Order Code RL34631
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office
Allowances,
and Other Federal Benefits
August 22, 2008
Wendy Ginsberg
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance DivisionMarch 21, 2013
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RL34631
CRS Report for Congress
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and
Other Federal Benefits
Summary
The Former Presidents Act (FPA; 3 U.S.C. § 102 note) charges the General
Services Services
Administration (GSA) with providing former Presidents a pension, support
staff, office support,
travel funds, and mailing privileges. The FPA was enacted to
“maintain the dignity” of the Office
of the President by giving a. The act provides the former President —
and his or her spouse — certain benefits so that he would not have to enter unsuitable
occupations after leaving office. —and his or her spouse—certain benefits
to help him respond to post-presidency mail and speaking requests, among other informal public
duties often required of a former President. Prior to enactment of the FPA in 1958, former
Presidents leaving office received no pension or other federal assistance.
Former Presidents currently receive a pension that
is equal to pay for the head of an executive department (Executive Level I), which
was $191,300 as of January 1, 2008.
The FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act allocated $2,478,000 for
pensions and GSA assistance to former Presidents. The President’s FY2009 budget
requested $2,934,000 for expenditures for former Presidents. Pending House and
Senate appropriations legislation recommends the requested amount.
Prior to 1958, former Presidents leaving office received no pension or federal
assistance. After leaving office, some former Presidents — including Ulysses S.
Grant and Harry S Truman — struggled financially. In 1912, industrialist and
philanthropist Andrew Carnegie unveiled a plan to pay $25,000 pensions to all future
former Presidents and their widows. The pensions were to be funded by the Carnegie
Foundation of New York. Some Members of Congress and the public suggested it
was inappropriate for a private company to pay pensions to former Presidents.
Legislation was introduced that year to grant public pensions to former Presidents,
but none of the bills were reported from committee. William Howard Taft, the only
former President who was then eligible for Carnegie’s offer, refused the pension.
Since 1962, the U.S. Secret Service has provided protection to former Presidents
because of their status as “visible national symbol[s].” Protection has subsequently
been expanded to cover a former President’s wife until death or remarriage. Minor
children of former Presidents who are under 16 years of age also receive protection.
In 1994, the law was amended to limit U.S. Secret Service coverage to 10 years for
any President, and his spouse, who left office after January 1, 1997. President
George W. Bush will be the first former President affected by this statutory change.
In the 110th Congress, Representative John Conyers introduced a bill (H.R.
5938) that would extend U.S. Secret Service Protection to a Vice President, his or her
spouse, and family for up to six months after leaving office. Currently, Secret
Service protection for a Vice President and his or her family is provided on an ad hoc
basis.
This report describes the benefits Presidents receive upon leaving office, details
the history of the FPA, and analyzes some legislative options for the 110th Congress
related to former Presidents.
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Benefits Available to Former Presidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Transition Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Pensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Staff and Office Allowances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Travel Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Related Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Secret Service Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Health Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Funerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Legislative History of the Former President’s Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Andrew Carnegie’s Offer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Truman’s Finances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Passing the Former President’s Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Post-presidential Lifespans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
List of Tables
Table 1. GSA Allowances for Former Presidents, FY2008 Enacted . . . . . . . . . 2
Table 2. Retirement Period of Former Presidents After Leaving Office . . . . . . 14
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office
Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
Introduction1
The Former Presidents Act (FPA), as amended and administered by the General
Services Administration (GSA), provides former Presidents with a pension, support
staff, office space, travel funds, and mailing privileges. Outgoing Presidents are also
entitled by statute to receive seven months of transition funding to find suitable office
space, pay staff, and use in other ways that facilitate their transition from the nation’s
chief executive.
In addition to a pension and transition funding, former Presidents and their
spouses also receive U.S. Secret Service protection. The spouse of a former
President receives protection until his or her death, divorce, or remarriage. Minor
children of former Presidents who are under 16 years of age also receive protection.
In 1994, the law was amended to limit U.S. Secret Service coverage to 10 years for
any President, and his spouse, who left office after January 1, 1997. President
George W. Bush will be the first former President affected by this statutory change.
The United States is not the only country that pays a pension and other benefits
to its former head of state. For example, since 1937, Britain’s former Prime
Ministers have received a pension (equal to half of their ministerial salary). They
have also received an office, secretarial support, and a car and driver.2 In Canada,
Prime Ministers who have served in office for at least four years reportedly are
eligible to receive a pension that is two-thirds of the salary they received as head of
state.3
In the 110th Congress, Representative John Conyers introduced a bill (H.R.
5938) that would extend U.S. Secret Service Protection to a Vice President, his or her
spouse, and family for up to six months after leaving office. Currently, Secret
Service protection for a Vice President and his or her family is provided on an ad hoc
basis.
1
This report draws upon and supercedes CRS Report 98-249, Former Presidents: Federal
Pension and Retirement Benefits, by Stephanie Smith.
2
Theakston, Kevin, “What Role for Former Leaders?,” Political Studies Association
Conference, University of Swansea, Apr. 2008, p. 11.
3
Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, “Hail to the chief: former presidents cost the U.S. taxpayers
big bucks,” The Toledo Blade, Jan. 7, 2007, available at [http://toledoblade.com/apps/
pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070107/NEWS09/70107004], visited Aug. 14, 2008.
CRS-2
The FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act allocated $2,478,000 for
pensions and GSA assistance to former Presidents. The President’s FY2009 budget
requested $2,934,000 for expenditures for former Presidents. The increase in
appropriations for former Presidents is prompted by the addition of George W. Bush,
whose term ends on January 20, 2009. Pending House and Senate appropriations
legislation recommends the requested amount.
Presidents leaving office prior to 1958 received no federal pension or financial
assistance, and often entered retirement pursuing various occupations. The FPA,
enacted in 1958, was designed to “maintain the dignity” of the Office of the President
by paying former Presidents a pension and other benefits so they would not have to
enter unsuitable occupations after leaving office. Former Presidents currently receive
a pension that is equal to pay for the head of an executive department (Executive
Level I), which was $191,300 as of January 1, 2008.
Benefits Available to Former Presidents
The General Services Administration (GSA) is authorized by the FPA to
provide limited funding for an office staff and “suitable office space, appropriately
furnished and equipped,”4 at a location within the United States designated by a
former President, for the rest of his or her lifetime. In addition, each former
President is authorized to receive transition funding, a lifetime federal pension, travel
funds, and franked mail privileges. Separate legislation has been enacted to provide
U.S. Secret Service protection to former Presidents.5 In 1961, the Comptroller
General of the United States ruled that the FPA also applies to office supplies, such
as stationery and local and long distance telephone service. Table 1 indicates the
enacted FY2008 GSA funding for former Presidents.6
Table 1. GSA Allowances for Former Presidents,
FY2008 Enacted
Allowance
Pensiona
Staff Salaries
Staff Benefits
Travel
Rental Payments
Telephone
4
72 Stat. 838
5
10 U.S.C. § 3056.
6
Jimmy Carter
$191,300
96,000
2,000
2,000
102,000
10,000
George H.W.
Bush
$191,300
96,000
64,000
56,000
175,000
17,000
William
Jefferson
Clinton
$201,300
96,000
65,000
50,000
516,000
79,000
121 Stat. 2004. Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford, the widows of Presidents Ronald Reagan
and Gerald Ford respectively, received $12,000 in franking costs in FY2008.
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Allowance
Postage
Other Services
Printing
Supplies
Equipment
TOTAL
Jimmy Carter
15,000
83,000
5,000
5,000
7,000
$518,300
George H.W.
Bush
13,000
76,000
14,000
15,000
69,000
$786,300
William
Jefferson
Clinton
15,000
65,000
14,000
26,000
35,000
$1,162,300
Source: Data provided by the Office of the Budget, General Services Administration, on January 24,
2008. Data does not include costs for U.S. Secret Service protection, which are not made public.
Notes:
a. The annual pension for each former President is equal to the Executive Level I rate of pay.
According to GSA, the additional $10,000 requested for former President William J. Clinton
is for health benefits insurance.
Transition Expenses. As authorized by the Presidential Transition Act, as
amended, transition funding is available to the outgoing President and Vice President
for seven months, beginning one month before the January 20 inauguration, to
facilitate their relocation to private life.7 These funds are used to provide suitable
office space, staff compensation, communications services, and printing and postage
associated with the transition.
The President’s FY2009 budget requested $8,520,000 for presidential transition
expenses.8 This funding would support transition costs for both the President- and
Vice President-elect, as well as the outgoing President and Vice President. An
additional $1 million is carved out for “briefing personnel associated with the
incoming administration.”9 As of August 14, 2008, the Senate and House
Committees on Appropriations each recommended the President’s requested
amount.10
To provide federal funding for a possible 2004-2005 presidential transition, the
President’s FY2005 budget requested a total of $7.7 million. The House passed H.R.
5025, the FY2005 Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies
7
3 U.S.C. § 102 note sec. 4. The Presidential Transition Act was last amended in Dec.
2004. For more information on presidential transitions see CRS Report RL30736,
Presidential Transitions, by Stephanie Smith. If the former Vice President is Presidentelect, the transition funding for the outgoing President and Vice President is reduced.
