Congressional Research Service Reports - 56 Matching Results
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- Congressional Salaries and Allowances
- This report provides basic information on congressional salaries and allowances and recent developments. First, the report briefly summarizes the current salary of Members of Congress; limits or prohibitions on their outside earned income, honoraria, and tax deductions; options for life and health insurance; and retirement benefits. Second, the report provides information on allowances available to Representatives and Senators to support them in their official and representational duties.
- Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues
- The purpose of this report is to provide a general discussion of legislative provisions and proposals relating to the military benefits for former spouses.
- Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues
- The purpose of this report is to provide a general discussion of legislative provisions and proposals relating to the military benefits for former spouses.
- The Military Survivor Benefit Plan: A Description of Its Provisions
- This report describes the basic provisions of the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and all relevant changes or modifications that have occurred since its creation in 1972.
- Military Death Benefits: Status and Proposals
- This report describes the various death benefits from the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Social Security available to certain survivors of members of the Armed Forces who die on active duty.
- Military Retirement: Background and Recent Developments
- This report discusses the noncontributory military retirement system which includes monthly compensation and benefits after an active or reserve military career, disability retirement for those physically unfit to continue to serve, and survivor benefits for the eligible survivors of deceased retirees.
- Automatic Cost of Living Adjustments: Some Economic and Practical Considerations
- This report looks at how automatic cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) influence the budget and identifies major programs that have indexing provisions. It also explains what price indexes attempt to measure and discusses some of their weaknesses. Finally, it points out some practical things to keep in mind when establishing an indexing provision.
- Provisions in the United States Constitution,Federal Statutes and Rules of the House and Senate Governing the Conduct and Activities of Members of Congress and Their Staff with Appropriate Annotations of Cases
- This report is about the provisions in the United States Constitution, Federal statutes and rules of the house and senate Governing the conduct and activities of Members of Congress and their staff with appropriate annotations of cases.
- COLAs for Military Retirees: Summary of Congressional and Executive Branch Action, 1982-2001 (FY1983-FY2002)
- The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1982 (which applied to FY1983 budget issues) suspended previously existing permanent law pertaining to cost-of-living adjustments(COLAs) for federal civilian and military retirees, and changed the COLA calculation formulas to postpone and/or reduce future COLAs for military retirees during 1983-1985 (FY1984-FY1986).This report examines executive and congressional COLA-related initiatives associated with each of the fiscal year budgeting processes from calendar year 1982 (FY1983) through calendar year 2000 (FY2001).
- COLAs for Military Retirees: Summary of Congressional and Executive Branch Action, 1982-2003 (FY1983-FY2004)
- The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1982 (which applied to FY1983 budget issues) suspended previously existing permanent law pertaining to cost-of-living adjustments(COLAs) for federal civilian and military retirees, and changed the COLA calculation formulas to postpone and/or reduce future COLAs for military retirees during 1983-1985 (FY1984-FY1986).This report examines executive and congressional COLA-related initiatives associated with each of the fiscal year budgeting processes from calendar year 1982 (FY1983) through calendar year 2000 (FY2001).
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: A Fact Sheet
- No Description Available.
- Pensions: Major Provisions of the Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2000
- No Description Available.
- Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): Issues and Proposed Expansion
- No Description Available.
- Social Security: The Government Pension Offset
- No Description Available.
- Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
- This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage these workers would otherwise receive because of Social Security’s benefit formula that favors workers with smaller amounts of Social Security-covered career earnings. Opponents contend that the provision is basically imprecise and often unfair.
- The Effect of State-Legalized Same-Sex Marriage on Social Security Benefits and Pensions
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- Report on the military retirement system, including benefits, disability, budget, costs, cash bonuses, and more.
- Federal Employees' Retirement System: Benefits and Financing
- This report discusses the retirement systems in place for federal employees including the Civil Service Retirement System (for employees hired before 1984) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (for employees hired in 1984 or later). Both programs require participants to contribute toward the cost of their pensions through a payroll tax. This report also summarizes relevant legislation in the 113th Congress that would make significant changes to federal benefits and financing, including H.J.Res. 59, S. 18, S. 1678, and H.R. 3639.
- Federal Employees' Retirement System: Benefits and Financing
- Most civilian federal employees who were hired before 1984 are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System, and contribute 7.0% of their pay to a retirement fund. Federal employees hired in 1984 or later are covered by the Federal Employees' Retirement System and contribute 0.8% of their pay to a retirement fund. Both require participants to contribute toward the cost of their pensions through a payroll tax. The taxable wage base is $106,800 in 2011. This report discusses both retirement funds.
