Can members of Congress receive both a pension and a salary or other federal benefits simultaneously?

1. How congressional pay and pensions are structured — plain facts

Members of Congress receive a congressional salary set by law (rank‑and‑file at $174,000 in recent years, higher for leaders) and are eligible for retirement benefits under federal systems that resemble other federal employees’ plans; pension amounts depend on years served and the average of the highest three years of salary (“high‑3”) ^{[4] [1] [5]}. Under FERS, the general formula for Members is roughly 1.7% of high‑3 for each of the first 20 years and 1.0% for each year after that — producing a defined‑benefit annuity rather than continuing the Member’s full active salary in retirement ^{[2] [3]}.

2. Receiving salary and pension at the same time — what the reporting shows

Available sources explain that retirees who are reemployed by the federal government face rules that affect their annuities: FERS requires that annuities for reemployed retirees be continued during reemployment but deducted from the retirees’ salaries, and certain recomputation or supplemental annuity rules depend on the length and timing of reemployment ^[2]. Congressional CRS and GAO reporting note that congressional retirees who return to government work do not simply collect both full salary and full annuity without adjustment; the retirement system contains offsets and recomputation rules ^[2].

3. Eligibility thresholds and timing matter — age and years of service

A Member’s right to an annuity and the amount hinge on age and service: under FERS a Member generally becomes eligible for a pension at age 62 with at least five years’ service (earlier eligibility can occur with longer service), and other permutations (age 50 with 20 years, any age after 25 years) are set in law and applied depending on which system covers the Member (FERS vs. CSRS) ^{[1] [5]}. Because eligibility is statutory, the ability to draw an annuity while holding another federal post or salary depends on the Member’s specific retirement status and the reemployment rules described above ^{[1] [2]}.

4. No blanket “double‑dipping” rule in the sources — but offsets exist

None of the provided sources assert a blanket prohibition that would always bar a Member from receiving both pension and salary; instead, the FERS rules cited by the Government Accountability Office describe deductions and recomputation when annuitants are reemployed, indicating system mechanisms to prevent unadjusted concurrent full payments ^[2]. In short: “double income” situations are handled by statutory offsets and administrative rules rather than an across‑the‑board ban ^[2].

5. How large can congressional pensions get — context for the sums involved

Pensions can be substantial relative to congressional pay: reporting notes pensions can reach up to about 80% of final salary in certain long‑service scenarios (with rank‑and‑file salary at $174,000 used as an example), and older CSRS retirees averaged six‑figure annual pensions in some cohorts; these figures help explain why questions about concurrent pay and pensions draw public attention ^{[5] [1]}.

6. Where disagreements and limitations in the record remain

The provided sources give formulas, examples, and GAO/CRS discussion of reemployment offsets, but they do not offer a single, plain‑language table saying “when X then Y” for every possible combination of active service, retirement election, and reemployment scenario — readers should note that specific outcomes depend on which retirement system the Member is under, dates of service, age at retirement, and whether the Member is later reemployed by the federal government ^{[1] [2]}. Available sources do not mention case‑by‑case examples of contemporary Members who simultaneously drew full congressional salary and full pension without reductions.

7. Bottom line for readers and policymakers

Members of Congress may be eligible for both a salary and federal retirement benefits, but the federal retirement statutes and administrative rules (especially under FERS) create offsets and recomputation rules to limit unadjusted concurrent payments when retirees return to federal employment; there is no single simple “yes/no” rule across every scenario in the source material — specific outcomes require applying the retirement formulas and reemployment rules to the Member’s facts ^{[2] [1]}.