Congressional Pensions. Yes or No

[racer254]

I think we should get rid of them.   Here is just an example of what John Boehner gets plus I believe he gets SS as well.

John Boehner is fond of telling stories of how he rose from mopping floors at his family’s bar to being speaker of the House—literally a rags to riches tale, in the finest American fashion.

A reader writes in to ask what retirement benefits Boehner will receive now that he’s handing over the speaker’s gavel and leaving Congress. Suffice it to say, Boehner won’t have to go back to mopping floors at Andy’s Cafe unless he wants to do so. He has long had close ties to lobbyists, and if he chose to go to K Street he could easily make seven figures. Even Boehner’s former Majority Leader Eric Cantor, ignominiously defeated in a primary election, scored a base compensation of $1.6 million, including salary and signing bonus, this year. But Boehner’s loyalists say they don’t think he’ll do that, and the man himself says he has no idea what his plans are.

So what would Boehner make in pension for being in Congress?

The Congressional Research Service has a useful paper on this topic if you really want to nerd out on it. Here’s the short version: Anyone who serves at least five years in Congress is eligible for a pension, and everyone is generally required to pay into both it and Social Security. (A few members, including former Representative Ron Paul and current members Ron DeSantis and Thomas Massie, opt out, but it’s rare.) The amount members receive depends on both their salary in the House or Senate and how long they served.

Here’s the relevant formula for Boehner, based on when he entered Congress, in 1991. (Members who joined earlier or later may be subject to slightly different calculations, as explained in the CRS report.)

• 1.7% of your high-3 average salary multiplied by your years of service as a Member of Congress or Congressional Employee which do not exceed 20, PLUS
• 1% of your high-3 average salary multiplied by your years of other service

“High-3 salary” is the highest salary a member made in three consecutive years. For Boehner, that’s the speaker’s salary of $223,500. My back-of-the-envelope calculation comes up with an annual pension for Boehner of about $86,600, depending on how precisely you calculate his service time.

Boehner is 65 and will turn 66 on November 17, shortly after he leaves the House. At that point he could also begin drawing a full Social Security benefit on top of the pension. (Beware of false claims about congressional pensions, probably forwarded to you by your well-meaning but Snopes-unaware aunt via chain email.)

The case for why members of Congress should receive pensions is fairly simple. First, they worked for it, in some cases forfeiting higher paydays to serve, though your mileage may vary from member to member. Second, making sure that members are taken care of helps to avoid creating untoward temptations for corruption for members concerned about providing for themselves. Presidential pensions were introduced in 1958 because Harry S Truman was suffering financial difficulties, and Congress found this did not match the dignity of his former office. The case against is equally simple: Do they really deserve this on top of their taxpayer-funded salary, especially in a time when most members of Congress are millionaires?

A few members have lost their pensions. A member can forfeit a pension by committing one of several felonies, including bribing a public official, acting as a foreign agent, wire fraud, and racketeering. But that rule dates only to 2007, making it too late to deprive Duke Cunningham, the California Republican convicted of taking bribes, nor convicted felon and Star Trek enthusiast Jim Traficant, the late Ohio Democrat.

https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2015/10/what-kind-of-pension-will-john-boehner-collect/408547/

Edited August 17, 2017 by racer254

[SnowRider]

Red herring for the Mouthbreathers.  It's a nonissue in the whole scheme of things except if you're as dumb as Doe Dumber. 

[Sleepr2]

Funny how the Atlantic forgot to mention tax dodging/ treasonous Kerry

[Carlos Danger]

I would rather double their pensions and ban them from any kind of lobbying after their stay.

[01mxz800]

3 hours ago, SnowRider said:

Red herring for the Mouthbreathers.  It's a nonissue in the whole scheme of things except if you're as dumb as Doe Dumber. 

figures you would be for giving them salaries for life even if only served 1 term, you are by far the dumbest mother fucking work from home telemarketer on the fucking planet

[racer254]

13 hours ago, 01mxz800 said:

figures you would be for giving them salaries for life even if only served 1 term, you are by far the dumbest mother fucking work from home telemarketer on the fucking planet

Pathetic, but I knew how he would answer even before I started the subject.  The failure to understand that it is about more than the $$$ in this case is beyond his thought process.    derp derp derp.

Edited August 18, 2017 by racer254

[ActionfigureJoe]

something else for the trump klan to use as a distraction. 

[Snoslinger]

the problem isn't congressman getting pensions, it's many other americans not getting them these days. racer is always focused on the wrong issues.

 

[racer254]

3 minutes ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

something else for the trump klan to use as a distraction. 

Oh really.  Funny, but I didn't need some current talking point, gotcha article in DUH, CNN, or FOX to come up with a topic here.  Unlike mc, slinger, snowbeavis or any other of the resident minions.

[Snoslinger]

13 hours ago, 01mxz800 said:

figures you would be for giving them salaries for life even if only served 1 term, you are by far the dumbest mother fucking work from home telemarketer on the fucking planet

I think you should read the OP before commenting

 

[racer254]

2 minutes ago, Snoslinger said:

the problem isn't congressman getting pensions, it's many other americans not getting them these days. racer is always focused on the wrong issues.

 

You don't have a clue what issue I am focused on nitwit, go back to complaining about trump, it's just what the established politicians in DC want.

