The Baltimore County Council will deal with a pair of competing pension reform plans Tuesday. Each bill was drafted by a councilman who is considering a run for the county executive's job. Both are efforts to limit the generous benefits available to council members and respond to a public outcry over the current system that allows veteran legislators to collect their full salary for life after serving 20 years.

Neither measure is likely to satisfy critics who want to see officials move from a pension system to a 401(k)-style contribution plan.

Reforms proposed by Councilmen Kevin Kamenetz and Joseph Bartenfelder still provide retirement benefits that "far surpass those the average Baltimore County working family can expect to receive," said Joe Seehusen, co-chairman of the county chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a group that advocates for limited government spending.

Kamenetz wants to cap pension payments at 60 percent of a council member's salary at retirement. If enacted, the bill would take effect Feb. 1 and would apply to anyone who joins the council after that date. The current council salary is $54,000 yearly.

"It is fair, reasonable and will pass muster," he said. "The goal is to rectify a situation not envisioned when the pension was put into effect decades ago. Who knew then that there would be so many tenured council members?"

Bartenfelder's bill also includes a 60 percent cap. It prevents council members who have served four or more terms from receiving full benefits until they reach the age of 55, and those who have served fewer than four terms from receiving full benefits until they turn 60. The bill limits the possible pension of anyone who serves both on the council and as county executive to no more than 60 percent of the executive's salary, now $150,000 annually. The bill would apply to anyone who takes office after December 2010.

"My bill goes further and puts a lot more fiscal responsibility on us," he said. "One way or another, this will affect me. I am essentially adjusting my own salary."

The county's current pension policy, which dates to 1971, when salaries were about $3,000, allows a council member who has served five terms to retire at full salary. At 53, Councilman Vincent Gardina, who is retiring after 20 years on the council, will receive $54,000 annually for life for what has been a part-time job.

Kamenetz, Bartenfelder, and Councilmen T. Bryan McIntire and Samuel Moxley would be eligible for the same pension benefit as Gardina if they won a fifth term. Bartenfelder and Kamenetz are likely to leave the council and run for county executive. Moxley remains undecided and McIntire plans to run again. Council members contribute nearly 14 percent of their annual salary to the pension fund.

Bartenfelder, who proposed pension reform a decade ago but was unsuccessful, said he hopes "something survives" this year's debate.

Members were reluctant to discuss how they will vote.

"It is very possible that neither of these bills will survive a vote," said McIntire, who would turn 80 before starting a fifth term. "I am reserving comment, since it seems unlikely that I will be collecting any pension for very long."