<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><br></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; "><table border="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="font-size: 12px; color: black; font-family: arial; "><span class="contenttitle" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial; ">Is it true that . . . <i> <question>Members of Congress do not pay into Social Security and when they retire they receive a pension equal to their congressional salary for the rest of their life?</question> </i></span><br></td></tr></tbody></table><img width="100%" height="24" src="cid:414962B6-5C59-4215-B61A-3595121D9A93"><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 6px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="contenttext" style="font-size: 12px; color: black; font-family: arial; "><answer></answer></span></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 6px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; "><b>The answer is no</b>. All members of Congress pay Social Security taxes in the same amounts as they would if they were employed in the private sector at the same salary level. The amount of a congressional pension varies and depends on years of service, age at the time of retirement, and salary.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 6px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; "><b>The facts</b>: The confusion about Social Security probably results from the fact that before 1984, Senators and Representatives did not participate in the Social Security program. Like all federal government employees at that time, members of Congress were covered by a pension plan, called the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), that did not require payment of Social Security taxes and did not provide Social Security benefits. In 1983, Congress passed a law (P.L. 98-21) that required all federal employees first hired after 1983 to participate in Social Security. The law 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 employees, called the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which does coordinate a federal pension with Social Security.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 6px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; ">Members of Congress are eligible for a pension at age 62 if they have completed at least five years of service. They are eligible for a pension at age 50 if they have completed 20 years of service, or at any age after completing 25 years of service. The amount of the pension depends on years of service and the average of the highest three years of salary. By law, the starting amount of a member’s retirement annuity may not exceed 80 percent of his or her final salary. As of October 1, 2000, the average annual pension for members of Congress who have retired under CSRS is $52,464, and $46,932 for retirees under FERS-only or both FERS/CSRS.</p></span><div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>On Oct 11, 2011, at 9:47 AM, lfalen wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><br>-----Original message-----<br><br>From: "Tom and Claire" <a href="mailto:tandc@moscow.com">tandc@moscow.com</a><br>Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:53:50 -0700<br>To: "Anderson Kendrick" <a href="mailto:kenanderson5337@gmail.com">kenanderson5337@gmail.com</a><br>Subject: Fw: Fwd: Cut in Wages ??<br><br><br>Subject: Cut in Wages ??<br><br><br>Subject: FW: Ya Think?........... Wages<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>You decide…<br> Wages<br><br> Salary of retired US Presidents ............$450,000 FOR LIFE<br> Salary of House/Senate members .........$174,000 FOR LIFE<br> Salary of Speaker of the House ............$223,500 FOR LIFE<br> Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders ....$193,400 FOR LIFE<br><br> Average salary of a soldier DEPLOYED IN AFGHANISTAN - $38,000<br> Average income for seniors on SOCIAL SECURITY - $12,000 <br><br> I think we found where the cuts should be made! <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);"><b>From: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">"Tom and Claire" <<a href="mailto:tandc@moscow.com">tandc@moscow.com</a>><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);"><b>Date: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">October 10, 2011 11:53:50 AM PDT<br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);"><b>To: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">"Anderson Kendrick" <<a href="mailto:kenanderson5337@gmail.com">kenanderson5337@gmail.com</a>><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);"><b>Subject: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;"><b>Fw: Fwd: Cut in Wages ??</b><br></span></div><br><br> <meta content="text/html;charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="MSHTML 8.00.7600.16853"> <div style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 15px" id="MailContainerBody" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" canvastabstop="true" name="Compose message area"> <div><font color="black" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>Subject: Cut in Wages ??<br><br></font></div><font color="black" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <div style="FONT-FAMILY: helvetica,arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <div id="AOLMsgPart_1_17e77123-b6f8-4f72-96af-25fa9a06b1bc"><font color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial"> <div> <div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Subject: FW: Ya Think?........... Wages<br><br></div> <div id="SafeStyles1318261272"> <style>#AOLMsgPart_1_17e77123-b6f8-4f72-96af-25fa9a06b1bc td{color: black;} #AOLMsgPart_1_17e77123-b6f8-4f72-96af-25fa9a06b1bc #SafeStyles1318261272 .