Congressional Pension Accountability Act

Summary#

This bill says that if a Member of Congress is expelled, or resigns after an ethics investigative subcommittee finds substantial reason to believe they violated rules or law, their service as a Member will not count toward a federal annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). For FERS, government contributions to that Member's Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and earnings on those contributions are forfeited when Member service becomes noncreditable. The bill allows the Member (or beneficiaries) to receive any portion of the lump-sum credit that is attributable to the now-noncreditable Member service, minus amounts already paid. It says previously paid annuity amounts do not have to be repaid. Ethics committees must keep related records. A presidential pardon will not restore a forfeited annuity. The Office of Personnel Management will write rules to carry out the changes. The law applies to expulsions or ethics statements about conduct that occur after the law is enacted.

What it means for you#

• For current and former Members of Congress: Expulsion or a resignation following an ethics subcommittee's Statement of Alleged Violation can remove credit for Member service when figuring CSRS or FERS annuity eligibility and amounts. Under FERS, agency contributions to a Member's TSP tied to that service can be forfeited. Lump-sum credits tied to the service may be paid back on application, less prior payments. Previously paid annuity checks do not have to be returned.
• For beneficiaries: The bill keeps rules for paying lump-sum credits to survivors or appropriate persons if the Member dies.
• For taxpayers and agencies: The bill requires OPM to make regulations and ethics committees to keep records. The bill does not state dollar amounts or overall budget effects.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on the bill's overall cost or estimated budgetary impact. The statute does describe specific financial outcomes for affected individuals: return (refund) of the portion of a lump-sum credit attributable to forfeited Member service (less amounts already paid), and forfeiture of Government contributions and earnings to the TSP for FERS-covered Members when Member service becomes noncreditable.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.