Transition funding for outgoing Presidents is limited by statute and adjusted for inflation.
8
U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal
Year 2009, Appendix (Washington, GPO, 2008), p. 1075.
9
Ibid.
10
U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Financial Services and General
Government Appropriations Bill, FY2009, report to accompany S. 3260, 110th Cong, 2nd
sess., S.Rept. 110-417 (Washington: GPO, 2008), p. 89. See also CRS Report RL34523,
Financial Services and General Government: FY 2009 Appropriations, by Garrett Hatch.
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appropriations bill, on September 22, 2004. The legislation would have made
available a total of $7.7 million for transition expenses. In the Senate, S. 2806 would
have made available a total of $7.7 million to facilitate a transition. Because
President Bush was re-elected in the 2004 presidential election, no funds for a
transition were provided in the FY2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act.11
Pensions. The FPA, as amended, provides for each former President a taxable
pension that is equal to the annual rate of basic pay for the head of an executive
department (Executive Level I), which was $191,300 as of January 1, 2008. The
pension begins immediately upon a President’s departure from office at noon on
Inauguration Day, January 20. The Secretary of the Treasury pays the monthly
pensions, as authorized by the FPA.
The President’s FY2009 budget requests would cover “pensions, office staffs,
and related expenses for former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and
William Clinton and for the postal franking privileges for the widows of former
Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.”12 In addition, the request “includes an
increase for the commencement of benefits for President George W. Bush beginning
January 20, 2009.”13
The FPA does not address whether a President who resigns from office is
eligible to receive pension benefits and other allowances. According to a 1974
Department of Justice opinion concerning President Richard Nixon’s resignation
from office, a President who resigns before his official term of office expires may be
entitled to the same lifetime pension and benefits that are authorized for Presidents
who complete their term. A President who is removed from office by impeachment,
however, may forfeit his pension and related benefits.14
Staff and Office Allowances. Six months after a President leaves office,
provisions of the FPA, as amended, authorize the GSA Administrator to fund an
office staff.15 During the first 30-month period when a former President is entitled
to assistance under the FPA, the total annual basic compensation for his “staff
11
118 Stat. 2809.
12
U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal
Year 2009, Appendix (Washington: GPO, 2008), p. 1075. A former President who secures
an elected position in the federal government or the District of Columbia government is
ineligible to receive the pension while in office. See 3 U.S.C. 102 note.
13
U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Financial Services and General
Government Appropriations Bill, FY2009, report to accompany S. 3260, 110th Cong, 2nd
sess., S.Rept. 110-417, p. 88. See also CRS Report RL34523, Financial Services and
General Government: FY 2009 Appropriations, by Garret Hatch, p. 38.
14
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Assistant Attorney General, letter to the
Administrator of the General Services Administration from Mary C. Lawton, Acting
Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, Washington, DC, Aug. 15, 1974.
15
As authorized by the Presidential Transition Act, as amended (3 U.S.C. § 102 note).
CRS-5
assistance”cannot exceed $150,000.16 Thereafter, the aggregate rates of staff
compensation for a former President cannot exceed $96,000 annually.17 The
maximum annual rate of compensation for any one staff member cannot exceed the
pay provided at Level II of the Executive Schedule, currently $172,200.18 A former
President might supplement staff compensation or hire additional staff using private
funds.19
GSA is authorized to provide “suitable office space, appropriately furnished and
equipped” at any location within the United States selected by a former President.20
The funding for this provision becomes effective six months after the expiration of
a President’s term of office. GSA employees work with officials who represent the
former President to create annual budgets.21 According to a GSA legal opinion
written on December 15, 1972, the office of a former President may continue to
operate after the former President’s death for a “reasonable period of time.” The
GSA administrator has historically provided office staff up to six months from the
date of the former President’s death to complete unfinished business and close the
office. The office’s closure date must be approved by the GSA administrator.22
The FPA does not provide specifications or limitations pertaining to the actual
size or type of a former President’s office space. Since a former President’s pension
is comparable to the salary of the head of an executive branch agency, GSA applies
16
Ibid.; The separate $150,000 compensation level for the initial 30-month period was
established in 1977, 91 Stat. 1170. The 30-month period begins July 20th of the first year
the former President left office. See U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO Report GAO01-983, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other Information, Sept. 2001,
p. 16.
17
In 1964, the FPA was amended to increase the aggregate rates of staff compensation from
$50,000 to $65,000 (78 Stat. 412); to $80,000 in 1967 (81 Stat. 642); and to $96,000 in 1970
(84 Stat. 198).
18
3 U.S.C. § 102 note. According to a GAO report, staff members of a former President
“can receive federal compensation, [but] they are not considered federal employees. They
are, however, eligible for certain federal benefits such as retirement and health insurance.”
See U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO Report GAO-01-983, Former Presidents: Office
and Security Costs and Other Information, Sept. 2001, p. 16.
19
A former President must use personal or private foundation funds to pay staff if the cost
is greater than the $96,000 statutory cap. The following presidential foundations may supply
some funding for a former President’s staff salaries: the Gerald R. Ford Library and
Museum Foundation, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center, the Ronald Reagan Presidential
Foundation, the George H.W. Bush Presidential Center Foundation, and the William
Jefferson Clinton Presidential Foundation.
20
3 U.S.C. § 102 note. See also U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO Report GAO-01983, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other Information, Sept. 2001, p.
9.
21
U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO Report GAO-01-983, Former Presidents: Office
and Security Costs and Other Information, Sept. 2001, p. 7.
22
Information provided electronically to the author from GSA on Aug. 8, 2008.
CRS-6
“the cabinet-level office standard” for the quality of a former President’s office space,
equipment, and supplies.23
Currently, former President Carter’s 4,223 square foot office is located in
Atlanta, Georgia, with an estimated rental payment totaling $102,000 in FY2008.24
Former President Bush’s Houston, Texas, office space is 4,574 square feet in size,
with an FY2008 rental cost of approximately $175,000.25 The 8,300 square foot
office of former President Clinton has an estimated FY2008 rental payment of
$516,000, and is located in New York (Harlem), New York.26 The widow of a
former President is not entitled to any staff or office allowance.27
Travel Expenses. Legislation enacted in 1968 authorizes GSA funds to be
made available to a former President and no more than two members of his staff for
official travel and related expenses. GSA makes the final determination on
appropriate costs for travel expenses.28
Related Benefits
In addition to the federal pension and retirement allowances provided by GSA,
other benefits are also made available to a former President.
Secret Service Protection. The Secret Service provides lifetime protection
to former Presidents who entered office before January 1, 1997, and their spouses.29
Spouses of former Presidents receive protection until divorce, remarriage, or the
23
U.S. General Accounting Office, Costs Associated with Former Presidents and Their
Dependents, p. 6.
24
GAO reported that former President Carter’s office is located in the Carter Presidential
Center, a nonprofit foundation, and utilizes additional conference and office space that is
not federally funded. Ibid., pp. 12-13, and Table 1.
25
Ibid., p. 13, and Table 1.
26
GSA reported that the U.S. Secret Service occupies 308 sq. ft. of former President
Clinton’s office space, and reimburses GSA for the space. U.S. General Services
Administration, GSA Awards Lease for Former President Clinton’s Harlem Office, at
[http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_BASIC&
contentId=8980&noc=T], and Table 1.
27
U.S. General Accounting Office, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other
Information, pp. 6-7.
28
29
FY1969 Supplemental Appropriations Act, 82 Stat. 1192.
18 U.S.C. § 3056. The original statute (76 Stat. 956) limited Secret Service protection to
“a reasonable period after he leaves office.” The following year, 1963, a new statute (77
Stat. 348) authorized the Secret Service to protect Jacqueline Kennedy, the widow of
President John F. Kennedy, and their two children for “not in excess of two years.” In 1965,
the law was amended (79 Stat. 791) to provide “protection of the person of a former
President and his wife during his lifetime and the person of a widow and minor children of
a former President for a period of four years after he leaves or dies in office.”
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death of the former President.30 Legislation enacted in 1984 allows former Presidents
or their dependents to decline Secret Service protection.31 In addition to Nancy
Reagan and Betty Ford, former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush,
William J. Clinton, and their wives receive protection. According to Sgt. Kimberly
Schneider of the U.S. Capitol Police, protection for Hillary Rodham Clinton, as a
Senator, is shared between the U.S. Capitol Police and the U.S. Secret Service. Both
organizations have statutory responsibility for her security — the Secret Service for
spouses of former Presidents and the Capitol Police for Members of Congress.
Neither the Secret Service nor the Capitol Police publicly disclose protection costs
or details of the protection for security reasons.32
The FY1995 Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations
Act33 amended 18 U.S.C. § 3056 to limit protection to 10 years for former Presidents
who begin serving after January 1, 1997, and for their spouses. A spouse’s 10-year
protection ends upon divorce or death of the former President. Following an
incumbent President’s death,34 a spouse receives protection for one year. The
Secretary of Homeland Security can authorize temporary protection at any time.
