How many retired congressmen are still living

Enrollees and the government both pay for the insurance coverage. On average, the government pays 72 percent of the premiums for its workers, up to a maximum of 75 percent depending on the policy chosen.

As federal retirees , former members of Congress would still be responsible for paying the same share of premiums as active federal employees. Pelosi, who has served in Congress since , would receive her pension through the FERS plan, if she chose to participate. The accrual rate for service under FERS is 1. Pelosi, who is already one of the wealthiest members of Congress , would be entitled to a generous pension whenever her congressional service ends.

Isaacs, Katelin. Mach, Annie and Ada S. Jackson, Brooks. Roll Call. Casualty List: th Congress Hotakainen, Rob. In all, 26 GOP House members and four senators are forgoing reelection this year without declaring their candidacy for another office, while just seven Democrats in the House and one in the Senate are retiring outright.

The Republican retirements are nearing the level the party saw in , when 28 Republicans retired ahead of the midterms, foreshadowing the blue wave that swept in a Democratic House majority.

The announcements may indicate that GOP members have little confidence that their party will regain power in the House anytime soon. The departures helped Democrats pick up even more seats in the election. As the lone black Republican in the House, the former CIA officer, who represents a swing district along the border, was once seen as a rising star in the party at a time when it seemed Republicans would pursue bipartisan immigration legislation that could appeal to Latino voters.

Read: Will Hurd could be the canary in the coal mine. The retiring House Republicans do not include former Representative Tom Marino of Pennsylvania, who left Congress so early in his term—just two weeks after being sworn in—that a special election has already been held to replace him. Three of the six retiring Texans are getting out ahead of difficult reelection battles after narrowly winning in House and Senate election results are from the Associated Press. Over a year career in politics, Alexander had previously served as governor of Tennessee and education secretary under President George H.

He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in The year-old former chairman of the Senate Veterans Committee had been reelected to a third term in The fourth-term senator and chairman of the Budget Committee announced in May that he would not seek a fifth term.

The big question in Wyoming is not whether Republicans will hold the seat, but whether Representative Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, will make a run for it.

A year-old former CIA officer in just his third term, he was considered a rising star in the party and is the only black Republican currently serving in the House. Hurd was no shoo-in for reelection, however: He won his race by just 1, votes, and his exit makes the district along the Mexico border a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats. Walden is one of the senior-most Republicans to announce his retirement so far. First elected in , Sensenbrenner is the second-longest-serving Republican in Congress.

He served as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, was an original sponsor of the Patriot Act in , and has played a prominent role debating legislation on immigration, criminal justice, and voting rights for years.

His politics have defied easy characterization: moderate on spending, pro-gun control, and a hawk on national security and immigration. With his name off the ballot, Democrats are likely to target his suburban district on Long Island. Brooks similarly dealt the GOP an unexpected blow with her retirement announcement in June The former federal prosecutor had only arrived in the House in And while the seat has been safely Republican for years, Democrats are eyeing the district in the hope that they can peel off affluent suburban voters turned off by Trump.

Roby was first elected in , but struggled in the Trump era: She withdrew her endorsement of the then GOP nominee in October after the release of the Access Hollywood tape, but she came around once he became president, and sought—and received—his endorsement in her reelection bid in The onetime Real World star resigned from Congress in September , after he and his wife learned that the baby girl they were expecting would be born with a heart condition.

Duffy was first elected to the House in and became a reliable Republican vote. Though his northwest-Wisconsin district backed Barack Obama in , it swung heavily to Trump in First elected in , Shimkus had risen to a senior position on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Fiction: No. Members who have participated in the congressional pension system are vested after five years of service. If members leave Congress before reaching retirement age, they may leave their contributions behind and receive a deferred pension later.

Members of Congress do not continue to draw their same pay after they are no longer in office.