A question

[Doc]

When congresspeople are voted out of office, they gets certain benefits. What are the benefits and for how long do they get them? Thanks.

[Alaska Darin]

The new ones are under FERS. That means they need 5 years of service to be vested. The last thing I read was the average congress critter's retirement was about $60k

 

There is a formula but the max is 80% of the average of their 3 highest grossing years.

[BB27]

The new ones are under FERS. That means they need 5 years of service to be vested. The last thing I read was the average congress critter's retirement was about $60k

 

There is a formula but the max is 80% of the average of their 3 highest grossing years.

 

FERS (federal employee retirement system) is much less than 80%. I'm a FERS employee, and I'll be lucky to get 50% with 30 years of service. They may have a special retirement just for congress, I don't know. The old CSRS (civil service retirement system) was the one that you could get 80%. Some people in congress are probably old csrs employees so they get to retire in the old system. Anyone who came on in the mid 80's or later is in FERS.

 

A friend of mine just retired (He is CSRS) and he takes home $100 less a month than he did when he was working (bastard!). I wish I was CSRS!

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

A friend of mine just retired (He is CSRS) and he takes home $100 less a month than he did when he was working (bastard!). I wish I was CSRS!

 

Yes, because what the taxpayers DEFINITELY need is a whole class of people living off the dole for the rest of their lives.

[Alaska Darin]

FERS (federal employee retirement system) is much less than 80%. I'm a FERS employee, and I'll be lucky to get 50% with 30 years of service. They may have a special retirement just for congress, I don't know. The old CSRS (civil service retirement system) was the one that you could get 80%. Some people in congress are probably old csrs employees so they get to retire in the old system. Anyone who came on in the mid 80's or later is in FERS.

 

A friend of mine just retired (He is CSRS) and he takes home $100 less a month than he did when he was working (bastard!). I wish I was CSRS!

Thanks for the clarification.

[ExiledInIllinois]

FERS (federal employee retirement system) is much less than 80%. I'm a FERS employee, and I'll be lucky to get 50% with 30 years of service. They may have a special retirement just for congress, I don't know. The old CSRS (civil service retirement system) was the one that you could get 80%. Some people in congress are probably old csrs employees so they get to retire in the old system. Anyone who came on in the mid 80's or later is in FERS.

 

A friend of mine just retired (He is CSRS) and he takes home $100 less a month than he did when he was working (bastard!). I wish I was CSRS!

 

I am FERS also. I also know a few that are CSRS. I think some can convert to FERS if they want (I don't know why). The drawback with CSRS is that they will take money out of Social Security if the person applies for SS even if they have worked somewhere else and earned their SS credits (that is the only way they can apply for it anyway). I think there is a loophole there with marriage and divorce (married over 10 years) when collecting SS... :wallbash:

 

FERS is a 3 part plan:

 

1. Pension, which the employee kicks in about 1.5% every two weeks

2. TSP (Thift Savings Plan, ie: 401k) 1st 4% is matched, the next 1% is $.50 on a dollar... Everything after 5% is not matched.

3. SS

 

CSRS they can still put into TSP, they just don't get matching funds. At one time it was only 5%, now I think they can put in more.

 

CSRS will get all their sick leave on the books time credit towards retirement when they retire. Used to be FERS got nada, they lose it. Right now I have almost a year stacked up in sick leave. That has changed though:

"But retirement is a different story. Employees under the Civil Service Retirement System have received credit for their unused sick leave in the computation of their retirement benefit for the past several decades. And under the new law, FERS employees get credit for 50 percent of their sick leave if they retire before Jan. 1, 2014. After that they get credit for all their sick leave. The unused leave cannot be used to meet retirement eligibility requirements, but it does add some extra cash to your monthly retirement benefit."

CSRS employees don't pay into SS while working under that system... They do put in around 7% of their pay into the CSRS pension.

 

To clarify. For FERS employees the KEY is TSP. PUT THAT 15% to 20% IN TSP AND START EARLY!!

 

Yes, because what the taxpayers DEFINITELY need is a whole class of people living off the dole for the rest of their lives.

 

No. CSRS employees have to kick in around 7% of their basic pay into CSRS retirement. They get no SS unless they built credit in another job. Then like I said, that SS is limited against the CSRS pension they receive.

Edited September 23, 2010 by ExiledInIllinois

[ExiledInIllinois]

Anybody care to chime in about how much of their pay Fed employees actually put in to finance their own pensions?

 

Or did everybody think it was a free ride totally off the backs of the taxpayer.

 

Again, CSRS retirees do not collect SS unless they have worked the credit in another job... And when that is the case, their SS is lowered by their CSRS retirement.

 

On the real front, what about all the "doubling dipping" exec/professional type employees in the DoD.