Protection for a former President’s children is available until the age of 16 or for a
period not to exceed 10 years, whichever occurs first. The Presidential Threat
Protection Act of 2000, granted the Secret Service additional authority to investigate
threats against former Presidents and their families.35
Health Benefits. Although no statutes govern the payment of health benefits
for former Presidents, the GSA does provide for such an allowance. According to
a June 8, 2007, GSA legal opinion, former President Clinton is “entitled to enroll in
group health plans available to [f]ederal employees” because he “draws a pension
from the United States treasury, and thus can be considered an annuitant (defined in
5 U.S.C. § 8901(3)).”36 Since former President Clinton served two presidential terms
and receives a monthly pension, GSA’s position is that he qualifies for health
benefits.37 George H. W. Bush and Jimmy Carter each served single presidential
terms, and, therefore, would not qualify for federally funded health benefits,
according to GSA’s legal opinion.38 George W. Bush, whose term ends on January
30
If the President dies while in office, the spouse may receive Secret Service protection for
one year. 18 U.S.C. § 3056(3)(B).
31
98 Stat. 3110.
32
Information provided electronically to the author from the U.S. Capitol Police on Aug. 7,
2008.
33
108 Stat. 2413.
34
For more information on presidential transition following the death of a sitting President,
see U.S. Constitution, Amendment XXV.
35
114 Stat. 2763.
36
Information provided electronically to the author from GSA on Aug. 8, 2008.
37
Former President Clinton was allocated $10,000 in FY2008 for health benefits.
38
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush may qualify for federal health
(continued...)
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20, 2009, would be eligible to receive federal health benefits, according to GSA.
GSA has not been informed as to whether President Bush intends to request federal
health benefits.
Funerals. The incumbent President officially announces the death of a former
President by presidential proclamation and orders the U.S. flags on all federal
buildings to be flown at half-staff (4 U.S.C. § 7(m)) for 30 days. The President may
offer the nation’s condolences to the former President’s immediate family. Upon the
death of a former President, the sitting President might order units of the armed
forces to render suitable honors. Certain military honors and traditions also may be
extended by the military, based on the wishes and requests made by the former
President’s surviving family members.39 The Secretary of Defense may designate the
Secretary of the Army as his personal representative, who may then delegate to the
commanding general of the U.S. Military District of Washington (MDW) the overall
authority for planning and implementing the funeral arrangements. Each living
former President prepares a formal funeral request, which is kept on file by the
MDW. According to the long-standing custom that an officer escort the immediate
family of a deceased military member until burial, the commanding general of the
MDW may escort the former President’s family members during all funeral
ceremonies.
Under the supervision of the U.S. Military District of Washington, each branch
of the armed forces provides personnel and support to the funeral. For example, the
Armed Forces Honor Guard provides security for the former President’s remains
while they are in repose or are lying in state. A former President, as former
commander-in-chief, is also entitled to burial in the Arlington National Cemetery.40
Congress may adopt a resolution or otherwise authorize a deceased President to lie
in state in the Capitol Rotunda for a state funeral ceremony, followed by public,
closed casket viewing.
Following former President Gerald R. Ford’s death on December 26, 2006,
President George W. Bush announced by proclamation that U.S. flags on all federal
facilities be flown at half-staff. He also ordered that units of the armed forces render
suitable honors, as directed by the Secretary of Defense. Two days later, President
Bush issued E.O. 13421, which proclaimed January 2, 2007, a day of respect and
remembrance for the former President and ordered the closing of federal offices and
agencies. A funeral took place in the Capitol Rotunda on December 30, 2006, where
former President Ford lay in state, with subsequent services on January 2, 2007, at
Washington National Cathedral. Funeral services for the former President were
conducted on January 3, 2007, in Grand Rapids, MI, with interment at the Gerald R.
Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
38
(...continued)
benefits due to prior federal service or their Medicare eligibility.
39
The military has rendered military honors to former Presidents since the burial of George
Washington on Dec. 18, 1799, at Mount Vernon, VA.
40
Arlington National Cemetery, “A Guide to Burial at Arlington National Cemetery,” at
[http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/funeral_information/guide.interment.html]. Two former
Presidents are buried in the National Cemetery: William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy.
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Legislative History of the Former President’s Act
Chief executives leaving office prior to 1958 entered retirement pursuing
various occupations and receiving no federal assistance. By the end of the 19th
century, public sentiment reportedly dictated that it was not appropriate for former
Presidents to engage actively in business affairs. Suitable post-presidency
occupations included practicing law, obtaining a university professorship, or writing
for a newspaper or magazine.41 Some former Presidents, like Rutherford B. Hayes,
became successful entrepreneurs. Others, like Ulysses S. Grant, suffered financial
losses and had personal possessions confiscated.
Andrew Carnegie’s Offer. In 1912, discussions began in the U.S. Congress
about providing former Presidents and their widows with annual pensions. That year,
industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie reportedly announced his offer to
fund $25,000 annual pensions for all future former Presidents and their widows until
they were provided for by the federal government.42 The pensions were to be funded
by the Carnegie Foundation of New York, which was founded just a year earlier.43
The New York Times reported that many Members of Congress deemed it
inappropriate for a private corporation to provide pensions to former Presidents.
Former President William Howard Taft publicly declined to become the first
beneficiary of Carnegie’s former President’s pension fund when he left office in
1913.44
At the time, some Members of Congress and the public believed that Carnegie’s
proposal was intended to bring attention to the financial difficulties that some former
Presidents faced after leaving federal office.45 On that front, Carnegie’s gambit was
a success. In December 1912, two bills were introduced in Congress to provide
pensions for former Presidents and their widows. The proposed House legislation
(H.R. 26464) reportedly would have provided a $2,000 per month pension for former
Presidents, a $1,000 per month pension for widows, and a $200 per month pension
41
Marie B. Hecht, Beyond the Presidency (New York: Macmillian Publishing Co., Inc.,
1976), p. 214. According to Hecht, the practice of law was meant to be “limited to
important cases and restricted court appearances.” In 1912, the New York Times reported
that former President Rutherford B. Hayes saved money from his presidential salary and
returned to his home state of Ohio where he successfully raised chickens. Ulysses S. Grant,
however, retired to New York City and lost his money in a brokerage firm he ran with his
son. Some of Grant’s possessions were confiscated because of his financial turmoil. See
“Carnegie Pension to Ex-presidents; Bars Roosevelt,” New York Times, Nov. 22, 1912, pp.
1,4.
42
“Carnegie Pension to Ex-Presidents; Bars Roosevelt,” New York Times, Nov. 22, 1912,
p. 1.
43
Ibid.
44
“Taft Would Refuse a Carnegie Pension,” New York Times, Nov. 23, 1912, p. 1. As
former President, Mr. Taft taught law courses at Yale University, and later served as Chief
Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
45
“Carnegie Pension to Ex-Presidents; Bars Roosevelt,” New York Times, Nov. 22, 1912,
pp. 1;4.
CRS-10
for minor children under 21, if both parents were deceased.46 The bill was referred
to the House Committee on Pensions and was not reported. Legislation introduced
in the Senate (S. 7519) reportedly would have provided a $10,000 annual retirement
pension for the President as Commander in Chief of the Army. It would also have
provided an annual pension of $5,000 for the unmarried widows of former
Presidents.47 The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Pensions, but was not
reported from committee.
Truman’s Finances. The idea to provide pensions to former Presidents was
largely forgotten until President Harry S Truman left office in 1953. In view of
former President Truman’s financial limitations in hiring an office staff to handle his
mail and requests for speeches once he left the White House, the Senate considered
legislation in 1955 to provide retirement benefits to former Presidents. The
legislation aimed “to maintain the dignity of that great office” and to prevent an expresident from engaging “in business or [an] occupation which would demean the
office he has held or capitalize upon it in any way deemed improper.”48 The proposal
passed the Senate, but was never acted on by the House Committee on Post Office
and Civil Service.49
President Truman’s financial difficulties were disclosed in a 1957 letter to
House Speaker Sam Rayburn that stated if such legislation were not enacted, former
President Truman would be forced to “go ahead with some contracts to keep ahead
of the hounds.”50 Having rejected several business proposals that were offered to him
when he left the presidency in 1953, former President Truman acknowledged his
income was largely based on the sale of his father’s farm and the proceeds from
publication of his memoirs. In 1958, Mr. Truman became the first former President
to grant a televised interview for “a substantial fee” when he appeared in 1958 on
Edward R. Murrow’s “See it Now.”51
46
“President’s Pension Bill In,” New York Times, Dec. 3, 1912, p. 3; and U.S. Congress,
House, Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, 62nd Cong., 3rd sess.
(Washington: GPO, 1913), p. 6.
47
“For $10,000 Presidential Pension,” New York Times, Dec. 4, 1912, p. 5; and U.S.
Congress, Senate, Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, 62nd Cong., 3rd sess.
(Washington: GPO, 1912), p. 12.
