11 Perks Former Presidents Get After Leaving Office That No Californian Talks About

Californians love to talk about what presidents earn while in office. The $400,000 salary. The White House housing. The whole deal.

What gets less attention is what former presidents receive for the rest of their lives after leaving the Oval Office.

The Former Presidents Act, signed into law in 1958 in response to Harry Truman’s post-presidency financial struggles, set up a system of lifetime benefits that has grown and evolved over the decades.

Here are 11 perks former U.S. presidents receive that most Americans have never really thought about.

First Things First

Before diving in, a couple of quick notes.

These benefits apply to former presidents who leave office through the normal process (retirement, term limits, or losing reelection).

A president who gets impeached and removed from office forfeits most of these perks, though Secret Service protection comes from a separate law.

Also, these figures reflect 2025 and 2026 data from official government sources. Some numbers shift each year based on federal pay adjustments.

With that out of the way, here’s the rundown.

They Receive an Annual Pension Worth Over $250,000

Every former president earns a lifetime pension equal to the annual salary of a Cabinet Secretary (Executive Level I pay).

For 2025, that pension sat at $250,600 per year according to the National Taxpayers Union.

The pension kicks in the day after they leave office and continues for life.

It counts as taxable income, and Congress adjusts the amount annually based on federal pay scales.

Their Widow Gets $20,000 a Year for Life

The Former Presidents Act also provides a $20,000 annual pension for the widow of a former president.

The catch is that she has to waive any other federal pension she might qualify for.

The amount is essentially what Congress set in 1958 and has kept roughly the same since, despite decades of inflation.

Twenty thousand dollars isn’t much by modern standards, but the perk still represents a quirky government tradition nobody talks about.

They Get Taxpayer-Funded Office Space Anywhere in the Country

Every former president receives government-funded office space, and they can set up that office basically anywhere they want.

Not just Washington. Not just their home state.

Anywhere.

The General Services Administration (GSA) covers the cost of the office itself, plus furniture, equipment, and utilities.

In recent years, some former presidents have racked up office expenses well over $500,000 annually, according to CRS reports.

Their Office Staff Costs Get Covered Too

The government also pays for staff to help former presidents handle mail, speaking requests, and other post-presidency obligations.

Under federal law, the staff allowance is capped at $150,000 annually during the first 30 months after leaving office, then drops to $96,000 per year after that.

If a former president wants to hire more staff beyond what the government covers, they have to pay the difference out of their own pocket or through private foundation funds.

Most do, which is why so many former presidents set up foundations.

They Have Access to Up to $1 Million a Year for Travel

The Former Presidents Act authorizes up to $1 million annually for travel related to a former president’s official duties.

This covers the former president plus up to two staff members.

Spouses get their own allowance of up to $500,000 per year for security and official travel, but only if they’re not already receiving Secret Service protection.

The travel funds are meant for official functions, not personal vacations, though the line between those two things can get fuzzy depending on the trip.

Lifetime Secret Service Protection for Themselves and Their Spouse

This is the big one most people know about, but the details surprise folks.

Every former president and their spouse receives lifetime Secret Service protection.

This wasn’t always the case. In 1994, Congress cut post-presidential protection to 10 years for any president inaugurated after January 1997.

Then in 2013, President Obama signed the Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012, which restored lifetime protection for all former presidents going forward.

Spouses lose protection if they remarry, and children of former presidents receive protection until age 16.

They Can Request Treatment at Military Hospitals for Life

Former presidents and their immediate family members can receive medical treatment at military hospitals.

This includes facilities like Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

It’s a separate benefit from any federal employee health insurance they might carry.

Most Americans have no idea this benefit exists.

They Qualify for Federal Employee Health Benefits (If They Meet the Rules)

Former presidents who were enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program for at least five years qualify for continued health benefits after leaving office.

This is a bigger deal than it sounds.

President Jimmy Carter, for example, didn’t qualify because he only served one term as president and didn’t hold other federal positions long enough to meet the five-year FEHB threshold.

George H.W. Bush qualified thanks to his long federal service (Congress, CIA, UN, Vice Presidency) but reportedly declined the benefit.

They Get Free Postage for Life

Former presidents retain franking privileges, which means they can send official mail without paying postage.

This is a holdover from traditional government communication rules, and it applies for the rest of their lives.

Franking privileges also extend to widows of former presidents.

Not a huge deal in the age of email, but it’s a legal benefit that’s still on the books.

They Receive Seven Months of Transition Funding

The Presidential Transition Act provides funding for a former president’s first seven months out of office.

This helps cover the costs of setting up a post-presidency office, hiring staff, and dealing with all the logistics that come with suddenly being a private citizen again.

The FY2017 budget, for example, requested around $9.5 million through GSA for presidential transition activities, plus an additional $7.6 million through the Executive Office of the President for records processing and other administrative costs.

The transition funding is temporary but substantial.

They’re Entitled to a State Funeral With Full Military Honors

This last one might be the most ceremonial perk of all.

Every former president is entitled to a state funeral with full military honors when they pass away.

The ceremonies can include a 21-gun salute, a military flyover in missing man formation, an honor guard, a caparisoned (riderless) horse, musical performances by military bands, and transport on a horse-drawn caisson.

The details are left to the family, and some presidents have opted for smaller services (Richard Nixon, for example, chose a subdued funeral at his presidential library rather than a full state funeral in Washington).

The estimated cost of a full state funeral can reach the hundreds of millions when security and the National Day of Mourning closures factor in.

The Real Cost of the Presidency

Americans spend a lot of time debating presidential salaries, benefits, and the overall cost of the office.

What rarely comes up is the full lifetime package that follows every president out the door.

Between the pension, office space, staff, travel funds, healthcare, Secret Service, and eventual state funeral, each former president receives millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded benefits over their post-presidency years.

People disagree about whether the benefits are appropriate, excessive, or not enough.