Proposed Bill Would Revoke Pensions for Expelled Congressional Reps

Former Congressman George Santos, R-New York, was expelled from the House of Representatives Friday for a wide range of offenses, including using campaign funds for personal expenses and lying about his qualifications during his campaign.

The House Committee on Ethics published its report on Santos in November, and it alleges he “blatantly stole from his campaign.” Santos was expelled by a vote of 311 to 114, with 105 Republicans voting to expel.

In response to Santos’ expulsion, Representative Zachary Nunn, R-Iowa, proposed on Monday the Congressional Pension Accountability Act.

The bill would make any expelled member of Congress ineligible to collect a federal pension in connection with their Congressional service. It would also revoke the employer contributions made for the member into the Federal Thrift Savings Plan. It would also refund contributions made by the member and would not require them to pay back any part of their pension that they may have already collected, though it would count against any refund of their own contributions they may still be owed.

Under current law, a member of Congress must serve for at least five years to be vested in a federal pension, though service in other parts of the federal government, including the military, may be counted toward that requirement.

Since Santos served for about 11 months, he would not qualify anyway, but Nunn emphasizes the bill is primarily about general accountability, not Santos specifically.

The Nunn legislation was also made with an eye toward Senator Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, as Nunn noted in a press release: “Senator Robert Menendez, who is currently under indictment for accepting bribes from foreign governments, has been in office since 2006.”

According to a Congressional Research Service Report from July, members of Congress were required to participate in Social Security starting in 1984, and in 2003, they were required to also participate in the Federal Employee Retirement System (though they had been permitted to participate in it since 1984). The FERS is an annuity that is combined with Social Security and the TSP. A member with five years of service receives the full annuity from FERS at age 62; a member with 20 years of service can collect at age 50; and a member with at least 25 years of service can collect at any age.

According the report, as of October 2022, there were 358 retired members of Congress collecting an average of $45,276 annually under FERS.

Members only completely forfeit their annuity in cases of treason or espionage. If convicted of various felonies, they have to discount their service in Congress toward their five-year vesting, though not necessarily other federal service.

Since Santos was charged in October with 23 offenses, including wire fraud. If he were convicted, he would likely have been disqualified even without Nunn’s legislation. Menendez, charged with bribery in September, could likewise be disqualified from nearly 18 years of annuity credits under current law if convicted.

A timetable has not yet been set to vote on Nunn’s bill. New York’s 3rd Congressional District will hold a February 13 special election to replace Santos.