Why don't they consider cutting back on retirement benefits for congressmen and senators?

Let me put it this way, there are two candidates for the Presidency that were never elected, and both said they wouldn’t take a salary. Good guys are not wanted in DC if you ask me, and certainly aren’t going to be elected by the two major parties.

You want senators and congressmen to vote to take away their own benefits. Riiiiiight.

I totally agree with you though.

^^ what @uberbatman said.

You think Congress is bad now. Imagine what it would be like if you cut their benefits in half! We’d only get rich folks who could afford not to take a salary. I don’t know about you, but those guys have no idea what it’s like to live in poverty or even in middle income.

I am pretty sure Congressmen get the same pension benefits as the military. They need to serve at least 20 years, and then probably get around 50% of their salaries for the rest of their lives. It might actually be 30 years in gives them 50% and 20 is a lower percentage, I don’t remember. Where did you get your $300k number? I think Senators make around $200k while in office, don’t they?

One way to take care of it, if I am right, is to not let senators serve more than 3 terms.

Can’t wait to see that vote…

I would be happy if it wasn’t legal for them to have insider trading info they take advantage of. Apparently it’s completely legal because they need to know this stuff to better do their jobs. These guys have so many hidden perks they ain’t hurting.

The average congressional pension is less than $60,000.

They are covered by the same pension plan as other federal employees.

You can download the November 2012 report Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress from here if you want more details.

^^ Thanks. I read somewhere that it was over $300,000. I’ll check the facts and also try to find what I read. I think it was in a newspaper.

I would settle for a federal employee pension and heath plan for all Americans.

They don’t cut back the retirement salaries for them for the same reason they rescued different automotive companies during the financial crisis. The government doesn’t believe in letting people that fund their campaigns go broke.

@Sunny2 If it is something the right wing was emailing around, there is all sorts of complete lies about the benefits Congressmen receive being spread by them.

@jaytkay That makes more sense, government worker (civil servant), rather than military. But, I was way off about them being eligible for some sort of pension after 20 years, your link says in just 5 years. I think my mom had to work 30 years for the government to get a pension? Maybe I am wrong. Maybe that was to get a full pension of some sort. My husband has a pension from one of his jobs in the private sector after working just 5 years, but now that company did away with that benefit a few years ago, they no longer offer any pensions from what I understand. My husband was grandfathered in.

So, as the private sector changes I think there is an argument for the government to change that benefit also. However, I think if we pay government workers, military, and politicians modestly, the lower pay means they can afford pensions for the employees and I am ok with that on balance I think.

@JLeslie After 5 years, if they are at least 62, they can get a pension of $14,790).

After 66 years in office, you would hit the maximum of $139,000/year.

For Reps and Senators elected after 1983 (when the current plan was created) the average is $39,576.

Because “they” control their own pursestrings and will do whatever is in their own self-interest.