- Federal Employees’ Retirement System: Budget and Trust Fund Issues
- This report discusses the two retirement systems for federal employees: (1) the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) for individuals hired before 1984, and (2) the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) for individuals hired in 1984 or later.
- Federal Employees' Retirement System: Summary of Recent Trends
- This report describes recent trends in the number of civil service annuitants and the financial status of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund.
- Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress
- This report discusses the Civil Service Retirement Act of 1920 (P.L. 66-215) that established a pension system for federal employees in the executive branch of government.
- Military Retirement: Background and Recent Developments
- This report discusses the military retirement system. The system currently includes monthly compensation for qualified active and reserve retirees, disability benefits for those deemed medically unfit to serve, and a survivor annuity program for the eligible survivors of deceased retirees.
- Railroad Retirement: Legislation in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Social Security Retirement Earnings Test: How Earnings Affect Benefits
- Social Security benefits received before a person attains full retirement age (FRA) are subject to an actuarial reduction for early retirement and also may be reduced by the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test (RET) if the beneficiary has earnings that exceed an annual threshold. This report explains how the RET is applied under current law and provides detailed benefit examples to show how the RET affects both the worker beneficiary and any family members (auxiliary beneficiaries) who receive benefits based on the worker beneficiary’s record. The report points out features of the RET that are not widely known or understood, such as the recomputation of benefits when a beneficiary attains FRA to adjust (increase) benefits to take into account months for which no benefit or a partial benefit was paid as a result of the RET. Finally, the report discusses policy issues related to the RET, including recent research on the effect of the RET on work effort and the decision to claim Social Security benefits.
- Social Security Retirement Earnings Test: How Earnings Affect Benefits
- Social Security benefits received before a person attains full retirement age (FRA) are subject to an actuarial reduction for early retirement and also may be reduced by the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test (RET) if the beneficiary has earnings that exceed an annual threshold. This report explains how the RET is applied under current law and provides detailed benefit examples to show how the RET affects both the worker beneficiary and any family members (auxiliary beneficiaries) who receive benefits based on the worker beneficiary’s record. The report points out features of the RET that are not widely known or understood, such as the recomputation of benefits when a beneficiary attains FRA to adjust (increase) benefits to take into account months for which no benefit or a partial benefit was paid as a result of the RET. Finally, the report discusses policy issues related to the RET, including recent research on the effect of the RET on work effort and the decision to claim Social Security benefits.
- Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969
- Under the terms of the Federal Employees' Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-509), pay for civilian federal employees is adjusted each year to keep the salaries of federal workers competitive with comparable occupations in the private sector. The annual increases in federal employee pay are based on changes in the cash compensation paid to workers in the private sector, as measured by the ECI. Under certain circumstances, the President may limit the annual increase in federal pay by executive order. Federal law also requires Social Security benefits and the pensions paid to retired federal employees to be adjusted each year. The COLAs for both Social Security and civil service pensions are based on the rate of inflation as measured by the CPI.
- Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969
- Under the terms of the Federal Employees' Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-509), pay for civilian federal employees is adjusted each year to keep the salaries of federal workers competitive with comparable occupations in the private sector. The annual increases in federal employee pay are based on changes in the cash compensation paid to workers in the private sector, as measured by the ECI. Under certain circumstances, the President may limit the annual increase in federal pay by executive order. Federal law also requires Social Security benefits and the pensions paid to retired federal employees to be adjusted each year. The COLAs for both Social Security and civil service pensions are based on the rate of inflation as measured by the CPI.
- Pension Issues: Lump-Sum Distributions and Retirement Income Security
- This report covers several issues regarding pensions. Forty-seven percent of all workers aged 21 and older participated in employer-sponsored retirement plans in 2006, but not all of these workers will receive a pension or other income from these plans when they retire.
- Regulating Private Pensions: A Brief Summary of ERISA
- This report briefly discusses the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and how it protects the interests of participants and beneficiaries in private-sector employee benefit plans. ERISA covers a number of fringe benefits provided by employers, but most of its provisions deal with pension plans. Pension plans sponsored by the federal, state, and local governments, or by churches generally are exempt from ERISA.
- Retirement Plan Participation and Contributions: Trends from 1998 to 2006
- This report discusses worker participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans. The analysis CRS conducted for this report focused on workers aged 21 and older with a paid job in the private sector.
- Funding Postal Service Obligations to the Civil Service Retirement System
- This report provides background on the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) funding of its retirement obligations, describes and analyzes the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recalculation, and discusses considerations Congress may bring to bear on the draft legislation.
- Brief Facts About Congressional Pensions
- This report contains a table that lists the number of retired Members of Congress and the average amount of congressional pension they receive in retirement.
