August 9, 2009
Public workers' pensions swelling
By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY
Public employee pensions have become
increasingly generous since 2000, promising a more comfortable
retirement for civil servants but a serious financial challenge for
future taxpayers.
The beefed-up pension benefits come at a time
when the pension funds' financial health has deteriorated and private
pensions have been scaled back. (Related story: Pension funds fall
short of guarantees)
Many corporations have replaced traditional
pension plans, which pay monthly benefits for life, with plans that
cost employers less and pay workers a lump sum when they retire.
Alcoa, the world's largest aluminum producer, announced Monday that it
would do so for most new employees effective March 1.
Governments have been moving in the opposite
direction: increasing monthly benefits, making it easier to retire at
55 and spending more on retiree health benefits. State and local
governments, which cover 21 million workers and retirees, have been
adding benefits the fastest:
• A December study of 85 big public pensions in
all 50 states — covering three-fourths of public employees nationwide
— found that governments continued to enhance benefit formulas, ease
early retirement and improve other benefits from 2000 through 2004
despite states' financial problems. The increases were enacted on top
of even larger benefit changes approved from 1996 to 2000. The study,
conducted by the Wisconsin Legislature, is one of the most
comprehensive on the issue.
• The New Jersey Legislature has approved 17
benefit enhancements since 2000 that increased the unfunded
obligations of public pensions in the state by $6.8 billion, according
to a task force studying the issue.
• Average annual benefits for retired state and
local workers grew 37% to $19,875 from 2000 to 2004, the most recent
data available, according to the Census Bureau. The rising payments
reflect the early retirement of baby boomers, who started to qualify
for full benefits in 2001, at age 55, under most government pensions.
"These pensions are unaffordable," says Alaska
state Rep. Bert Stedman, a Republican. "If we don't act now, we're
going to have social conflict in the future between the haves and the
have-nots — those with government pensions and those without."
Reg Weaver, president of the National Education
Association, which represents teachers, says legislators shouldn't
respond to pension problems in the private sector by attacking
government pensions. "Pensions are a national problem, but it's not in
the interest of workers to diminish either type," he says.
The portion of the private workforce enrolled in
plans that pay monthly benefits for life has fallen from 39% in 1980
to 18% in 2004, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
By comparison, more than 90% of government workers are covered by such
plans, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says. Unlike private companies,
most state and local governments cannot reduce pension benefits for
existing workers or retirees.
Federal, state and local governments have
promised pension and retiree medical benefits that would require more
than $5 trillion to be invested today to cover costs over the next 75
years, according to the financial statements of the retirement plans.
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U.S. Congress salaries and benefits
U.S. Congress salaries and benefits
have been the source of taxpayer unhappiness and myths over the years.
Here are some facts for your consideration.
Rank-and-File Members: The current
salary (2009) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is
$174,000 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 U.S. Office of Personnel Management, congressional
pay rates also affect the salaries for federal judges and other senior
government executives.
* 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 1855, members of
Congress received only a per diem (daily payment) of $6.00 while in
session, except for a period from December 1815 to March 1817, when
they received $1,500 a year. Members began receiving an annual salary
in 1855, when they were paid $3,000 per year.
Congress: Leadership Members' Salary
(2009)
Leaders of the House and Senate are
paid a higher salary than rank-and-file members.
Senate Leadership
Majority Party Leader - $193,400
Minority Party Leader - $193,400
House Leadership
Speaker of the House - $223,500
Majority Leader - $193,400
Minority Leader - $193,400
A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA)
increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it.
Benefits Paid to Members
of Congress
You may have read that Members of
Congress do not pay into Social Security. Well, that's a myth. Prior
to 1984, neither Members of Congress nor any other federal civil
service employee paid Social Security taxes. Of course, they were also
not eligible to receive Social Security benefits. Members of Congress
and other federal employees were instead covered by a separate pension
plan called the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). The 1983
amendments to the Social Security Act required federal employees first
hired after 1983 to participate in Social Security. These amendments
also required all Members of Congress to participate in Social
Security as of January 1, 1984, regardless of when they first entered
Congress. Because the CSRS was not designed to coordinate with Social
Security, Congress directed the development of a new retirement plan
for federal workers. The result was the Federal Employees' Retirement
System Act of 1986.
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 Members 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.
According to the Congressional Research
Service, 413 retired Members of Congress were receiving federal
pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service as of
Oct. 1, 2006. Of this number, 290 had retired under CSRS and were
receiving an average annual pension of $60,972. A total of 123 Members
had retired with service under both CSRS and FERS or with service
under FERS only. Their average annual pension was $35,952 in 2006.
President’s Salary
Effective January 1, 2001, the annual
salary of the president of the United States was increased to $400,000
per year, including a $50,000 expense allowance.
The increase was approved as part of
the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act (Public Law
106-58), passed in the closing days of the 106th Congress.
"Sec. 644. (a) Increase in Annual
Compensation.--Section 102 of title 3, United States Code, is amended
by striking '$200,000' and inserting '$400,000'. (b) Effective
Date.--The <<NOTE: 3 USC 102 note.>> amendment made by this section
shall take effect at noon on January 20, 2001."
Vice President’s Salary
The salary of the vice president is currently (for 2009) $227,300
Presidential Retirement
and Maintenance
Under the Former
Presidents Act, each former president is paid a lifetime, taxable
pension that is equal to the annual rate of basic pay for the head of
an executive federal department -- $193,400 in 2009 – the same annual
salary paid to secretaries of the Cabinet agencies.
Each former president and vice
president may also take advantage of funds allocated by Congress to
help facilitate their transition to private life. These funds are used
to provide suitable office space, staff compensation, communications
services, and printing and postage associated with the transition. As
an example, Congress authorized a total of $1.5 million for the
transition expenses of outgoing president George H.W. Bush and Vice
President Dan Quayle.