48
Marie B. Hecht, Beyond the Presidency, p. 187. See also Statement of John Orlando
Pastore, “Retirement, Clerical Assistants, and Free Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents
of the United States,” remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, vol. 101, May 5, 1955,
p. 5731.
49
“Retirement, Clerical Assistants, and Free Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents of the
United States,” remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, vol. 101, May 5, 1955, p.
5731. See also U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Post Office and Civil Service,
Allowances for Former Presidents and Their Widows, 84th Cong., 1st sess., S.Rept. 205
(Washington: GPO, 1955), p. 3.
50
51
Ibid.
John W. Chambers, “Presidents Emeritus,” American Heritage, vol. 30, June-July 1979,
p. 18. Also available in U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Post Office and Civil Service,
(continued...)
CRS-11
On January 14, 1957, Senator A.S. Mike Monroney introduced S. 607 to provide
an annual pension of $25,000, clerical assistants, and free mailing privileges for
former Presidents.52 An identical bill (H.R. 4401) was introduced by Representative
John McCormack, Majority Leader of the House, on February 5, 1957.53 Both bills
were strongly supported by Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, the Democratic leader in the
Senate.54
Passing the Former President’s Act. Congressional debate in favor of the
proposed pension legislation emphasized that the expenditures necessary to
implement a $25,000 annual pension and office expenses for former Presidents were
modest, “in consideration of the assurance it provides that former Presidents ... will
not want either for a matter of subsistence or for the necessary clerical employees to
answer the letters of the public.”55 The House Committee on Post Office and Civil
Service reported the bill, saying it would “avoid the possibility of indignities and of
deterioration in public and world regard for the office of the President of the United
States.”56 The amount of the proposed pension for former Presidents was based on
comparable pensions accorded five-star generals.57 Majority Leader John
McCormack stated that the proposed retirement allowances provided recognition and
gratitude for a former President’s service to his country, which did not end with his
term of office. He and others urged favorable consideration of S. 607 to authorize
retirement benefits for an outgoing President. Congressman Chester “Chet” Holifield
advocated for the bill by stressing the “burden” of duties placed on an ex-President
51
(...continued)
Allowances for Former Presidents and Their Widows, 84th Cong., 1st sess., S.Rept. 205
(Washington: GPO, 1955), pp. 166-171. According to Chambers, the public was largely
unaware that Truman received payment to appear on the program.
52
“Bills and Joint Resolutions Introduced,” Congressional Record, vol. 103, Jan. 14, 1957,
p. 480.
53
“Bills and Joint Resolutions Introduced,” Congressional Record, vol. 103, Feb. 15, 1957,
p. 1573.
54
Marie B. Hecht, Beyond the Presidency, pp. 187-188.
55
U.S. Congress, House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Retirement, Staff
Assistants, and Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents and Annuities for Widows of
Former Presidents, report to accompany S. 607, 85th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 2200
(Washington: GPO, 1958), p. 4. See also Senate Hearing Before the Committees on
Appropriations and Governmental Affairs, Cost of Former President to U.S. Taxpayers,
Fiscal Year 1980, 96th Cong., 1st sess., (Washington: GPO, 1980), p. 236.
56
U.S. Congress, House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Former Presidents —
Retirement, Clerical Assistants, and Free Mailing Privileges, report to accompany S. 607,
85th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 2200. Also available in the U.S. Congress, Senate Hearing
Before the Committees on Appropriations and Governmental Affairs, Cost of Former
President to U.S. Taxpayers, Fiscal Year 1980, 96th Cong., 1st sess., (Washington: GPO,
1980), p. 235.
57
“Retirement for Former Presidents,” remarks in the House, Congressional Record, vol.
104, July 30, 1958, p. 15624. See also Senate Hearing Before the Committees on
Appropriations and Governmental Affairs, Cost of Former Presidents to U.S. Taxpayers,
Fiscal Year 1980, 96th Cong., 1st sess., (Washington: GPO, 1980), p. 247.
CRS-12
who can receive “100 to 400 letters a day” and “300 to 400 invitations a month to
speak.” Holifield added that passing the bill was “something that we, the greatest
Republic in the world, can do to show that we have respect for the office of President
and that we recognize the duties and responsibilities that he has to carry on after he
leaves that office.”58
S. 607, as introduced, provided that the compensation for an administrative
assistant, secretary, and other clerical assistants for each former President should not
exceed the aggregate amount authorized for the staff of the Senators from the least
populous state, which at the time was $100,000.59 During House debate on S. 607,
however, it was argued that the staffing provision of the proposed legislation could
involve salaries totaling as much as $120,000 for each former President’s office,
depending on the individual salary paid to each staff person. House and Senate
conferees believed that even $100,000 was excessive, and imposed a $50,000
limitation on the total compensation authorized for a former President’s office staff.60
The bill also originally authorized the GSA administrator to furnish suitable office
space for each former President in a federal building “at such place within the United
States as the former President shall specify.” The conference committee deleted the
reference to “federal building,” allowing GSA to furnish suitable office space for a
former President in non-federal office space.61
Despite strong support by the leadership of both the House and the Senate,
opposition to the concept of providing benefits to former Presidents persisted. In an
effort to bring their dissenting views “to the attention of the Members of the House
of Representatives and of the American public,” seven members of the House
Committee on Post Office and Civil Service prepared a formal report on why they
opposed authorizing presidential retirement benefits.62 They argued that no adequate
need or justification to provide such benefits existed, and that enactment of S. 607
would create a “separate entity” for former Presidents, with “an aura of official
standing” and a “wholly undefined relationship to the constitutional functions of the
[f]ederal [g]overnment.”63
Equally problematic for the seven dissenting Members was the “unprecedented
vagueness” of the proposed legislation’s provisions for staff and office allowances,
58
Ibid., p. 15632, and in Cost of Former Presidents to U.S. Taxpayers, p. 255.
59
“Retirement, Clerical Assistants, and Free Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents,”
House debate, Congressional Record, vol. 104, part 15, Aug. 21, 1958, pp. 18940-18941.
60
Ibid., p. 18941.
61
Ibid.
62
U.S. Congress, House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Retirement, Staff
Assistants, and Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents and Annuities for Widows of
Former Presidents, report to accompany S. 607, 85th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 2200, Part 2,
(Washington: GPO, 1958), p. 1.
63
Ibid., pp. 1-2.
CRS-13
which created “wide and dangerous loopholes.”64 The Members were also concerned
about the provision to provide each former President with suitable furnishings in an
office space that could be located anywhere within the United States. Such a broad
provision, the dissenting Members argued, took into account only the proposed costs
for providing allowances to the two surviving former Presidents — Herbert Hoover
and Truman — and overlooked potential future costs that could be incurred as
subsequent Presidents began receiving pension benefits after leaving office.65
S. 607, as amended, was approved by the Senate on August 16, 1958, passed by
the House on August 21, 1958, and signed into law by President Dwight D.
Eisenhower on August 25, 1958.66 As enacted, the Former Presidents Act (FPA)
provided each former President an annual taxable allowance of $25,000, payable
monthly by the Secretary of the Treasury. The GSA administrator was authorized by
the FPA to provide and fund an office staff and suitable office space, “appropriately
furnished and equipped,” at a location within the United States designated by a
former President. The former President’s staff would not be considered federal
employees, but would be entitled to health care and benefits of federal employees.
The FPA also authorized free mailing privileges for former Presidents. Pursuant to
the act, the widow of a former President also was provided an annual pension of
$10,000, if she waived the right to any annuity or pension authorized under any other
legislation.67
Post-presidential Lifespans
As noted in Table 2, Herbert Hoover lived for 31 years, 231 days after leaving
office, which was the longest post-presidential retirement period among the 30
Presidents who survived the presidency, but who have subsequently died,68 as well
as the three living former Presidents. The shortest presidential retirement period was
James K. Polk’s 103 days. On average, former Presidents who have subsequently
died have lived about 13 years (12 years, 339 days) after leaving office.
64
Ibid., p. 4.
65
Ibid., pp. 2-3.
66
72 Stat. 838.
67
In 1971, the FPA was amended (84 Stat. 1963) to provide the widow of a former
President a $20,000 taxable annual pension, to be paid monthly by the Secretary of the
Treasury. The widow’s pension begins on the day after the former President’s death, and
would end with death or remarriage before reaching 60 years of age. The FPA prohibits
pension benefits to a former President’s widow if he or she holds an appointive or elective
office or position in the federal government or District of Columbia and receives a rate of
pay other than a “nominal rate.” The former President’s widow must also waive the right
to any annuity or pension under any other legislation. Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford are the
remaining surviving widows, and, according to GSA, they did not waive the right to other
statutory annuities or pension and do not receive the annual pension.
68
Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms, and is, therefore, included twice in
the table.