[Snoslinger]

Just now, racer254 said:

You don't have a clue what issue I am focused on nitwit, go back to complaining about trump, it's just what the established politicians in DC want.

but I do. I read your posts for the comedy value

 

[Edmo]

3 minutes ago, Snoslinger said:

the problem isn't congressman getting pensions, it's many other americans not getting them these days. racer is always focused on the wrong issues.

 

What's wrong with 401k's? Anyone with a minimum understanding of markets at our age should have 7 figures by now if you started in your 20's.

[racer254]

1 minute ago, Snoslinger said:

but I do. I read your posts for the comedy value

 

Go back to talking about nazis, racism, abortion, transgender, homeless, hungry kids, you know all those nice little liberal "problems".   Let those establishment Washington elites tell you how and what to concentrate on.  It suits you better when you have the DUH and the DNC giving you talking points.

[Snoslinger]

3 minutes ago, Edmo said:

What's wrong with 401k's? Anyone with a minimum understanding of markets at our age should have 7 figures by now if you started in your 20's.

they're too vulnerable and could be gone in a flash. you think we have problems now, with many retirees putting a lot of their pension money into the economy? wait another decade or so when people start retiring without a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.

 

[Snoslinger]

2 minutes ago, racer254 said:

Go back to talking about nazis, racism, abortion, transgender, homeless, hungry kids, you know all those nice little liberal "problems".   Let those establishment Washington elites tell you how and what to concentrate on.  It suits you better when you have the DUH and the DNC giving you talking points.

while you solve the countries problems by fixing congressional pensions

 

[Mainecat]

1 hour ago, Snoslinger said:

they're too vulnerable and could be gone in a flash. you think we have problems now, with many retirees putting a lot of their pension money into the economy? wait another decade or so when people start retiring without a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.

 

Tent cities

[Snoslinger]

funny how pensions being a thing of the past, and making the corporate world MUCH more money, isn't talked about at all. instead, we have dipshits like racer crying that some clowns in DC get them. the corporate world is laughing all the way to the bank. pensions gone, taxes dropped, wages stagnated, bennies dropping....

 

[racer254]

Like I said, you have no clue what the underlying issue is.  But at least I have the topic started that isn't what the DNC pushed lately

[Mainecat]

1 hour ago, Snoslinger said:

funny how pensions being a thing of the past, and making the corporate world MUCH more money, isn't talked about at all. instead, we have dipshits like racer crying that some clowns in DC get them. the corporate world is laughing all the way to the bank. pensions gone, taxes dropped, wages stagnated, bennies dropping....

 

Its their problem to deal with in 40 years. The biggest problem with the Republicans is they never think past next Tuesday.

[Edmo]

14 minutes ago, Snoslinger said:

they're too vulnerable and could be gone in a flash. you think we have problems now, with many retirees putting a lot of their pension money into the economy? wait another decade or so when people start retiring without a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.

 

Gone in a flash!  We just went through the worst crash in our lifetime and it came back in a couple years. If you don't have a pot to piss in its your own fault.

[racer254]

1 minute ago, Mainecat said:

Its their problem to deal with in 40 years. The biggest problem with the Republicans is they never think past next Tuesday.

Lets push a bunch of SNAP programs, all kinds of free money, free education, and allow them to be able to stay on mommy's and daddy's healthcare until 26, that should really get people thinking about their retirement.  The more liberals can push the government welfare, the less responsible people have to be for their own welfare.  Democrats own that mentality.  Way to go, make as many people depend on the government tit, all under the guise of compassion.  That should really make people think about their well being later in life.  Wait, I thought we were talking about congress and their pensions.  HA

[Edmo]

7 minutes ago, racer254 said:

Lets push a bunch of SNAP programs, all kinds of free money, free education, and allow them to be able to stay on mommy's and daddy's healthcare until 26, that should really get people thinking about their retirement.  The more liberals can push the government welfare, the less responsible people have to be for their own welfare.  Democrats own that mentality.  Way to go, make as many people depend on the government tit, all under the guise of compassion.  That should really make people think about their well being later in life.  Wait, I thought we were talking about congress and their pensions.  HA

I don't need anyone to hold my hand, I'd rather it be me making investment decisions. Good luck collecting on some of these pensions, a lot of them are severely underfunded.

[Snoslinger]

13 minutes ago, Edmo said:

Gone in a flash!  We just went through the worst crash in our lifetime and it came back in a couple years. If you don't have a pot to piss in its your own fault.

talk to all the people who lost a shit load of money not too long ago and ask them how fast they think it went....

another crash could be right around the corner. luckily for us, the last situation was handled quite well. the next time, perhaps not. I don't 100% agree with your last statement. were the people who lost their "pot to piss in" not too long ago at fault?

 

[Snoslinger]

15 minutes ago, racer254 said:

Lets push a bunch of SNAP programs, all kinds of free money, free education, and allow them to be able to stay on mommy's and daddy's healthcare until 26, that should really get people thinking about their retirement.  The more liberals can push the government welfare, the less responsible people have to be for their own welfare.  Democrats own that mentality.  Way to go, make as many people depend on the government tit, all under the guise of compassion.  That should really make people think about their well being later in life.  Wait, I thought we were talking about congress and their pensions.  HA

I thought you were a Bernie supporter?