The Secret Service provides lifetime
protection for former presidents who entered office before January 1,
1997, and for their spouses. Surviving spouses of former presidents
receive protection until remarriage. Legislation enacted in 1984
allows former Presidents or their dependents to decline Secret Service
protection.
Former Presidents and their spouses,
widows, and minor children are entitled to treatment in military
hospitals. Health care costs are billed to the individual at a rate
established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Former
Presidents and their dependents may also enroll in private health
plans at their own expense.
Congress Votes Itself a Pay Raise
Salary will jump by $3,400 a year in 2004
By Robert Longley,
About.com
Want a raise? Don't beg to your boss.
Just vote yourself one. That's what the United States Congress just
did. For the fifth year in a row, lawmakers voted not to reject their
automatic "cost of living" raise that will increase the annual salary
of members by $3,400 to a total of $158,103 per year.
In 1989, Congress passed an amendment
allowing for the automatic raises, unless lawmakers specifically voted
to reject it. Which Congress did, until 2000.
The fiscal year 2004 Transportation and
Treasury Department Appropriations bill included Congress' 2.2 percent
pay raise, along with a 4.1 percent raise for federal workers and
military personnel.
"Members of Congress have the only job
in the country whose occupants can set their own salary without regard
to performance, profit, or economic climate," said Tom Schatz,
president of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste in a
press release. "Clearly, members must think that money grows on trees.
With a $480 billion deficit, the escalating cost of the war in Iraq,
and a stagnant economy, Congress should be curbing spending, not
lining their pockets at our expense."
In the House of Representatives, Rep.
Jim Matheson's (D-Utah, 2nd) motion to bring the pay raise to a
separate vote was rejected 240-173. The Senate must still pass the
bill and it must then be signed by President Bush before the pay
raises can take effect. Individual members are free to refuse their
pay increases, and some choose to do so.
Congress has now voted itself a total
of $16,700 in raises over the last six years. Since 1990,
congressional pay has increased from $98,400 to $154,700 in 2003.
Individual members are free to refuse
their pay increases, and some choose to do so.
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.
"This underserved pay raise is no
surprise, as the 108th Congress has shown a voracious appetite for
spending," Schatz concluded. "It goes to show how out of touch with
reality politicians can be. They forget that their salaries are paid
by taxpayers. Americans are being forced to tighten their belts—if
they even have a job—yet members of Congress will have an extra $3,400
to do with as they please."
President’s Salary
Effective January 1, 2001, the annual
salary of the president of the United States was increased to $400,000
per year, including a $50,000 expense allowance.
Senate Leadership
Majority Party Leader - $193,400
Minority Party Leader - $193,400
House Leadership
Speaker of the House - $223,500
Majority Leader - $193,400
Minority Leader - $193,400
Rank-and-File Members: The current salary (2009) for rank-and-file
members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year.
"Sec. 644. (a) Increase in Annual
Compensation.--Section 102 of title 3, United States Code, is amended
by striking '$200,000' and inserting '$400,000'. (b) Effective
Date.--The <<NOTE: 3 USC 102 note.>> amendment made by this section
shall take effect at noon on January 20, 2001."
Vice President’s Salary
The salary of the vice president is currently (for 2009) $227,300
Presidential Retirement and Maintenance
Under the Former Presidents Act, each former president is paid a
lifetime, taxable pension that is equal to the annual rate of basic
pay for the head of an executive federal department -- $193,400 in
2009 – the same annual salary paid to secretaries of the Cabinet
agencies.
Each former president and vice
president may also take advantage of funds allocated by Congress to
help facilitate their transition to private life. These funds are used
to provide suitable office space, staff compensation, communications
services, and printing and postage associated with the transition. As
an example, Congress authorized a total of $1.5 million for the
transition expenses of outgoing president George H.W. Bush and Vice
President Dan Quayle.
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Sam says:
And to think that people actually get mad at people who lost their
jobs and receive section eight, but don't even look at what we are
paying those who rule us with nothing on their minds but power and
money, even though they swore to look after the common people.
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Peace can never be achieved on any lasting basis without greater understanding between people. When will our consciences grow so tender
that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?
------Eleanor Roosevelt
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Menu
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GOD BLESS OUR
TROOPS
"God bless our troops," "Support
our troops" are the two phrases always tied in with the defense
of Bush and our government, who send our young off to foreign shores
to defend the - - I’m not going to go there.
They are trying to make it appear that if a
person does not support Bush, the government or the war, that they don’t
support the troops. I don’t think that there are many people in this
country who do not support our troops, those poor misguided souls that
have been placed in harms way. This is a ploy to make those
individuals, who buy into the rhetoric, regarding our
reasons for being there, feel self righteous. They are trying to make
it appear that those who disagree with the government are
un-patriotic. What a cruel ploy. That is splitting this country in
two.
These are the tactics Hitler and Stalin used to
gain power. Remember what they did with that power? If you don’t,
then you have some reading to do. Briefly; through lies and extortion,
they used the greed and ignorance of the people to imprison and
enslave the entire populace. At that time, if you disagreed, you were
either imprisoned or killed. Do we want that here? Remember, they not
only imprisoned those who disagreed but those, who they thought
disagreed. No one was safe, even those in official positions, who
helped them gain power, were imprisoned or killed, along with their
families. Power!
While we still have some freedom, let us seek
out the truth. Not an easy thing to do, when it’s the fashion in big
corporations to cover up anything disagreeable with lies. Hitler said,
"The bigger the lie, the more chance it will be accepted."
It’s been proven time and again. I ask God to bless us with the
truth and unite us before it’s too late. God bless the troops. God
bless the misguided, and show all of us the truth.
----Sam Younghans