CRS-14
Table 2. Retirement Period of Former Presidents
After Leaving Office
President
Date left
office
Date of death
George Washington
March 4, 1797 December 14, 1799
John Adams
March 4, 1801 July 4, 1826
Thomas Jefferson
March 4, 1809 July 4, 1826
James Madison
March 4, 1817 June 28, 1836
James Monroe
March 4, 1825 July 4, 1831
John Quincy Adams
March 4, 1829 February 23, 1848
Andrew Jackson
March 4, 1837 June 8, 1845
Martin Van Buren
March 4, 1841 July 24, 1862
John Tyler
March 4, 1845 January 18, 1882
James K. Polk
March 4, 1849 June 15, 1849
Millard Fillmore
March 4, 1853 March 8, 1874
Franklin Pierce
March 4, 1857 October 8, 1869
James Buchanan
March 4, 1861 June 1, 1868
Andrew Johnson
March 4, 1869 July 31, 1875
Ulysses S. Grant
March 4, 1877 July 23, 1885
Rutherford B. Hayes
March 4, 1881 January 17, 1893
Chester A. Arthur
March 4, 1885 November 18, 1886
Grover Clevelanda
March 4, 1889 June 24, 1908
Benjamin Harrison
March 4, 1893 March 13, 1901
Grover Clevelandb
March 4, 1897 June 24, 1908
Theodore Roosevelt
March 4, 1909 January 6, 1919
William Howard Taft March 4, 1913 March 8, 1930
Woodrow Wilson
March 4, 1921 February 3, 1924
Calvin Coolidge
March 4, 1929 January 5, 1933
Herbert Hoover
March 4, 1933 October 20, 1964
Harry S Truman
January 20, 1953 December 26, 1972
Dwight D. Eisenhower January 20, 1961 March 28, 1969
Lyndon B. Johnson
January 20, 1969 January 22, 1973
Richard Nixon
August 9, 1974 April 22, 1994
Gerald Ford
January 20, 1977 December 26, 2006
Jimmy Carter
January 20, 1981 —
Ronald Reagan
January 20, 1989 June 4, 2004
George H.W. Bush
January 20, 1993 —
Bill Clinton
January 20, 2001 —
Average retirement period after leaving office for deceased
presidents:
Retirement Period
Days
Years
1,015
2.78
9,253
25.33
6,331
17.33
7,056
19.32
2,313
6.33
6,930
18.97
3,018
8.26
7,812
21.39
13,469
36.88
103
0.28
7,674
21.01
4,601
12.60
2,646
7.24
2,340
6.41
3,063
8.39
4,337
11.87
624
1.71
2,930
4,129
3,595
6,213
1,066
1,403
11,553
7,280
2,989
1,463
7,196
10,932
8.02
11.30
9.84
17.01
2.92
3.84
31.63
19.93
8.18
4.01
19.70
29.93
5,614
15.37
4,964.9
13.59
Source: Dates are available from The White House, “Presidents of the United States,” at
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/]. Length of life after leaving office computed by CRS.
Notes:
a. Grover Cleveland was elected to the presidency two different times, not in succession. He lived 11
years, 112 days after the end of his second term.
b. This figure excludes Grover Cleveland’s first term.
CRS-15
Conclusions
Some Members of Congress have argued that the statutes governing benefits
for former Presidents are unclear and overly permissive.69 Other Members have said
that it is important to pay a pension to a former President to help maintain the dignity
of the office. On January 20, 2009, the term of George W. Bush’s presidency ends,
which will prompt increases in overall appropriations to former Presidents.
Given past congressional debates on the extent of financial assistance to former
Presidents, Congress may choose to consider legislation to clarify current laws
governing allowances for office space for former Presidents. Because existing laws
are unclear on whether GSA can reject a former President’s choice in office size or
location, rental payments currently range from $102,000 per year for President
Carter’s office to $516,000 for President Clinton’s (with a small portion occupied by
the U.S. Secret Service). Among the options likely to be considered are placing a
spending cap on office space for a former President, mandating that a former
President’s office be located in owned or leased federal office buildings, or leaving
current provisions as they are.
Additionally, Congress may consider modifying the length of time a former
President, his spouse, and his children are provided protection by the U.S. Secret
Service. Current statutes limit protection to George W. Bush and any future former
President to 10 years. Congress may choose to maintain this limit on protection, or
it may decide to either limit protection further or extend protection throughout a
former President’s lifetime.
69
In the 96th Congress — which spanned 1979 and 1980, two pieces of legislation related
to presidential retirement benefits were introduced: a concurrent resolution (H.Con.Res.
149) requesting that former President Richard Nixon pay the federal government $66,614.03
for non-security repairs made on his San Clemente estate paid for by the federal government,
and a house bill (H.R. 7144) that would have prevented pensions to former Presidents from
“exceeding 50 times the poverty level income for one urban family of four.” Neither bill
was reported from committee. In the 98th Congress, Senator Lawton Chiles, of Florida,
introduced legislation that would have prohibited former Presidents from using their federal
pension”for partisan political activities or income generating activities.” The bill’s report
noted that the increases in the staff and office allowances for former Presidents had greatly
exceeded Congress’s “original expectations” for the FPA. The “original intent” of the FPA
was to ensure former Presidents “dignified retired lives free from the need to
‘commercialize’ and demean their status as elder statesmen.” See U.S. Congress, Senate
Committee on Governmental Affairs, Former Presidents Facilities and Services Reform Act
of 1983, report to accompany S. 563, 98th cong., 2nd sess., (Washington: GPO, 1983), p. 3.
The bill was reported from the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, but no further
Senate action was taken. Similar bills were introduced in the 97th (S. 1325), 98th (S. 563)
and 99th (S. 1047) Congresses, but none of the bills were reported from committee. In 1988,
Senator Chiles introduced another similar bill to limit presidential allowances (S. 1647).
S. 1647 would have limited former Presidents in how they could spend their pension, and
would have required them to report annually to Congress on how their pension was used.
Additionally, the bill would have limited Secret Service protection to five years from the day
a President left office. The bill was not reported from committee. In addition, the FY1994
Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act contained a
provision that amended the FPA by limiting office allowances for former Presidents to a
five-year period, beginning in 1998. Legislation enacted in 1997, however, repealed this
provision, and restored lifetime staff and office allowances to former Presidents. is equal to pay for Cabinet Secretaries
(Executive Level I), which is $199,700 in 2013. In addition to benefits provided pursuant to the
FPA, former Presidents are also provided Secret Service protection and financial “transition”
benefits to assist their transition to post-presidential life. Pursuant to the FPA, former Presidents
are eligible for benefits unless they hold “an appointive or elective office or position in or under
the Federal Government or the government of the District of Columbia to which is attached a rate
of pay other than a nominal rate.”
For FY2013, the President’s budget requested $3,779,000 for expenditures for former Presidents,
$108,000 (2.9%) more than the $3,671,000 appropriated for FY2012 (P.L. 112-74).
On January 10, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the Former Presidents Protection Act of
2012 (P.L. 112-257), which extended lifetime Secret Service protection to former Presidents and
their children. Prior to the bill’s enactment, President George W. Bush would have been the first
former President to have his post-presidency Secret Service protection limited to 10 years.
Some critics of the Former Presidents Act say it subsidizes Presidents who are not struggling
financially. Others argue that although a former President is not in a formal public position, he
remains a public figure and should be provided a pension and benefits that permit him to perform
duties that emerge as a result of his public status.
GSA data on payments to former Presidents show that the value of benefits provided to each of
the living former Presidents—when adjusted for inflation—have generally declined from FY1998
through FY2012. The nominal appropriation levels for former Presidents’ benefits, however, have
increased.
This report provides a legislative and cultural history of the Former Presidents Act. It details the
benefits provided to former Presidents and their costs. Congress has the authority to reduce,
increase, or maintain the pension and benefits provided to former Presidents of the United States.
This report considers the potential effects of maintaining the FPA or amending the FPA in ways
that might reduce or otherwise modify a former President’s benefits.
