-- more on -- Rush Limbaugh on Social Security and the Congressional Pay Raise

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 08:40:17 -0400
> From: Seth Finkelstein <sethf () sethf com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Urban Legend - Rush Limbaugh on Social Security and the
>  Congressional Pay Raise
> To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
>
>
>
>         Dave, much of that missive is a mutated Urban Legend. See
>
> http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/pensions.htm
>
> Claim: Members of Congress receive lavish pensions but are not
> required to contribute to the Social Security fund.
>
> Status: False.
>
>  ...
>
> "It is not true that Congressmen "paid nothing in on any kind of
> retirement," and that their pension money "comes right out of the
> General Fund." Whether members of Congress participate in the
> older Civil Service Retirement System or the newer Federal
> Employees' Retirement System (FERS), their pensions are funded
> through a combination of general tax provisions and
> contributions from the participants. Right now, members of
> Congress in the FERS plan must pay 1.3% of their salary to FERS
> and 6.2% in Social Security taxes."
>
> "As of 1998, the average annuity for retired members of Congress was
> $50,616 for those who retired under CSRS and $46,908 for those who
> retired under FERS. Not bad, but not the highway robbery this piece
> makes it out to be."
>
> See http://www.c-span.org/questions/weekly68.htm
>
> --
> Seth Finkelstein  Consulting Programmer  sethf () sethf com  http://sethf.com
> Anticensorware Investigations - http://sethf.com/anticensorware/
> Seth Finkelstein's Infothought blog - http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/

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