Rich Nugent Introduces Congressional Pension Reform

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Rich Nugent filed his first piece of legislation on Wednesday, a measure allowing members of Congress to opt out of their pension system.

When I was filing all of the employment paperwork prior to being sworn in as a congressman, I was shocked to learn that I was not permitted to decline the congressional pension, said Nugent. I was able to decline federally funded health insurance, but not the pension.Apparently, under current law, I am required to take it whether I like it or not.

In my opinion, my career was in law enforcement not in Washington, continued the former Hernando County sheriff. The health insurance and the retirement benefits I get shouldnt be any different from any other retiree from the sheriffs office just because Im a member of Congress now. Under current law, that is not a principle I am allowed to live by and I dont think thats right.

After consulting with legal experts, I confirmed that the law will need to be changed to allow me to decline congressional retirement benefits, and today I have introduced legislation that would allow me to do that. Nugent added. The bill would allow members of Congress to opt out of the congressional pension, as well as the federal match to their deferred compensation plan commonly known as the TSP. I dont have a problem with contributing a portion of my salary to a deferred compensation plan. That is a standard practice across industries, and for somebody my age its a responsible thing to do. But under current law, if I decide to contribute my own money to my retirement, I have to accept a full taxpayer-funded match up to 5 percent of my salary. Worse yet, even if I dont contribute, the federal government is going to put in 1 percent of my salary anyway. Most men and women in the military dont get a federal match like this. How can I look my three boys in the eye, all of whom are serving in the Army, and say my service is more valuable than yours thats why I get a match to my TSP and you dont?

This is a very personal decision for my wife and me, he concluded.Opting out of federal health benefits is costing us $9,000 extra per year. The pension and the nine grand in insurance savings would be nice to have, but we just dont think thats right. Our goal isnt to impose our views on anybody else, I just think elected officials ought to have the right to decide for themselves.Thats what this bill allows us to do.