Ask Rusty – Does Congress Pay Into Social Security?

Social Security Matters

by Russell Gloor, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens

Dear Rusty: I’ve been told that members of Congress do not have Social Security deducted from their pay; Additionally, that their retirement dollars come from the Social Security Administration purse even if they only serve as a member of Congress for a short number of terms. Also, if this is true, are there other individuals that enjoy these advantages?

Thank you in advance for your service as a Social Security Advisor.

Signed: Concerned Senior

Dear Concerned Senior: I’m afraid this is one of those “urban legend” kind of rumors that just seems to keep popping up, especially when the issues surrounding Social Security’s financial problems come up. In addition to being untrue, it often is used to display the public’s animosity toward elected officials and the feeling that Congress—and other elected officials—are above the fray, so to speak, and therefore not affected by the implications of Social Security’s looming insolvency problem.

Here’s the reality. Since January 1, 1984, all members of Congress, the President and Vice President, Federal judges, and most political appointees, are covered under the Social Security program. The rumor that these elected officials do not pay Social Security tax most likely is attributable to the fact that from 1920 to 1983, they were participants in the Civil Service Retirement System – CSRS – the federal retirement plan federal workers used even before the Social Security Act was passed. CSRS provided a pension for federal employees, so they were exempted from contributing to or collecting from the new Social Security program.

In 1987, then, the federal government officially changed over to FERS – the Federal Employee Retirement System – and all employes hired from that point forward are now covered under FERS. There are multiple parts to FERS, and one of them is mandatory FICA contributions. So, all federal employees—including members of Congress—are subject to the 6.2% FICA tax, are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, and are governed by the multitude of rules and regulations associated with Social Security. But other than standard SS benefits which they may normally be entitled, no Social Security funds are used to supplement Congressional retirement.

In other words, the rumor that Congress didn’t pay into Social Security was actually true prior to 1984, but today it is a misstatement of fact. And the federal employee retirement plans (both the prior CSRS plan and the current FERS plan) are totally independent of Social Security and do not negatively affect program solvency.