While most of us have to work 20+ years to get a pension, members of Congress are eligible for a pension after just five years in office. The pensions that lawmakers get are defined benefit plans, which means they are guaranteed to be paid a certain sum for as long as they're alive and these benefits increase with the cost of living. Both are features that have become rare in private sector retirement plans.
North Carolina's Kay Hagan, for instance, lost her first bid for reelection. For senators and representatives with only six years in office, the annual pension is about 10% of annual pay -- in Hagan's case, that's $17,400 a year based on her annual salary of $174,000. Not bad for six years of wasting taxpayer money.
Members of Congress also have a retirement savings plan similar to a 401(k), which matches up to 5% of what they contribute to it.
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