EPIC Act would discontinue pensions for Congress members
Should House or Senate members receive a taxpayer-funded pension in retirement?
Context
Members of Congress who served at least five years are eligible for a pension once they reach a certain age.
As of 2016, 611 retired or defeated members of Congress were collecting pensions. This amounted to $36.1 million in taxpayer money spent per year.
Members elected before 1984 receive an average pension of $74,028. Members elected after 1984, when pension rules changed, receive an average of $41,076.
What the bill does
The End Pensions in Congress (EPIC) Act would do exactly what its name implies.
More accurately, it would end pensions for all future Congress members, as well as any currently serving who have not yet reached the five years of service necessary to merit a pension. Anybody who’s already earned a congressional pension would be grandfathered in.
It was introduced on January 3 as bill number H.R. 191 by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY4).
What supporters say
Supporters argue the bill saves taxpayers money by reducing expenditures that Congress members should be able to accrue themselves through private alternatives.
“Our country is over $21.9 trillion in debt, yet congressmen receive ‘defined benefit’ retirement plans unavailable to most in the private sector,” Rep. Massie wrote in an online post. “If congressmen want to save for retirement, they should do so with 401(k)-type defined contribution plans, rather than rely on taxpayers to take care of them after leaving Congress.”
“To tackle out-of-control federal spending, Congress must lead by example by ending defined-benefit pensions for members.”
What opponents say
Opponents counter that congressional pension spending is already decreasing — by a lot.
Rules regarding congressional pensions changed for members first elected in 1984 and later. For members elected before then, their average pension is $74,028. For members elected after then, their average pension is $41,076, or a -44% decrease.
Let the actuarial tables run their course, so the argument goes, and taxpayers will eventually save an identical -44% without any further changes to federal law necessary.
Odds of passage
The bill has not yet attracted any House cosponsors, even though a previous version introduced in 2015 attracted 13 cosponsors, including one Democrat.
The current version awaits a vote in either the House Administration Committee or House Oversight and Reform Committee.
This article was written by GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin.
Like our analyses? Want more? Support our work!
