text: By law, the starting amount of a Member's retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary.There were 611 retired Members of Congress receiving federal pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service as of October 1, 2016. Of this number, 335 had retired under CSRS and were receiving an average annual pension of $74,028. A total of 276 Members had retired with service under FERS and were receiving an average annual pension of $41,076 in 2016. Forfeiture
  In 2003, after James Traficant was expelled from Congress, several Congressmen tried passing a bill that would prevent expelled members from receiving their pensions. The bill was stalled and eventually dropped after being sent to the House Administration and Reforms committee for review. In 2007, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act was enacted; this act provides that a member of Congress convicted of one or more of a list of enumerated felonies (those relating to  corruption, election crimes, or official misconduct) will forfeit his or her pension. Refusal to participate
  Congressman Ron Paul refused to participate in the congressional pension system, labeling it "immoral." North Carolina Congressman Howard Coble did not participate in the pension system. 