Quote Originally Posted by Scanker19 View Post
I would love to see the pay scale for the "paycheck for life."

Term limits are good if they are doing bad, but what if, just what if, they did a good job, they'd be gone after a few years.
Ask and ye shall receive: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscong...ongresspay.htm

This is an often repeated myth. I was mad about it too until I found out it isn't true.

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.