203,000
Majority Leader - $175,600
Minority Leader - $175,600 


• A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it.


Congress: Benefits
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 Member's 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.


Data compiled in 20034 showed 413 retired Members of Congress were receiving federal pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service. The average age of those retiring under CSRS was 75.5 and had at least 20 years of federal service. Those who retired under FERS had an average age of 68.3 years and 21.6 years of federal service. Their average retirement payment was $3,909 a month.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa031200a.htm

[TexasSissy]

4. Correction....sort of

I found this at www.yourcongress.com:

As far as Social Security goes, all members of Congress have Social Security taxes withheld from their salaries at the same rate as all taxpayers. Members of Congress can collect Social Security benefits, and their benefits are calculated the same way as everyone else's.
As far as retirement benefits are concerned, Members of Congress who were elected after January 1, 1984 participate in same retirement plan as all other federal employees -- the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). There is an older benefit plan, the old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), which has been phased out.

The retirement benefit for all Members is based on is the same methodology as used for any other federal employee, a percentage of the average of their three highest consecutive salaries times years of service. However, Members of Congress and Congressional employees are treated as a "special group," a category also given to firefighters, law enforcement officials, and air traffic controllers. While all the "special people" receive a higher basic benefit (1.7% - vs. 1% for all other federal employees), all the "special group" people - including Members of Congress - also contribute more from their payroll checks to help pay for the additional benefit.

***********************

(They have their own health care package, as well. It's a system for federal employees, I think, like their retirement program. It's not the same Medicare that the general public participates in. I know this from all the speeches I listened to during the debate on the Medicare Reform Act, the repeated references to Congress' version of Medicare.)