Federal Pensions: Relationship Between Pensions and Final Salaries for Retired Former Members of Congress

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO responded to a series of questions concerning the final salaries of former members of Congress, focusing on: (1) determining the number of former members, if any, whose pensions have come to exceed the final salaries that they earned while working; (2) explaining why these members' pensions came to exceed their final salaries; and (3) determining the difference, if any, in these members' pension amounts had the current cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) policy been in effect without interruption since 1962, and also determining any difference in the number of retired members whose pensions would have exceeded their final salaries.