CONGRESSIONAL RETIREMENT PAY

I was told several times that congressman are governmened by the same rules as Civil Servants for retirement.  It tunrs out that this was not true although starting this year the two will be pretty close.  The floowing is abstracted fom NARFE Magazine:*

"Contrary to rumors, members of Congress have never qualified for a pension equal to their full salary after serving only one term, but previously they did receive better retirement benefits than the average Federal employee."
...................
"The future is now, and newly elected members of the 113th Congress will not be earning retirement benefits as gererous as those earned by their already-tenured colleagues.  They also will be required to contrubute more from their salaries to fund their retirement benefits.  Now, their retirement benefits will be calculated at the same rate, and they will contribute the same amount from their salaries, as other newly hired Federal employees.  .....also required all other newly hired Federal employees to contribute 2.3 percent more of their salary toward retirement benefits."

"Specifically, under the new law, newly elected members of Congress and newly hired congressional staff (and those returning with fewer than five years of service) [They need five years of service to be vested] will pay 1.8 precent more from their pay to fund their retirement annuities, for a total contribution of 3.1 percent of their salary.  In addition they will accrue benefits at a rate of 1 or 1.1 percent per year of service (multiplied by the highest concectuive three years of pay), rather than at a rate of 1.7 percent per year of service (multiplied by the highest concectuive three years of pay), the rate of accrual for already-serving members of Congress and congressional staff."

"Another change in benefits for all members of congress and their personal office staff will occur in 2014.  Instead of receibing their health benefits through the Federa Employees Health Benefits Program, they will recive health benefits through the state-based health insurance exchanges envisioned by the Affordable Care Act."

National Association of Retired Federal Employees Newsletter (March 2013, p. 10)