Date MTG has chosen to quit is TWO DAYS after her generous congressional pension vests

[douglas9]

Marjorie Taylor Greene's abrupt decision to resign from Congress is drawing scrutiny after it emerged that her chosen departure date falls just two days after her federal pension becomes fully vested.

The timing places the 51-year-old Georgia Republican past the five-year service threshold required for lawmakers to qualify for lifetime pension benefits under federal rules.

Greene announced Friday that she is leaving Congress and will step down on January 5, 2026.

She was elected in 2020 and began serving on January 3, 2021.

The detail has prompted criticism from Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who argued Greene's exit was scheduled to secure personal financial gain.

'She's carefully timing her departure just 1-2 days after her pension kicks in and after making millions of dollars insider trading stocks for weapons manufacturers and others while in office.' Ocasio-Cortez said.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15315721/marjorie-taylor-greene-quit-congress-pension.html

[niyad]

1. Just for the record, marge will receIve FIVE PERCENT of her annual

salary yearly (about $8,700) starting at age 62, plus other perks. With somehere between 25 and 50 million in her piggy bank, her congressional pension is negligible.

[MineralMan]

7. Oh, the reality of it!

Thanks for bringing it all down to earth for us.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

39. She gets the healthcare though,

[CincyDem]

2. Outrage where outrage is due...but this is exactly what every retiree in America tries to negotiate when leaving a job.

Who among us would leave any job in any field if given the choice to stay 2-3 more days and receive lifetime pension benefits?

There are sooooooo many more things about MTG to absolutely hate but this…this is just normal.

Let me put on my hard hat and flack jacket now.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

6. I feel the same way.

I’m angrier about her insider trading than this issue.

[niyad]

9. See post 1

[Boo1]

16. You're exactly right

Talking about this issue is just outrage farming.


Agree with anything she's ever said or not, she will have served in Congress for the time required to get a small pension. Are they upset that she isn't staying longer?

[William Seger]

37. I'm upset that a person like MTG could get elected in the first place, but she was

[leftstreet]

18. +1 We should ALL have pensions

I don't begrudge her

[Captain Stern]

24. Right there with you.

There are a lot of reasons to dislike/hate her, but this isn't one of them. I'd do the exact same thing, and feel good about it.

[obamanut2012]

28. 100% agree

[tanyev]

3. Wow, what a coinkydink!

🤨

[niyad]

10. see post1

[Fiendish Thingy]

4. Hard to believe she's only been in Congress for five years

It seems like an eternity.

[purr-rat beauty]

5. She barely did shit

Must be nice to be a congressional welfare queen

[niyad]

11. see post 1

[malaise]

8. Duh!

Dumber than a rock

[stopdiggin]

15. Ummm? But, in the case just presented .. ? Wouldn't the reverse .. ? - - -(nt)-

[flvegan]

12. Some say, she got more out of insider trading than any pension would pay.

What's her net worth now v prior to joining congress?

Exactly.

[stopdiggin]

13. I'm going to be the next person to say, "And, so ..?"

Pretty sure I would have done the same. And so would several million more out there - if we're going to be about halfway honest about it. Leaving - under your own terms - involving your own strategy - and to your own benefit ...
If that path is open to you ...

Um .. Yes?

(Yeah - Margie girl is a piece of work. But, this ... ?)

[Boo1]

14. I've done this too

Stayed at a job just long enough to make sure some pension is vested. I also know a lot of teachers, for example, who have retired teaching in one state and then went to a neighboring one for just long enough to get a pension vested from them as well. I'm sure you can point to lots more professions where that is the case.

AOC has also stayed in congress long enough to have a vested pension.

I just don't understand the outrage here.

One thing that AOC could learn is that she doesn't have to comment on everything.

[stopdiggin]

17. the (manufactured) 'outrage machine' works with a certain portion of the population

And it can be used to advantage. (which is what AOC attempts here? she's certainly plenty smart enough to realize .. ?)

On the other hand - it also has the disadvantage of turning a certain 'other' portion away. (and just wearing people down in general)

[Boo1]

19. The boy who cried wolf

[Mysterian]

44. Sounds like you have some issues with AOC

She didn't retire two days after her pension vested and she's worked hard for working people during her time in Congress. She has a right to comment on anything her heart desires.