Congressional Research Service
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 1
Recent Legislation ........................................................................................................................... 2
Varied Post-Presidency Circumstances ............................................................................................ 2
International Comparisons ............................................................................................................... 3
Benefits Available to Former Presidents .......................................................................................... 3
Transition Expenses ................................................................................................................... 9
Pensions ................................................................................................................................... 10
Office Space and Staffing Allowances .................................................................................... 10
Travel Expenses ....................................................................................................................... 11
Secret Service Protection ......................................................................................................... 12
Health Benefits ........................................................................................................................ 13
Funerals ................................................................................................................................... 13
Some Potential Policy Options for Congress ................................................................................. 15
The Informal Public Role of a Former President..................................................................... 15
Expectations, Limitations, and Opportunities of a Former President ...................................... 15
Pensions of the Widows of Former Presidents ........................................................................ 16
Placing Limits on Certain Benefits.......................................................................................... 17
Figures
Figure 1. The Costs of Pensions and Benefits Provided to Former Presidents in FY2012
Dollars .......................................................................................................................................... 8
Tables
Table 1. Annual GSA Allowance for Former Presidents ................................................................. 4
Table 2. Total Costs of Pensions and Benefits Provided to Former Presidents, Adjusted to
FY2012 Dollars ............................................................................................................................ 6
Table 3. Annual Office Space Costs for Former Presidents, FY2012 ............................................ 11
Table B-1. Retirement Period of Former Presidents After Leaving Office.................................... 22
Appendixes
Appendix A. Legislative History of the Former Presidents Act .................................................... 18
Appendix B. Post-Presidential Lifespans ...................................................................................... 22
Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 23
Congressional Research Service
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................... 23
Congressional Research Service
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
Introduction
Prior to 1958, U.S. Presidents who left office received no federal pension or other financial
assistance. Some former Presidents—like Herbert Hoover and Andrew Jackson—returned to
wealthy post-presidential lives. Other former Presidents—including Ulysses S. Grant and Harry
S. Truman—struggled financially. Still others—including Andrew Johnson, John Quincy Adams,
and William Howard Taft—served formally in the federal government after their presidencies.1
In 1958, prompted largely by former President Truman’s financial difficulties, Congress enacted
the Former Presidents Act (FPA; 3 U.S.C. 102 note). The FPA was designed to “maintain the
dignity” of the office of the President by providing former Presidents—and their spouses—a
pension and other benefits to help them respond to post-presidency mail and speaking requests,
among other informal public duties often required of a former President and his spouse.2 As
administered by the General Services Administration (GSA), the act, as amended, provides
former Presidents with a pension, funds for travel, office space, support staff, and mailing
privileges. According to the FPA, upon leaving office, former Presidents are to receive a pension
that is equal to the pay for the head of an executive department (Executive Level I), which is
$199,700 in 2013. The widow of a former President is authorized to receive a pension of $20,000.
The FPA is not the only authority that provides benefits to a former President. For example,
pursuant to the Presidential Transition Act (3 U.S.C. §102 note), an outgoing President is entitled
to receive seven months of “transition” funding to assist his transition to post-presidential life.3
Federal law also provides former Presidents and their spouses lifetime Secret Service protection.4
In 1994, the law was amended to limit U.S. Secret Service coverage to 10 years for any President
who entered office after January 1, 1997. President George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush
would have been the first former President and first lady who faced this statutory limit.5 The
Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-257), however, reinstated Secret Service
protection for former Presidents and their spouses until their deaths.6 The bill also reinstated
Secret Service protection to the children of former Presidents until they are 16 years old. The bill
was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 10, 2013.
1
President Andrew Johnson served as a Senator after his presidency. President Taft served as Chief Justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court after his presidency. John Quincy Adams served nine terms in the House after his presidency. President
Grover Cleveland can also be said to have won federal elected office after leaving the Presidency. He is the only
President to serve non-consecutive terms. President Cleveland was first elected to the Presidency in 1884 and was
inaugurated on March 4, 1885. After losing the 1888 election to Benjamin Harrison, President Cleveland won the 1892
election and was again inaugurated as President on March 4, 1893.
2
This report uses masculine pronouns to refer to former Presidents because they have all been men.
3
This report will provide some additional information on the transition benefits provided to the former President. For
analysis of the Presidential Transition Act, see CRS Report RS22979, Presidential Transition Act: Provisions and
Funding, by Henry B. Hogue.
4
18 U.S.C. §3056.
5
On September 26, 2008, legislation (P.L. 110-326; 122 Stat. 3560) that extends U.S. Secret Service protection to a
Vice President, his or her spouse, and his or her children who are under 16 years old for up to six months after leaving
office was enacted. Previous to the bill’s enactment, Secret Service protection for a Vice President and his or her family
was provided on an ad hoc basis.
6
Former first ladies maintain Secret Service protection until their deaths or divorce from the former President. If a
former first lady outlives her husband, she either maintains Secret Services protection until her death or until she
remarries.
Congressional Research Service
1
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
For FY2013, the President’s budget requested $3,779,000 for FPA expenditures, $108,000 (2.9%)
more than the $3,671,000 appropriated (P.L. 112-74) in FY2012.
Recent Legislation
On February 28, 2012, Representative Jason Chaffetz introduced the Presidential Allowance
Modernization Act (H.R. 4093; 112th Congress). The bill, among other changes, sought to cap a
former President’s pension at $200,000—removing the current pay link to that of Cabinet
Secretaries. H.R. 4093 would have provided a former President an additional $200,000 annual
allowance to be used as he determined. H.R. 4093 would have removed other benefits, including
those currently provided for travel, staff, and office expenses. Additionally, for every dollar a
former President earned in each fiscal year that was in excess of $400,000, his federal
government-provided annual allowance would have been reduced by $1. Further, if a former
President held an elected position in the federal or District of Columbia governments, he would
have had to forfeit his rights to a pension until he left office. H.R. 4093 also sought to raise the
pension available to the widow of a former President, from $20,000 to $100,000. The bill was
referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. No further action was
taken on H.R. 4093.
Varied Post-Presidency Circumstances
Some critics of the Former Presidents Act say it subsidizes Presidents who are not struggling
financially.7 Representative Chaffetz, when introducing H.R. 4093 (112th Congress), noted that
while he did not want former presidents “living the remainder of their lives destitute,” that “none
of our former presidents are poor.”8 Others may argue that while a former President may not hold
a formal public position, he remains a public figure even after he leaves office. When former
President Harry S. Truman returned to Independence, MO following his presidential tenure, for
example, he reportedly said it cost him $30,000 a year to reply to mail and requests for speeches.9
Some may argue that to cover such costs, a former President should be provided a pension and
benefits that permit him to perform duties that emerge as a result of his unofficial public status.
Former U.S. Presidents have returned to varied financial circumstances after leaving office. Some
former Presidents created or returned to wealthy lives after the presidency. Others struggled
financially. Contemporary former Presidents—like William J. Clinton and George W. Bush—
write memoirs, head foundations, and give public speeches. No current former President has
claimed publically to have significant financial concerns.
7
See, for example, Representative Jason Chaffetz, “Reps. Chaffetz, Altmire, and Gowdy Introduce Cost-saving
Presidential Allowance Modernization Act,” press release, February 28, 2012, at http://chaffetz.house.gov/pressrelease/reps-chaffetz-altmire-and-gowdy-introduce-cost-saving-presidential-allowance.
8
Ibid.
9
See, Dom Bonafede, “Life After the Oval Office: Caring For Ex-Presidents Can Cost a Bundle,” The National
Journal, August 31, 1985, p. 1945.
Congressional Research Service
2
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
International Comparisons
The United States is not the only country that pays a pension and other benefits to its former head
of government. For example, since 1937, Britain’s former prime ministers have received a
pension equal to half of their ministerial salary. They have also received an office, secretarial
support, and a car and driver.10 In November 2012, the Canadian Parliament enacted the Pension
Reform Act, which substantially reduced the pension provided to a former prime minister.11 The
new law decreased the pension benefits associated directly with his service as prime minister to
3% of his or her salary multiplied by his or her years of service.12 Pursuant to the legislation, a
former prime minister appears to remain eligible for pension benefits as a former member of
Parliament.13
Benefits Available to Former Presidents
GSA is authorized by the FPA to provide limited funding for an office staff and “suitable office
space, appropriately furnished and equipped,”14 at a location within the United States designated
by a former President, for the rest of his lifetime. In addition, each former President is authorized
to receive a lifetime federal pension, travel funds, and franked mail privileges. Separate statutes
provide U.S. Secret Service protection to former Presidents.15 In 1961, the Comptroller General
of the United States determined that the FPA also applies to office supplies, such as stationery and
local and long distance telephone service. Table 1 shows the FY2012 GSA appropriation
provided for former Presidents, disaggregated by category of expenditure.
The data in Table 1 show that in FY2012, the more recently a former President left office, the
higher the cost of his federal benefits. For example, in FY2012, George W. Bush, the former
President who left office most recently (January 2009), had the highest annual pension and
benefit costs among the four living former Presidents ($1,319,000). Former President Jimmy
Carter, the living former President with the longest tenure out of office (he left office in January
1981), drew the smallest pension and benefits ($518,000). Former President George W. Bush’s
personnel compensation was $16,000 higher than the other former Presidents because he was
entitled to an increase in pay for office staff until January 2012.16 Also in FY2012, former
10
Djuna Thurley, House of Commons Library “Pensions of ministers and senior office holders,” October 18, 2012, pp.
13-15.
11
Pension Reform Act, R.S.C., 2012, c. 22, at http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=
E&Mode=1&DocId=5811436&File=4. Previously, a prime minister was eligible to receive the same pension as a
former member of Parliament and roughly two-thirds of his or her prime minister salary. (Members of Parliament
Retiring Allowances Act, R.S.C. 1992, c. 46, s. 81). Under current Canadian law, members of Parliament must serve at
least six years to be eligible for pension benefits. A prime minister must serve at least four years or be at least 65 years
old to be eligible for pension benefits.
12
Bill C-46. The prime minister’s pension is furthermore capped at two-thirds of the PM’s salary.
13
In the parliamentary political system, the prime minister is also a member of Parliament.
14
3 U.S.C. 102 note; 72 Stat. 838.
15
10 U.S.C. §3056.
16
Pursuant to the FPA, six months after a former President leaves office, a former President is entitled to $150,000 per
year for office staff for 30 months. Former President George W. Bush’s 30 months expired on January 20, 2012. On
January 21, 2012, former President George W. Bush began to receive the $96,000 per annum provided to the other
former Presidents.
