[upchuck]

With all due respect, I doubt you'll find this anywhere on Rush's site as at least part of it is Urban Legend ^.

[freedumb2003]

Good catch!

[Kackikat]

Thanks for Urban Legend update, as I had not seen that before and hopefully all will read this excerpt from that website:

It was true prior to 1984 that Congressmen did not pay into the Social Security fund because they participated in a separate program for civil servants (the Civil Service Retirement System, or CSRS), but that program was closed to government employees hired after 1983:

In 1983, Public Law 98-21 required Social Security coverage for federal civilian employees first hired after 1983 and closed the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to new federal employees and Members of Congress. All incumbent Members of Congress were required to be covered by Social Security, regardless of when they entered Congress. Members who had participated in CSRS before 1984 could elect to stay in that plan in addition to being covered by Social Security or elect coverage under an 'offset plan' that integrates CSRS and Social Security. Under the CSRS Offset Plan, an individual's contributions to CSRS and their pension benefits from that plan are reduced ('offset') by the amount of their contributions to, and benefits from, Social Security.

It is not true that Congressmen "continue to draw their same pay, until they die." The size of their pensions is determined by a number of factors (primarily length of service, but also factors such as when they joined Congress, their age at retirement, their salary, and the pension options they chose when they enrolled in the retirement system) and by law cannot exceed 80% of their salary at the time of their retirement.

[Kackikat]

This "unfactual urban legend" raises some questions as to what do they really get. It says up to 80% of their salary on that website, what would that amount to???? Is there facts on this somewhere, since we are concerned about it?

[Kackikat]

I have one question, it says in Urban Legend explanation that 'anyone hired after certain date"...so do ones serving prior to that fall under the old agreement...someone like Ted Kennedy, how long has he been serving? It seems like forever.