- Employer Stock in Retirement Plans: Investment Risk and Retirement Security
- This CRS Report begins by describing the shift from traditional defined benefit pensions to defined contribution plans – like the 401(k) – that has occurred over the last 20 to 25 years. It then summarizes recent research findings on the extent to which employees’ retirement savings are invested in employer stock. The third section of the report outlines the provisions of federal law that define an employer’s duty to manage its retirement plan in the best interest of the plan’s participants. The report concludes with a summary of pension reform legislation passed by the House of Representatives in April 2002 and a description of several pension reform bills that have been introduced in the Senate in 2002.
- Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969
- Pay increases for current federal employees and cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for retired federal employees often differ because they are based on changes in different economic variables. Increases in pay for civilian federal workers are indexed to wage and salary increases in the private-sector, as measured by the Employment Cost Index (ECI), while federal retirement and disability benefits are indexed to price increases as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This report discusses the procedures for determining such increases.
- Pension Reform: The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001
- No Description Available.
- Defined Benefit Pension Reform for Single-Employer Plans
- This report provides an outline of the complex current law governing the funding of single-employer defined benefit pension plans. It describes reporting and disclosure requirements that apply to plans. This report also includes an illustration of the effect on a hypothetical plan sponsor's plan contribution and funded ratio of the credit balance approach used in current law versus the Administration proposal.
- Railroad Retirement Board: Retirement, Survivor, Disability, Unemployment, and Sickness Benefits
- This report describes the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) eligibility requirements, benefit types and compensation amounts, and program financing.
- U.S. Periods of War
- This report lists the beginning and ending dates for "periods of war" found in Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations, dealing with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It also lists and differentiates other beginning dates given in declarations of war, as well as termination of hostilities dates and armistice and ending dates given in proclamations, laws, or treaties.
- Pension Bibliography-Books and Technical Studies
- This report provides a bibliography of resources relate to pension plans.
- Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
- This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage or “windfall” these workers would otherwise receive as a result of the interaction between the Social Security benefit formula and the workers’ relatively short careers in Social Security-covered employment.
- Veterans' Benefits: Burial Benefits and National Cemeteries
- Report providing a descriptive analysis of both nonmonetary and monetary burial benefits and national cemeteries.
- Veterans' Benefits: Pension Benefit Programs
- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers several pension benefit programs for veterans as well as their surviving spouses and dependent children. The most current pension programs available (for those meeting the eligibility criteria on or after January 1, 1979) are the Improved Disability Pension for certain low-income veterans and the Improved Death Pension for certain low-income surviving spouses or children of veterans. There is also a special pension for Medal of Honor recipients. This report describes these programs, including the eligibility criteria and current benefit levels. This report will be updated as needed to reflect legislative activity and changes to benefits or eligibility requirements.
- Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
- This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP) reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage or “windfall” these workers would otherwise receive as a result of the interaction between the Social Security benefit formula and the workers’ relatively short careers in Social Security-covered employment. Opponents contend that the provision is basically imprecise and can be unfair.
- Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
- This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage or “windfall” these workers would otherwise receive as a result of the interaction between the Social Security benefit formula and the workers’ relatively short careers in Social Security-covered employment. Opponents contend that the provision is basically imprecise and can be unfair.
- Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
- This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage or “windfall” these workers would otherwise receive as a result of the interaction between the Social Security benefit formula and the workers’ relatively short careers in Social Security-covered employment. Opponents contend that the provision is basically imprecise and can be unfair.
- The Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008: An Overview
- This report highlights the provisions of the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA) (P.L. 110-455) relating to the economic crisis. This report also discusses certain technical corrections to the Pension Protection Act made by WRERA, and certain other notable provisions of the Act affecting retirement plans and benefits.
- Cash Balance Pension Plans and Claims of Age Discrimination
- This report describes cash balance plans, discusses the claims that cash balance plans do and do not violate the pre-Act age discrimination provisions, and provides an overview of P.L. 109-280, as it applies to this issue.
- Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): Legislative Issues in the 106th Congress
- Bills introduced in the 106th Congress would have raised the limit on contributions to individualretirement accounts(IRAs) and eased other federal IRA rules. The House passed H.R. 5203, incorporating the higher IRA contribution limits of H.R.1102, on September 19, 2000. The IRA provisions of the bill would have cost $21.7 billion in foregone revenue over 10 years. The Senate Finance Committee ordered H.R. 1102 reported (with amendments) on September 7, 2000, but the bill did not reach the Senate floor before the 106th Congress adjourned in December 2000. The Finance Committee’s bill, in addition to raising contribution limits, would have allowed tax credits in lieu of deductions for a portion of IRA contributions.