Q: I have a follow-up question to the Dec. 15 answer about congressional retirement. Is the formula for congressional retirement the same as for government employees?
—Richard Criswell, Monroe
A: Members of Congress are eligible for one of two pension systems, both of which are based on formulas like other federal government employees. Representatives and senators who were first elected in or after 1984 are automatically enrolled in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Those elected before 1984 were enrolled in the older Civil Service Retirement System and could choose to stick with that program or switch to the FERS.
“Because of the uncertain tenure of congressional service, FERS was originally designed, as CSRS had been, to provide a larger benefit for each year of service to members of Congress and congressional staff than to most other federal employees,” according to the Congressional Research Service.
That meant that until the passage of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, members and congressional staff could become eligible for retirement annuities at an earlier age and with fewer years of service than most federal employees, but they also paid a higher percentage of salary for their retirement benefits than other federal employees. Now, members and congressional staff first covered by FERS after Dec. 31, 2012, use the same benefit accrual rate and contribute the same percentage of their salary to the retirement system as other federal employees.
Today’s pension benefits formula for members entering FERS after Dec. 31, 2012, equals the product of their average annual salary for the three consecutive years of highest pay, their years of service and a 1 percent accrual rate for the first 20 years of service. (Annual benefits = High-3 salary x years of service x the .01 accrual rate). The accrual rate changes slightly after 20 years of service and is higher for those members who entered FERS before 2012 — 1.7 percent — and for members still using the CSRS — 2.5 percent.
Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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