Congressional Research Service
3
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush received a larger appropriation to pay for their personnel
benefits ($109,000 for Clinton and $102,000 for George W. Bush) than former Presidents Jimmy
Carter and George H.W. Bush received ($2,000 for Carter and $64,000 for George H.W. Bush).
Office space rental payments were the highest category of cost for former Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush. As shown in Table 1, former President Clinton had the highest rental payment
cost for his 8,300 square foot office in New York City’s Harlem section, for which $444,000 was
provided for rent in FY2012.17 For former President George W. Bush’s 8,000 square foot office in
Dallas, TX, $401,000 for rent was provided in FY2012. The pension and benefits paid to former
Presidents George W. Bush and Clinton in FY2012, when added together, comprise 62.5% of all
benefits paid to the four living former Presidents and the widows of the former Presidents.
Historically, pension and office space are the categories of cost that receive the largest federal
appropriation. In FY2012, for example, former President George H.W. Bush’s and former
President Carter’s highest cost was for their pensions. That same fiscal year, former President
Clinton’s and former President George W. Bush’s highest cost was for their office space rentals.
Table 1. Annual GSA Allowance for Former Presidents
FY2012 Appropriation, Rounded to the Nearest Thousand
Allowance
Type
Jimmy
Carter
George
H.W.
Bush
William
Jefferson
Clinton
George W.
Bush
Widow
Nancy
Reagana
Totals
Personnel
Compensation
$96,000
$96,000
$96,000
$112,000b
$0
$400,000
Personnel
Benefits
$2,000
$64,000
$109,000
$102,000
$0
$277,000
Pension
$200,000
$200,000
$200,000
$200,000
$0
$800,000
Health
Benefitsc
$0
$0
$11,000
$7,000
$0
$18,000
$2,000
$56,000
$5,000
$60,000
$0
$123,000
Office Space
$106,000
$171,000
$442,000
$395,000
$0
$1,114,000
Telephone
$10,000
$17,000
$7,000
$85,000
$0
$119,000
Postage
$15,000
$13,000
$14,000
$20,000
$14,000
$76,000
Printing
$5,000
$14,000
$18,000
$26,000
$0
$63,000
Other
Servicesd
$70,000
$133,000
$40,000
$186,000
$0
$429,000
Supplies and
Materialse
$5,000
$15,000
$2,000
$40,000
$0
$62,000
Equipmentf
$7,000
$63,000
$34,000
$86,000
$0
$190,000
$518,000
$842,000
$978,000
$1,319,000
$14,000
$3,671,000
Travel
TOTAL
Source: Data provided by the Office of the Budget, General Services Administration, April 2012.
Notes: Data do not include costs for U.S. Secret Service protection, which are not made public.
17
Greater detail on office space and costs are provided in Table 3 later in this report.
Congressional Research Service
4
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
a.
Mrs. Nancy Reagan waived the widow’s pension pursuant to P.L. 85-745, as amended. Mrs. Reagan,
however, received franking privileges.
b.
Former President George W. Bush received $16,000 more in personnel compensation than the other
former Presidents. Pursuant to the FPA, six months after a former President leaves office, a former
President is entitled to $150,000 per year for office staff for 30 months. Former President George W.
Bush’s 30 months expired on January 20, 2012. On January 21, 2012, former President George W. Bush
began to receive the $96,000 per annum provided to the other former Presidents. The per annum in the
table, therefore, is pro rated. From October 1, 2011 to January 20, 2012, former President George W.
Bush received $46,000 at the $150,000 per annum. From January 21, 2012 through September 30, 2012,
former President George W. Bush received $67,000—prorated from the $96,000 per annum.
c.
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush do not receive federal health benefits through FPA
appropriations. According to a GSA legal opinion, former President Carter does not qualify for health
benefits because he only served one term, which is less than the five-year period required for most former
federal employees to receive health benefits. Although George H.W. Bush only served one term, his tenure
in other federal positions permits him to receive health benefits through FPA. He has chosen not to accept
those benefits.
d.
“Other Services” include cable television, HVAC services, and consulting services—among other items.
Information provided to the author by e-mail from GSA on August 14, 2012.
e.
“Supplies and Materials” include office supplies, newspapers, and periodicals—among other items.
Information provided to the author by e-mail from GSA on August 14, 2012.
f.
“Equipment” includes furniture or information technology hardware or software—among other items.
Information provided to the author by e-mail from GSA on August 14, 2012.
Table 2 shows the costs of pension and benefits provided to former Presidents for the past 15
fiscal years.
Congressional Research Service
5
Table 2. Total Costs of Pensions and Benefits Provided to Former Presidents, Adjusted to FY2012 Dollars
In Thousands, FY1998 to FY2012
Jimmy Carter
Ronald
Reagan
George
H.W.
Bush
William J.
Clinton
George
W. Bush
Widow
Ladybird
Johnson
Widow
Betty
Ford
Widow
Nancy
Reagan
TOTALS
$628
$686
$963
$801
N/A
N/A
$31
N/A
N/A
$3,110
1999
$634
$695
$965
$765
N/A
N/A
$30
N/A
N/A
$3,088
2000
$628
$672
$919
$740
N/A
N/A
$29
N/A
N/A
$2,988
2001
$616
$659
$884
$738
$331
N/A
$29
N/A
N/A
$3,255
2002
$634
$648
$707
$795
$1,266
N/A
$28
N/A
N/A
$4,079
2003
$650
$634
$661
$841
$1,353
N/A
$27
N/A
N/A
$4,166
2004
$647
$614
$654
$831
$1,327
N/A
$27
N/A
N/A
$4,100
2005a
$636
$590
$234
$838
$1,296
N/A
$26
N/A
$2
$3,622
2006b
$616
$573
N/A
$828
$1,279
N/A
$25
$0
$7
$3,328
2007c
$599
$557
N/A
$805
$1,244
N/A
$24
$0
$7
$3,236
2008
$0
$552
N/A
$838
$1,239
N/A
N/A
$6
$6
$2,642
2009
$0
$554
N/A
$882
$1,297
$392
N/A
$7
$7
$3,140
2010
$0
$545
N/A
$874
$1,146
$1,375
N/A
$7
$7
$3,955
2011d
$0
$513
N/A
$832
$1,100
$1,411
N/A
$7
$7
$3,870
2012
$0
$518
N/A
$842
$978
$1,319
N/A
$0
$14
$3,671
TOTALS
$6,288
$9,011
$5,987
$12,250
$13,854
$4,496
$277
$28
$58
$52,250
Fiscal Year
Gerald
Ford
1998
Source: Data provided to CRS by GSA. CRS calculated the adjusted dollar values using the data provided.
Notes: Adjusted costs are calculated using Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual averages. To calculate the inflation adjustment values, CRS
divided the FY2011 CPI by the appropriate year’s CPI rate (for example, the CPI rate for 2007 when calculating the adjusted dollar costs for 2007). CRS then multiplied
that dividend by the nominal dollar amount provided to a former President in pension and benefits for each year. CRS used the CPI rate for 2011 because it is the most
recent year with a full measure of monthly CPIs. Values may not add up to the totals due to rounding.
CRS-6
a.
Former President Reagan died on June 5, 2004. The FY2005 allowance reflects costs associated with closing his office. Mrs. Nancy Reagan waived the widow’s
pension pursuant to P.L. 85-745, as amended. Mrs. Reagan, however, continues to receive franking privileges.
b.
Former President Ford died on December 26, 2006. The FY2007 allowance was used to fund the costs associated with closing Former President Ford’s office. Mrs.
Betty Ford waived the widow’s pension pursuant to P.L. 85-745, as amended.
c.
Mrs. Johnson died on July 11, 2007. Her allowance was fully funded in FY2007 and was paid out on a pro-rated basis until her death.
d.
Mrs. Ford died on July 8, 2011. Her allowance was fully funded in FY2011 and was paid out on a pro-rated basis until her death.
CRS-7
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
The data indicate two trends. First, generally, the aggregated adjusted value of pension and
benefits provided to the former Presidents has grown from FY1998 through FY2012. When
adjusted for inflation, FY2003 had the highest costs for pension and benefits ($4,166,000).
FY2008 had the lowest costs for the pension and benefits ($2,642,000).
Second, as shown in Figure 1, despite the general trend toward overall increasing costs
associated with providing pensions and benefits to former Presidents, the value of each individual
former President’s pension and benefits—when adjusted for inflation—has either declined or
remained stable. George H.W. Bush is one exception to that trend. Between FY1998 and FY2012,
George H.W. Bush’s adjusted pension and benefits increased from $801,000 in FY1998 to
$842,000 in FY2012.18
Figure 1. The Costs of Pensions and Benefits Provided to Former Presidents in
FY2012 Dollars
(in hundreds)
Source: Data provided to CRS by GSA. CRS calculated the adjusted dollar values using the data provided.
