9 Perks Presidents Keep for Life That New Yorkers Still Pay For

Four men draw a pension worth more than a quarter million dollars a year, and none of them filled out a job application.

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden all collect it for the same reason: They used to be president.

Their pension is only the start.

These are the perks presidents keep for life that New Yorkers still pay for.

1. Pension That Never Stops

Every former president collects $253,100 a year in 2026.

The amount tracks a Cabinet secretary’s salary, so it rises whenever theirs does.

No 401(k), no vesting schedule, no waiting until 62.

The first check can arrive the month after the moving trucks leave the White House driveway.

And it keeps arriving every month, for life.

Congress created the deal in 1958, back when a president could leave office with no safety net at all.

Today’s four beneficiaries, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, have book deals, speaking fees, and foundations, and the checks arrive anyway.

2. An Office Anywhere in America

The General Services Administration (GSA) rents, furnishes, and equips an official office for every former president, anywhere in the country he chooses.

There’s no cap on the rent.

Bill Clinton picked New York City: 8,300 square feet in Harlem, per the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

A review by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, a fiscal watchdog, found Clinton’s office costs taxpayers more than any other former president’s.

So New Yorkers fund the priciest ex-president office in the country, and it sits in their own backyard.

3. Staff on Your Dime

Each former president also gets a staff budget on top of the office.

The allowance runs $150,000 a year for the first 30 months out of office.

After that, the cap drops to $96,000 a year, forever.

Those aides answer mail, book speeches, and manage the calendar of a man who no longer holds office.

Benefits ride on top, and so do the computers, printing, and office supplies.

4. Secret Service for Life

Former presidents and their spouses keep Secret Service details until the day they die.

Their children keep protection until age 16.

Congress made the guarantee lifetime again in 2013 after a stretch of shorter coverage.

Protection follows them to book tours, golf trips, and the grocery store.

The exact cost stays classified.

That means New Yorkers pay for protective details they’ll never see itemized on any budget line.

5. A Million-Dollar Travel Allowance

Federal law allows up to $1 million a year in security and travel costs for each former president and two staffers.

Spouses qualify for another $500,000.

It’s been the least-used perk on the list so far.

But the line item renews every single year, whether anyone taps it or not.

6. Free Postage Forever

Former presidents send nonpolitical mail free for life, a holdover called the franking privilege.

No stamps, ever.

The Postal Service still gets paid for every envelope.

The related communications tab runs higher than you'd think: George W. Bush's office alone billed about $1.3 million for phone, cable, and shipping between 2016 and 2024, per the watchdog's tally.

The money comes out of the same federal pot New Yorkers fill every April.

7. Federal Health Coverage

Ex-presidents with five years of federal service can enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program, the same insurance menu federal workers use.

One term in the White House counts as only four years, so a single-term president needs prior federal service to qualify.

Jimmy Carter never qualified because his four years fell one short.

For those who do qualify, GSA folds the premiums into the same taxpayer-funded account as the pension.

8. A State Funeral With Full Honors

Every former president is entitled to a state funeral run by the U.S. Army's Military District of Washington.

Ceremonies can stretch across several days and several cities, with the casket lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda.

Burial at Arlington National Cemetery is an option too.

The public covers the honor guard, the logistics, and the flights between cities.

9. A Pension for the Spouse

When a former president dies, the surviving spouse can collect $20,000 a year.

One caveat: She has to give up any other federal pension to take it.

Several first ladies have waived the money for exactly that reason.

Free mail carries over too.

Six Months of Moving Money

The perks start before the official ex-president office even opens.

A departing president gets transition support after Inauguration Day under the Presidential Transition Act: office space, staff help, and related services while he sets up civilian life.

When Barack Obama left in January 2017, transition appropriations carried his office and staff all the way into July, per CRS.

Only then did the lifetime package pick up the tab.

What New Yorkers Chip In

The whole package, pensions, offices, staff, and travel, came to about $5.5 million in GSA's fiscal 2025 budget request.

By the National Taxpayers Union Foundation's count, the perks have cost taxpayers roughly $125 million since 2000, and federal projections point toward $7 million a year ahead.

New York's share isn't small.