US Senators Salary 2022: How Much Are They Earning Per Year?

Lawmakers confer during a negotiations on the floor of North Carolina's State Senate chamber, North Carolina, U.S. December 21, 2016.

Senators earn a fairly generous salary.

As per the Senate website, members of the U.S Senate receive $174,000 each year. Congressional leaders earn more since they have additional responsibilities.

The Senate President pro tempore receives $193,400. The Majority and Minority Leaders receive $193,400 annually.

Since 1975, Members of Congress have been eligible for annual cost-of-living adjustments. The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 made further changes to this system and established the guidelines currently in use.

The pay adjustments are pegged to the Employment Cost Index (ECI), a way for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to measure how much the cost to employ workers changes.

Each year, the adjustment takes effect automatically unless it gets denied statutorily by Congress.

In 2009, the salary of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives was increased by 2.8% from 169,300 to $174,000.

Every year since then, lawmakers have been voting against raising their salaries.

As per a Congressional Research Service report, if members of Congress received every adjustment prescribed by the ECI, their 2021 salary would have been $218,600, and their 2022 salary would have been $223,400.

Aside from their salary, senators also receive other benefits, including health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

Most receive their retirement plan through the Federal Employees' Retirement System. Members are only eligible to collect a pension at 62 if they have served for five years or longer.