This report discusses the current law with respect to the loss of the federal pension of a Member of Congress for the conviction of certain crimes and the recent law to limit a former Member's receiving service credit toward a federal pension for any time served as a Member of Congress if that person is convicted of any one of a number of criminal offenses involving abuse of the public trust. 110-81 , 121 Stat. 112-105 , 126 Stat. Hiss Act Provisions Regarding Federal Retirement Annuity Payments

Members of Congress (and most other officers and employees of the federal government) now forfeit the federal retirement annuities for which they had qualified if they are convicted of a federal crime that relates to espionage, treason or other national security offense against the United States, as expressly designated in the so-called "Hiss Act." The provisions of this law concerning forfeiture of pensions apply, at 5 U.S.C. Amendments in STOCK Act

The pension forfeiture provisions originally placed in the law by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA) were amended in 2012 by the provisions of the so-called "Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act," (STOCK Act). The provisions adopted by Congress in HLOGA and amended in the STOCK Act provide that any former Member of Congress who, while a Member of Congress, or while the President, Vice President, or while an elected official of a state or local government, had engaged in conduct that results in the conviction for one of several criminal offenses will lose all of the "creditable service" toward his or her federal pension annuity earned for being a Member of Congress. This forfeiture will apply to such misconduct if "[e]very act or omission of the individual that is needed to satisfy the elements of the offense directly relates to the performance of the individual's official duties as a Member, the President, the Vice President, or an elected official of a State or local government." Member Contributions and Thrift Savings Plan

Under the provisions of HLOGA, as amended, those convicted of offenses covered by the loss of annuity provisions may receive back their own contributions to the retirement system, as well as their own contributions and earnings in their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account (in a similar manner as in the operation of the Hiss Act provisions).
Members of Congress may forfeit or lose their congressional pensions upon conviction of certain federal crimes under two different provisions of federal law:
1. Under the so-called "Hiss Act," Members of Congress (and most other officers and employees of the federal government) will forfeit their entire federal employee retirement annuities if convicted of a federal crime that relates to espionage, treason, or several other national security offenses against the United States.
2. In addition to the Hiss Act provisions, Congress enacted, as part of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA; P.L. 110-81, Section 401), and as amended by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act; P.L. 112-105, Section 15) in 2012, further provisions that will deprive Members of all of their "creditable service" as a Member of Congress for federal pension purposes if that Member is convicted of any one of a number of federal laws concerning corruption, election crimes, or misconduct in office. The forfeiture provisions of this law will apply if the criminal misconduct was engaged in while the individual was a Member of Congress (or while the individual was the President, Vice President, or an elected official of a state or local government), and if every element of the offense "directly relates to the performance of the individual's official duties as a Member, the President, the Vice President, or an elected official of a State or local government." 5 U.S.C. § 8411(l)(2)(B).
Any new or additional penalty for the commission of a crime, such as the penalty of forfeiture or loss of part or all of one's federal pension, must, under the Constitution's ex post facto prohibition, apply prospectively only, and cannot work retroactively to take away the pensions or annuities of Members of Congress or former Members who had already engaged in the covered criminal misconduct prior to the passage of the new law. The new statutory penalties, in a similar manner to the current Hiss Act, would allow convicted former Members to retain their own contributions to the retirement fund, as well as their own savings and earnings in the Thrift Savings Plan under the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). Unlike the operation of forfeitures under the Hiss Act, however, the more recent forfeiture provisions apparently would allow Members to keep the government's contribution to their Thrift Savings Plan, while under the Hiss Act such contribution appears to be forfeited.