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } #AOLMsgPart_1_17e77123-b6f8-4f72-96af-25fa9a06b1bc #SafeStyles1318261272 body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Tahoma } </style> <div dir="ltr"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Comic Sans MS; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></span></span></span><br><br><br> <div> <div style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff; FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif; COLOR: #000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></span></span> <div style="FONT-FAMILY: times 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ecxyiv841871827AOLMsgPart_1_38446ac8-18cb-440d-817f-4e00df074890 ecxyiv841871827ExternalClass span.ecxyiv841871827ecxEmailStyle21 {font-family:"sans-serif";color:#1F497D;} #AOLMsgPart_1_17e77123-b6f8-4f72-96af-25fa9a06b1bc .ExternalClass #ecxyiv841871827 # #SafeStyles1318261272 ecxyiv841871827AOLMsgPart_1_38446ac8-18cb-440d-817f-4e00df074890 ecxyiv841871827ExternalClass span.ecxyiv841871827ecxEmailStyle22 {font-family:"serif";color:windowtext;font-weight:bold;} #AOLMsgPart_1_17e77123-b6f8-4f72-96af-25fa9a06b1bc .ExternalClass #ecxyiv841871827 # #SafeStyles1318261272 ecxyiv841871827AOLMsgPart_1_38446ac8-18cb-440d-817f-4e00df074890 ecxyiv841871827ExternalClass span.ecxyiv841871827ecxBalloonTextChar {font-family:"sans-serif";} #AOLMsgPart_1_17e77123-b6f8-4f72-96af-25fa9a06b1bc .ExternalClass #ecxyiv841871827 # #SafeStyles1318261272 ecxyiv841871827AOLMsgPart_1_38446ac8-18cb-440d-817f-4e00df074890 ecxyiv841871827ExternalClass .ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoChpDefault {font-size:10.0pt;} #AOLMsgPart_1_17e77123-b6f8-4f72-96af-25fa9a06b1bc ExternalClass ecx_filtered # #SafeStyles1318261272 ecxyiv841871827 {;} #AOLMsgPart_1_17e77123-b6f8-4f72-96af-25fa9a06b1bc .ExternalClass #ecxyiv841871827 # #SafeStyles1318261272 ecxyiv841871827AOLMsgPart_1_38446ac8-18cb-440d-817f-4e00df074890 ecxyiv841871827ExternalClass div.ecxyiv841871827ecxWordSection1 {;} </style> <div class="ecxyiv841871827ecxWordSection1"> <div class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"><strong><span>You decide…</span></strong></div> <div class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"><strong><span></span></strong></div> <div class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"></div> <div> <div id="ecxyiv841871827ecxAOLMsgPart_1_d4012455-5d13-49df-b73a-01a9e2f206fb"> <div> <div style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"></div> <div> <div> <table style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in" valign="top"> <blockquote style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: 1.5pt solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 3.75pt; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in"> <div> <table class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in" valign="top"> <blockquote style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: 1.5pt solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 3.75pt; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in"> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <blockquote style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: 1.5pt solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 3.75pt; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in"> <div> <div> <div> <div> <table style="WIDTH: 100%" class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 1.5pt; PADDING-LEFT: 1.5pt; WIDTH: 100%; PADDING-RIGHT: 1.5pt; PADDING-TOP: 1.5pt" width="100%"> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <table style="WIDTH: 100%; BACKGROUND: #fff4a4" class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 15pt; PADDING-LEFT: 15pt; PADDING-RIGHT: 15pt; PADDING-TOP: 15pt" valign="top"> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"><strong><span style="COLOR: #993300; FONT-SIZE: 22pt">Wages<br></span></strong><span style="COLOR: #993300"><br>Salary of retired US Presidents .............$450,000 FOR LIFE</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"><span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"><span style="COLOR: #993300">Salary of House/Senate members ..........$174,000</span><span style="COLOR: blue"> </span><span style="COLOR: #993300">FOR LIFE<br>Salary of Speaker of the House .............$223,500 </span><span style="COLOR: blue"></span><span style="COLOR: #993300">FOR LIFE<br>Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders .....$193,400</span><span style="COLOR: blue"> </span><span style="COLOR: #993300">FOR LIFE</span><span style="COLOR: blue"><br></span><span style="COLOR: #993300"><br>Average salary of a soldier DEPLOYED IN AFGHANISTAN </span><span style="COLOR: blue">- </span><span style="COLOR: #993300">$38,000</span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"><span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"><span style="COLOR: #993300">Average income for seniors on SOCIAL SECURITY </span><span style="COLOR: blue">-</span><span style="COLOR: #993300"> $12,000 </span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"><span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"><span style="COLOR: #993300"><br>I think we found where the cuts should be made! </span><span style="COLOR: blue"></span><span style="COLOR: #993300"></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr> <tr style="MIN-HEIGHT: 40.5pt"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MIN-HEIGHT: 40.5pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in"> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <div> <div style="BACKGROUND: white" class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></td></tr></tbody></table></div></blockquote></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div> <div style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class="ecxyiv841871827ecxMsoNormal"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></font></div><!-- end of AOLMsgPart_1_17e77123-b6f8-4f72-96af-25fa9a06b1bc --></div></font></div> <br><br>=======================================================<br> List services made available by First Step Internet,<br> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.<br> <a 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