Introduction
A country is run by different institutions which work together and run the country. The constitution of the country gives power and authority to the different institutions and elected people to exercise the power to make decisions for one’s homeland. The government of the US is structured on three pillars i.e., Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. Let us know about the salaries for the members of Congress and the average salary of members of Congress in this article.
Congress of the United Nations is the Legislature body of the US federal government. Comprising of two bodies, upper and lower, the United Nations Congress makes laws for the country by the constitution of the state ensuring the progressive working of the country.
The US federal government’s Legislature, Congress, is one of the major branches of the Us government. This bicameral body consists of a total of 535 members. Each member gets a salary according to the nature of their membership depending upon the work they are doing. The salaries of members are set by the laws. An automatic annual cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA)is set for the Congress members. An increase in COLA had been denied since 2009 which makes the rank-and-file legislators’ yearly income about $174,000. A few members have high salaries than other members. We will discuss the salaries of Congress members below.
What does Congress do?
Congress represents the people of America and makes laws for the nation. This legislative branch of the federal government of the US share its powers with the other two branches of the US i.e., the executive which is led by the president, and the judiciary (having the Supreme Court as the highest body). Among all three, Congress is the only branch of the government that is directly elected by the people.
Congress is there to make laws, raise and provide money for the public and keep a check eye on its expenditure, declare wars, do approvals for the presidential appointments, do investigations when required, and make approvals for the treaties once negotiated by the executive branch. Moreover, it also charges federal officers.
Average salary of members of Congress
The salary packages and benefits offered to the Senate and the Representatives of Congress are a hot topic for people and a center of fascination for a long. The laws set the salaries of the Congress members. The Congress members are eligible for annual cost-of-living adjustments since 1975. On an average basis, United States Congress members receive a salary of $190.909.
Salary of rank-and-file members
- Annually, $174,000 is the current base salary of all rank-and-file members of the Senate and US House. No increase in salaries has been witnessed since 2009. The salaries of the Congress members are far less in comparison to the salaries of many mid-level managers and executives
- Members of Congress have a free right of turning down pay increases as a few do choose.
- The congressional pay rates also have an effect on the salaries of some senior government executives and federal judges under the complex system of calculations as carried out bt the US Office of Personal Management.
Salary of leaders of Congress members
Leaders of the Senate and the House get a high salary package as compared to rank-and-file members as shown below.
Leader of the Senate
Leader of Majority Party: $193,400
Leader of Minority Party: $193,400
Leader of the House of Representatives
Leader of Majority Party: $193,400
Leader of Minority Party: $193,400
Speaker of the House: $223,500
Congress is comprised of?
The United Nations Congress is a bicameral composed of two houses. One upper body is called “the Senate” and a lower body is called “the House of Representatives”. The Senate and all other representatives of Congress are elected through direct elections. There are a total of 535 voting members of Congress out of which 100 are senators and the rest 435 are representatives. The house of Representatives also has 6 non-voting members.
Pay Increase
As it has been told earlier that members of Congress are eligible of receiving the annual cost of living, the annual cost-of-the-living increase is also available for them to equal the amount given to the federal employees. There is an automatic effect of raise on the 1st of January every year to the moment when Congress votes to decline the raise through the passage of a combined resolution. Similar has been done by Congress since 2009.
Benefits provided to Congress members
Members of Congress are provided with some other benefits besides the salary which include social security, health insurance, and most importantly retirement and pension facilities.
Retirement
Congressional retirement is funded by taxes. Congress members pay around 6.2% of their salary in Social Security taxes. Moreover, they contribute about 1.3% of their salaries to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) retirement plan.
Pension Details
the age at which members of Congress become eligible for pension is 62 in case of completion of 5 years of service. however, those members who have a service tenure of 20 years are eligible for pension at the age of 50 years.
The basis of pension money is calculated after consideration of two things. One is the total years of service and the other is the average of the highest 3 years salary. The laws say that starting amount of retirement annuity of Congress members should not be greater than 80% of their final salary.
The average pension received by retired members under CSRS is $75,528 and those under FERS have an average pension of % 41,208 yearly as pe Congressional Research Service.
Allowance issued to Congress members
To meet the expenses made while carrying out congressional work, Members of Congress are provided an annual allowance. This allowance includes the following expenses:
Official office expenses, including mail and staff, travel expenses between a state or district of member and Washington, DC, and the expenses of other goods and services.,
Member’s Outside income
Naturally, members carry on their private businesses or careers during their services. But there is a permissible “outside earned income” for federal employees which cannot exceed 15% of the annual rate of basic pay for level II.
Member’s Tax Deduction
When living outside the premises of congressional districts or home states, members of Congress can deduce up to $3,000 annually. No more deductions are allowed.
Conclusion
The legislative branch of the US federal government, Congress is a large branch with a large number of members each receiving a handsome amount varying depending on the nature of their work. Many other benefits along with allowance are also offered to the Congress members.
FAQs
1.What rumors are popular regarding the Social Security tax of Congress members?
It is that Congress members do not need to pay Social Security taxes. It is wrong.
2.Can Congress members retire after only one term with full pay?
At least service of 5 years is mandatory to be eligible for a pension.
