The Congress retirement plan is the same three-part Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) that covers roughly two million other federal workers: a defined-benefit pension, the Thrift Savings Plan, and Social Security. What sets members apart is not a separate system but two adjustments inside FERS. They pay a much higher share of their salary into the pension fund, and in return they earn benefits at a faster rate during their first 20 years of congressional service. Everything else, from vesting to survivor rules to health coverage carryover, follows the general federal playbook.
What Members Pay In
Every member who took office after 1983 is automatically and mandatorily enrolled in FERS.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8401 – Definitions Payroll deductions come out of every paycheck, and the rate depends on when the member first entered office:2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8422 – Deductions From Pay, Contributions for Other Service
- Members serving before 2013: 7.5 percent of basic pay.
- Members who entered in 2013: 9.3 percent.
- Members who entered in 2014 or later: 10.6 percent.
Those rates run well above what a typical federal employee pays, which can be as low as 0.8 percent for pre-2013 hires. The trade-off is a richer pension accrual formula, described below. Base salary for a rank-and-file member has been $174,000 since January 2009, and that figure drives most of the math.3United States Senate. Senate Salaries 1789 to Present
When a Member Can Start Collecting
Vesting requires at least five years of federal service. A member who leaves before hitting five years walks away with no annuity, though contributions can be refunded.
Once vested, the earliest date payments can begin depends on both years of service and how the member left office. Congressional service comes with two special early-eligibility rules that apply only when a member is separated from office “except by resignation or expulsion,” meaning losing an election qualifies but voluntarily quitting does not:4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8412 – Immediate Retirement
- Any age with 25 years of service.
- Age 50 with 20 years of service.
Members who resign, and members who don’t meet those thresholds, fall back on the standard FERS ages:
- Age 62 with at least 5 years of service.
- Age 60 with at least 20 years.
- The Minimum Retirement Age (56 or 57 for most people born after 1970) with 30 years.
Most former members follow the age-62 path, because most don’t serve 20 years.
How the Pension Is Calculated
Two inputs drive the pension: the “high-3” average salary (the highest basic pay over any three consecutive years) and total years of service.5U.S. Office of Personnel Management. FERS Information – Computation For most members the high-3 is simply $174,000, because the salary hasn’t changed in more than 15 years.
The formula applies two accrual rates:6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8415 – Computation of Basic Annuity
- 1.7 percent of the high-3 for each of the first 20 years of congressional service.
- 1.0 percent of the high-3 for every additional year after 20.
A 20-year member earns 34 percent of high-3, which is roughly $59,160 a year on a $174,000 salary. Thirty years brings the total to 44 percent, or about $76,560. Forty years produces 54 percent, and no formula quirk pushes the pension above that ceiling.
Real pensions are typically much smaller because most careers are shorter. As of October 2022, 358 retired members drawing FERS-based pensions received an average of about $45,276 per year. The 261 retirees still under the older Civil Service Retirement System averaged $84,504, reflecting longer careers and a more generous legacy formula.7Congress.gov. Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress
Cost-of-Living Adjustments
FERS pensions get annual cost-of-living adjustments, but only after the retiree turns 62, and the formula is less generous than Social Security’s. Full CPI when inflation is 2 percent or lower; capped at 2 percent when inflation runs between 2 and 3 percent; and CPI minus one full percentage point when inflation tops 3 percent.8U.S. Office of Personnel Management. How Is the Cost-of-Living Adjustment COLA Determined The 2026 FERS COLA is 2.0 percent.9U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Cost of Living Adjustments A member who retires young and waits years for the first adjustment can watch purchasing power erode in the meantime.
The Thrift Savings Plan
The TSP is the 401(k)-style leg of the plan. Members pick a contribution rate and choose from a menu of index-style funds. The government contributes automatically at 1 percent of basic pay even when the member puts in nothing, and it matches elective contributions on a sliding scale:10Thrift Savings Plan. Contribution Types
- Dollar for dollar on the first 3 percent of pay.
- Fifty cents on the dollar for the next 2 percent.
A member who contributes at least 5 percent gets a full 5 percent from the government, so 10 percent of pay flows into the account each period. Contributing less than 5 percent leaves free money on the table.
For 2026, the IRS limits are:11Thrift Savings Plan. 2026 TSP Contribution Limits
- Base elective deferral: $24,500 for all participants.12Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Contributions
- Age 50 and older catch-up: an extra $8,000, for a combined $32,500.
- Ages 60 through 63 enhanced catch-up: an extra $11,250, for a combined $35,750. This higher band was created by the SECURE 2.0 Act and first took effect in 2025.13Thrift Savings Plan. Contribution Limits
Government contributions do not count against those limits. Unlike the pension, the TSP has no guaranteed payout; the balance is whatever the member contributed plus market returns.
Social Security
Since 1984, every member has paid Social Security taxes like any other worker. The Social Security Amendments of 1983 ended the old federal exemption.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3101 – Rate of Tax The tax is 6.2 percent on earnings up to the wage base, which is $184,500 for 2026.15Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base Because a rank-and-file salary of $174,000 sits below that cap, all of it is taxed. Members qualify for monthly benefits under the same rules as everyone else, and for a short-tenure member Social Security can end up being the largest piece of retirement income.
Leaving Office Before Retirement Age
A vested former member who is too young to collect has two choices.16U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Former Employees
Option one is a deferred annuity. Leave the contributions in place and apply for monthly payments at retirement age, usually 62. The pension is locked in based on the formula, salary, and years of service at departure, with no additional growth until COLAs begin.
Option two is a lump-sum refund of the mandatory contributions. Anyone can take it, and members who served fewer than five years have no other option. Under a 2009 law, a member who took a refund after October 28, 2009 can later redeposit the money if they return to federal service. Without a redeposit, that period of service still counts toward eligibility and the high-3 average but does not factor into the annuity amount.
Carrying Health and Life Insurance Into Retirement
Continuing Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage after leaving office requires enrollment in FEHB for the five years of service immediately before retirement.17U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Eligibility and Enrollment Dropping enrollment at any point in that stretch forfeits the carryover. Retirees keep the same plan choices and government premium subsidies as active employees.
Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance works the same way: five years of continuous enrollment before retirement, and annuity payments must start within 30 days of leaving office.18U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Learn More About Life Insurance Benefits and Retirement Coverage cannot be increased after retirement, reductions are permanent, and OPM has no authority to waive the rules.
Survivor Benefits
If a member dies in office after completing 18 months of civilian service under FERS, the surviving spouse receives a lump-sum payment equal to 50 percent of the member’s final (or average) salary, plus a separate lump sum that started at $15,000 in 1987 and had inflated to $43,800.53 by late 2025.19U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Survivors The marriage must have lasted at least nine months, unless the death was accidental or a child was born of the marriage. If the deceased had at least 10 years of creditable service, the surviving spouse also qualifies for a recurring monthly annuity.
For members who retire and then die, the survivor benefit depends on an election made at retirement. A full 50-percent survivor annuity reduces the retiree’s own payment by 10 percent for life; a 25-percent election reduces it by 5 percent. Electing less than the full survivor benefit requires the spouse’s consent.5U.S. Office of Personnel Management. FERS Information – Computation The choice is permanent and cannot be revisited once payments start.