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Can former members of Congress receive both a military pension and a congressional pension, and how are they coordinated?
Executive summary
Yes — former Members of Congress can receive both a congressional (civilian) pension under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and military retired pay, but the way those benefits are computed and coordinated depends on which civilian retirement system covers the Member and whether Congress or OPM offsets or credits military service in the civilian annuity calculation (for example, FERS allows certain military service to be credited in computation) [1] [2] [3]. Available sources do not give a single simple rule that always reduces one payment by the full amount of the other; instead, CSRS had specific offset/“Windfall” arrangements historically and FERS/OPM rules permit adding limited military service credit into the civilian annuity computation [4] [2] [3].
1. Two federal pensions can exist together — but they’re not always independent
Members of Congress who also served in the military may be eligible for both military retired pay and a congressional/civilian annuity; federal law has long allowed simultaneous entitlements, but Congress and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) apply rules to coordinate service credit and sometimes offset benefits historically under CSRS while FERS treats military service differently for computation and crediting [4] [2] [3]. In short: “both” is possible, but the final civilian annuity can reflect how military service is credited or counted [2] [3].
2. CSRS history: offsets and “coordination” with Social Security and other pensions
For Members covered by CSRS, Congress previously provided options and offset arrangements to coordinate CSRS benefits with Social Security — and similar offset logic has applied in cases where a Member’s pension stemmed from non-Social-Security-covered work [4]. GAO and legislative histories show CSRS beneficiaries had distinct coordination arrangements, including an “offset plan” in some circumstances that reduced CSRS benefits by Social Security amounts attributable to the same service [4]. Available sources do not provide a single sentence saying CSRS always subtracts full military retired pay from congressional pensions; rather, CSRS historically had specific offset mechanics tied to Social Security and special eligibility windows [4].
3. FERS treatment: crediting military service into the annuity calculation
Under FERS — the retirement system that covers most Members elected after 1984 and many who elected to switch — OPM’s computation rules permit adding certain military service as “creditable service” for computing the civilian annuity (for example, up to five years plus military while on leave as a Member, and specific 2.5% or 1.7% accrual formulas apply) [2] [5]. This is a form of coordination: the civilian pension calculation can include limited military service credit so the FERS annuity is higher than it would be without that credit; OPM rules and FERS computation guidance spell out how much military service can be counted [2] [3].
4. No one-size-fits-all dollar-for-dollar offset reported in these sources
The available reporting and official guides show multiple mechanisms (crediting military time into civilian computation; historical CSRS offset plans tied to Social Security) but do not present a universal rule that military retired pay is always deducted dollar-for-dollar from a congressional pension [4] [2] [3]. Readers should not assume every former Member loses X dollars of congressional pension because of military pay without checking which system (CSRS or FERS), the Member’s hire/coverage dates, and whether military time was used to compute the civilian annuity [4] [2] [3].
5. Practical implications and common scenarios
- A Member covered by FERS who has qualifying military service can often count some military years in the FERS annuity computation, increasing the civilian pension rather than triggering an across‑the‑board subtraction from military retired pay [2] [3].
- A Member whose benefits are under CSRS may face different historical offset structures, especially for service periods that predate Social Security coverage mandates, because CSRS rules were designed before Social Security coordination became universal and Congress implemented specific offset options [4].
These are framework examples; individual cases depend on precise dates and elections [4] [2].
6. Where to look for a definitive answer about a specific person
To determine how one particular Member’s military retired pay and congressional pension interact, consult the Member’s civilian retirement coverage (CSRS vs. FERS), the OPM “Computation” and “Creditable Service” rules that list how much military service can be added, and any historical CSRS offset elections that applied to that individual [2] [3] [4]. OPM and the Library of Congress CRS summaries are the primary references for the formulas and coordination mechanics [2] [6].
Limitations: The provided sources explain the legal frameworks, historical offsets, and OPM computation rules but do not give a single unified, step‑by‑step example showing every combination of military pay and congressional pension outcomes for all cases; specifics require applying those rules to an individual’s service dates and elections [4] [2] [3].