Here's another e-mail forward... Is this true, too?
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2004 Election Issue
This must be an issue in "04." Please! Keep it going.

SOCIAL SECURITY: (This is worth the read. It's short and to the point.)

Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years. Our Senators and Congress men &women do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it.

You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan.

In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan.

For all practical purposes their plan works like this: When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die, except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments. For example, former Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275,000.00 during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average life span for each.

Their cost for this excellent plan is $00.00. Nada. Zilch. This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds-our tax dollars at work!

From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into-every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer) --we can expect to get an average $1,000 per month after retirement. Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000. monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's benefits!

Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made. That change would be to jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us ... then sit back and watch how fast they would fix it.

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve.

False - http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/pensions.htm

Just a suggestion, but you might want to post these in the urban legends forum

It used to be true. But in 1983,members of congress finally started paying into Social Security.

However, there are about 5 million other government workers who do not pay into Social Security.

When suggested they start paying into the failing Social Security scheme, they flatly refuse. Who can blame then, however? No one is guaranteed to ever get any Social Security payments. There is no Social Security “trust fund” and ”[Workers would] be better off if Social Security had never existed.”

JG - The details are all false (they do not continue to draw the same salary, etc.) and always have been. It's true that they didn't pay Social Security before '83, but this is only because they, along with other government employees, payed into the Civil Retirement System instead.

Thank you, Methos (as you can see, my post was graciously re-located for me).