Taylor Greene has unjustly enriched herself and done nothing for the American people during her time in Congress, but you fail to understand the outrage at her taking her pension and running away.

Your comment, "Stayed at a job just long enough to make sure some pension is vested," sounds fabricated.

[ultralite001]

20. Grifters gotta grift...

Just sayin'...

[Disaffected]

21. Speaking of: "Outrage farming" nt

[obamanut2012]

29. An earned pension isn't grifting

I loathe her, but she deserves this employment benefit.

[shanti]

22. Old Marge is

Getting out while the getting is good.

[keep_left]

23. What about MTG's Congressional health insurance? I would imagine...

...that is probably a larger factor than the relatively modest pension payments she will receive.

[obamanut2012]

27. She gets FEHB, the same as any Federal retiree

And, it isn't free.

She has a right to this, as does every Federal retiree.

[keep_left]

41. Oh, I thought that retired members of Congress...

...who had fully-vested pensions were eligible for some sort of platinum C-suite-style health coverage. At least that's how I thought things used to work. Does anyone remember when Congress voted itself exempt from the ACA? (It isn't clear to me if that still stands).

[obamanut2012]

25. She has a right to her pension

Misplaced snark here, OP. We are either for benefits or we aren't.

And, it's like $9,000 a year after she hits 62.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

26. As Trump receives SAG-AFTRA benefits, I don't fault her for this.

[flashman13]

30. Me thinks MTG may have a hard time spending her pension from inside jail after she is convicted of assorted crimes.

A day of reckoning will come for this entire administration, its supporters and hangers on grifters. See the aftermath of Watergate.

I keep thinking Jack Smith would make one hell of an Attorney General.

[Mblaze]

31. Really

Isn't that how we all would plan our retirement? After we were vested in our pension?

[wiggs]

32. Would love to see the House expel her before then! nt

[Warpy]

33. She can't collect it right away

but yes, it will afford her a very comfy retirement. If she follows her heart and soul to Russia, it will really go far!

[niyad]

34. congressional pensions--not what you may think

Congressional pensions. Not exactly what many think.

Congressional pension




From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Congressional pension is a pension made available to members of the United States Congress. As of 2019, members who participated in the congressional pension system are vested after five years of service. A pension is available to members 62 years of age with 5 years of service; 50 years or older with 20 years of service; or 25 years of service at any age. A reduced pension is available depending upon which of several different age/service options is chosen. If Members leave Congress before reaching retirement age, they may leave their contributions behind and receive a deferred pension later.[1] The current pension program, effective January 1987, is under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which covers members and other federal employees whose federal employment began in 1984 or later. This replaces the older Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) for most members of congress and federal employees.
History

Members of Congress voted to extend pension benefits to the legislative branch under the CSRS (formerly limited to the executive branch) in January 1942 under a provision of P.L. 77-411. Congress repealed their pension two months later, due to public outcry in the early months of America's involvement in World War II. It was not until after the war, in 1946, that Congress would be covered under the CSRS with the passage of P.L. 79-601. The justification this time was that a pension would "bring into the legislative service a larger number of younger members with fresh energy and new viewpoints" by encouraging older Members to retire.

The Social Security Amendments of 1983 required all Members of Congress to participate in Social Security beginning January 1, 1984.[2] As Social Security and CSRS benefits sometimes overlapped, Congress called for the development of a new federal employee retirement program to complement Social Security. This new plan was enacted as the Federal Employees' Retirement Act of 1986. This act created the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), under which new Members of Congress are currently covered.

When the FERS program went into effect, all Members elected in 1984 or later were automatically enrolled in the new plan. More senior Members were free to remain under the CSRS or enroll in the new FERS plan.[3]

The FERS program takes into account the years served and the average pay for the top three years in terms of payment. For example, a member elected before 1984 and thus qualifying under the CSRS plan, who worked for 22 years and who had a top three-year average salary of $154,267 would be eligible for a pension payment of $84,847 per year.[4] A member elected after 1984 would have been enrolled under the FERS plan, and their pension payment under similar conditions ($154,267 top three-year average salary, but with only 20 years of service, rather than the 22 in the CSRS example) would be $52,451.[4]

The accrual rate for congressional service between 1984 and December 31, 2012, is covered by a FERS "special" computation that is similar to that for Federal employees such as First Responders, FBI Special Agents, and Air Traffic Control Officers. The accrual rate is 1.7% for the first 20 years and 1.0% for each year beyond the 20th. The basic retirement annuity under FERS is equal to the (Average High-3 Salary x .017 x Years of Service through 20 years)+(High-3 Salary x .01 x Years of Service over 20)= Annual Pension Members who began congressional service before 1984 and who elected to join FERS will receive credit under FERS from January 1, 1984, forward. Thus, at the close of the 108th Congress in December 2004, participants had a maximum of 21 years of service under FERS. Assuming that a Member retired at the end of 2004 with 20 years of congressional service under FERS, and a high-3 average salary of $154,267, the initial annual FERS pension in 2005 would be: [$154,267 x .017 x 20] = $52,451 There is no maximum pension under FERS. (It would take 66 years of service under FERS to reach the 80% maximum permissible under CSRS.) The smallest unreduced FERS pension is 8.5% of high-3 salary with five years of service (.017 x 5 years), which is payable no earlier than age 62. A Member with 10 years of service who takes a FERS pension at the earliest allowable age of 55 would receive a reduced pension equal to 11% of high-3 salary (.017 x 10 years, reduced by .05 times the seven-year difference between the individual's age at retirement and age 62).[4] For Members of Congress covered by FERS after December 31, 2012, the accrual rate for congressional service covered by FERS is 1.0% per year of service, or, if the Member has at least 20 years of service and serves until at least the age of 62, the benefit accrual rate is 1.1% per year of service. This is the same accrual rate that applies to regular FERS employees and applies to members of Congress first elected in 1984 or later.[5]

In 2002, the average congressional pension payment ranged from $41,000 to $55,000.[6] As of November 2014, senior Members of Congress who have been in office for at least 32 years can earn about $139,000 a year.[7]

All senators and those representatives serving as members prior to September 30, 2003, may decline this coverage. Representatives entering office on or after September 30, 2003, cannot elect to be excluded from such coverage. Members who were already in Congress when Social Security coverage went into effect could either remain in CSRS or change their coverage to FERS.[5]

. . . . .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_pension

[Greg_In_SF]

35. Pretty smart

I’d do the same thing LOL.

[Iris]

36. She may be ignorant but she's not stupid

[beemerphill]

38. She may be a nutty.

But she ain't stupid.

A lifetime pension is not to be sneezed at.

[Polybius]

40. That's smart

Who would be stupid enough to resign right before it kicks in?

[Wiz Imp]

43. The outrage here is ridiculous

This isn't "grifting" and the "generous pension" is not nearly as "generous" as people here obviously think.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is projected to receive a monthly congressional pension of approximately $1,232. This amount is based on her minimum of five years of service in the House of Representatives and her current annual salary.

As a member elected after 1984, Greene is covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). The standard salary for a rank-and-file Member of Congress is $174,000 per year, which is used as her "high-three" average salary.

Formula: The FERS pension formula for Members of Congress with less than 20 years of service (who retire before age 62) uses a 1.7% accrual rate. The annual pension is calculated as: $174,000 (high-three salary) × 0.017 (accrual rate) × 5 (years of service) = $14,790 per year. This annual amount is divided by 12 to get a monthly pension of approximately $1,232.

Greene, who is 51 years old, is not yet eligible to collect this pension. Under FERS rules, a former Member with five years of service must wait until they reach age 62 to begin receiving their deferred, unreduced pension.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) will be eligible to receive an annual pension of approximately $8,700 if she takes an immediate annuity upon her resignation in January 2026. That works out to $725 a month.

Hardly the windfall people here seem to think.

As for health insurance: Federal employees do not get free health insurance after retirement. Retired federal employees can get health insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program if they meet specific requirements, including being entitled to an immediate annuity and having been continuously enrolled in a plan for the five years before retiring. A federal employee retiring after 5 years at age 51 will pay their portion of the FEHB premium, which is based on their specific plan and coverage level (e.g., self-only, self plus one, family). The employee's contribution to the premium will remain the same as it was while they were employed.

Once again, hardly a windfall