Notes: Adjusted costs are calculated using Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual
averages. To calculate the inflation adjustment values, CRS divided the FY1998 CPI by the appropriate year’s CPI
rate (for example, the CPI rate for 2007 when calculating the adjusted dollar costs for 2007). CRS then
multiplied that dividend by the nominal dollar amount provided to a former President in pension and benefits for
each year.
18
According to data from GSA, President George H.W. Bush’s pension (Executive Level I pay), office space, and
other costs have increased over the past 20 years.
Congressional Research Service
8
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
Transition Expenses
The Presidential Transition Act,19 as amended, authorizes the Administrator of GSA to provide
services and facilities to each outgoing President and Vice President, “for use in connection with
winding up the affairs of his office,” for a period “not to exceed seven months from 30 days
before the date of the expiration of his term of office.”20 In the event that the outgoing Vice
President is becoming President, the PTA limits the authorized expenditures in this area.21 The
Presidential Transition Act also authorizes appropriations for specified activities related to
beginning a new presidency, including appropriation to assist the incoming President and Vice
President.
The act authorizes “not more than $3.5 million…for the purposes of providing services and
facilities to the President-elect and Vice President-elect” and “not more than $1.5 million…for the
purposes of providing services and facilities to the former President and former Vice President.”22
The law also requires that the authorized amounts be adjusted for inflation “based on increases in
the cost of transition services and expenses which have occurred in the years following the most
recent Presidential transition.”23
To provide federal funding for a possible 2004-2005 presidential transition, President George W.
Bush requested a total of $7.7 million in his FY2005 budget.24 Because President Bush was reelected in the 2004 presidential election, no funds for a transition were provided in the FY2005
Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was enacted on December 8, 2004—after the 2004
election.25
President George W. Bush’s FY2009 budget requested $8,520,000 for presidential transition
expenses.26 This funding was to support transition costs for the President- and Vice Presidentelect, as well as the outgoing President and Vice President. Of that transition funding, $1 million
was designated for “briefing personnel associated with the incoming administration.”27 The
Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 110329) allocated the President’s requested amount, including the funds designated for briefing the
incoming administration.
19
3 U.S.C. §102 note; PTA, §4. For more information, see CRS Report RS22979, Presidential Transition Act:
Provisions and Funding, by Henry B. Hogue.
20
Ibid.
21
3 U.S.C. §102 note; PTA, §6(a)(2).
22
Ibid., PTA §6(a). According to General Accounting Office (now the Government Accountability Office) audits of
Presidential Transition Act spending, the transition funds have been used to provide suitable office space, staff
compensation, communications services, and printing and postage associated with the transition. See, for example, U.S.
General Accounting Office, Audit of Reagan Presidential Transition Expenditures, GGD-81-50, March 2, 1981, p. 3, at
http://gao.gov/assets/140/134036.pdf; and U.S. General Accounting Office, Audit of Ford-Carter Presidential
Transition Expenses, GGD-78-36, December 23, 1977, pp. 2-3, at http://gao.gov/assets/130/122685.pdf.
23
Ibid.
24
In the 109th Congress (2005-2006), both the House and Senate passed bills (H.R. 5025 and S. 2806) that would have
made available $7.7 million to facilitate a possible presidential transition.
25
P.L. 108-447; 118 Stat. 2809.
26
U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2009, Appendix
(Washington, DC: GPO, 2008), p. 1075.
27
Ibid.
Congressional Research Service
9
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
President Obama’s FY2013 budget requested $8.9 million for possible transition expenses.28 Of
this amount, $1 million would have provided “for briefing personnel associated with a potential
incoming administration.”
Pensions
The FPA, as amended, requires the federal government to provide for each former President a
taxable pension that is equal to the annual rate of basic pay for the head of an executive
department (Executive Level I), which is $199,700 in 2013.29 The pension begins immediately
upon a President’s departure from office at noon on Inauguration Day, January 20. The Secretary
of the Treasury disburses the monthly pensions.
The FPA does not address whether a President who resigns from office is eligible to receive
pension benefits and other allowances. Following a 1974 precedent set by the Department of
Justice concerning President Richard Nixon’s resignation from office, however, a President who
resigns before his official term of office expires would be entitled to the same lifetime pension
and benefits that are authorized for a President who completes his term. Former President Nixon
did receive a pension and other benefits. There is no precedent pertaining to whether a President
who is removed from office following impeachment by the House and conviction in the Senate is
entitled to his pension and related benefits.30
Office Space and Staffing Allowances
GSA is authorized to provide “suitable office space, appropriately furnished and equipped” at any
location within the United States selected by a former President.31 The funding for this provision
becomes effective six months after the expiration of a President’s term of office. The FPA does
not provide specifications or limitations pertaining to the size or location of a former President’s
office space. Since a former President’s pension is comparable to the salary of the head of an
executive branch agency, GSA has historically applied “the cabinet-level office standard” for the
quality of a former President’s office space, equipment, and supplies.32 Office space costs for the
living former Presidents are shown in Table 3.
28
U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013, Appendix, pp.
1228-1229, at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/appendix.pdf.
29
Former President George W. Bush’s pension for FY2009 was pro-rated from January 21, 2009, his first full day out
of office. The remaining former Presidents could have paid themselves up to the $196,700 FY2009 pay cap using
appropriations intended for staff salaries, staff benefits, or other expenses. Information provided electronically to the
author by GSA on April 6, 2009.
30
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Assistant Attorney General, letter to the Administrator of the General Services
Administration from Mary C. Lawton, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, Washington, DC,
August 15, 1974.
31
3 U.S.C. §102 note. See also U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO Report GAO-01-983, Former Presidents: Office
and Security Costs and Other Information, September 2001, p. 9 at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d01983.pdf.
32
U.S. General Accounting Office, Costs Associated with Former Presidents and Their Dependents, GAO/GGD-8568, September 26, 1985, p. 6, at http://www.gao.gov/assets/150/143450.pdf.
Congressional Research Service
10
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
Table 3. Annual Office Space Costs for Former Presidents, FY2012
Former President
Location
Square Feet
Cost
Jimmy Carter
Atlanta, GA
7,070
$106,000
George H.W. Bush
Houston, TX
5,379
$182,000
William J. Clinton
New York (Harlem), NY
8,300
$444,000
George W. Bush
Dallas, TX
8,000
$401,000
Source: The U.S. General Services Administration.
Note: These data are actual office space costs, and may not be equal to the appropriated costs for the office
space provided in Table 1.
Six months after a President leaves office, provisions of the FPA, as amended, authorize the GSA
Administrator to fund an office staff.33 During the first 30-month period when a former President
is entitled to assistance under the FPA, the total annual basic compensation for his “staff
assistance” cannot exceed $150,000.34 Thereafter, the aggregate rates of staff compensation for a
former President cannot exceed $96,000 annually.35 The maximum annual rate of compensation
for any one staff member cannot exceed the pay provided at Level II of the Executive Schedule,
which is $179,700 in FY2013.36 Despite these limits, a former President is permitted to
supplement staff compensation or to hire additional staff using private funds.37
According to a GSA legal opinion written on December 15, 1972, the office of a former President
may continue to operate after the former President’s death for a “reasonable period of time.” The
GSA Administrator has historically provided office staff up to six months from the date of the
former President’s death to complete unfinished business and to close the office. The office’s
closure date must be approved by the GSA Administrator.38
Travel Expenses
In 1968, legislation amended the FPA to authorize GSA to make funds available to a former
President, and no more than two members of his staff, for official travel and related expenses. The
33
As authorized by the Presidential Transition Act, as amended (3 U.S.C. §102 note).
Ibid. The separate $150,000 compensation level for the initial 30-month period was established in 1977 (P.L. 95-138;
91 Stat. 1170). The 30-month period begins July 20th of the first year the former President left office. See U.S. General
Accounting Office, GAO Report GAO-01-983, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other Information,
September 2001, p. 16. The former President can hire as many employees as he would like, provided their aggregated
pay does not exceed the $150,000 cap.
35
In 1964, the FPA was amended to increase the aggregate rates of staff compensation from $50,000 to $65,000 (P.L.
88-426; 78 Stat. 412); to $80,000 in 1967 (P.L. 90-206; 81 Stat. 642); and to $96,000 in 1970 (84 Stat. 198).
36
3 U.S.C. §102 note. According to a GAO report, staff members of a former President “can receive federal
compensation, [but] they are not considered federal employees. They are, however, eligible for certain federal benefits
such as retirement and health insurance.” See U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO Report GAO-01-983, Former
Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other Information, September 2001, p. 16.
37
A former President must use personal or private foundation funds to pay staff if the cost is greater than the $96,000
statutory cap. The following presidential foundations may supply some funding for a former President’s staff salaries:
the Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum Foundation, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center, the Ronald Reagan
Presidential Foundation, the George H.W. Bush Presidential Center Foundation, the William Jefferson Clinton
Presidential Foundation, and the George W. Bush Foundation.
38
Information provided electronically to the author from GSA on August 8, 2008.
34
Congressional Research Service
11
Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
FPA caps appropriations at $1 million for “security and travel related expenses” of a former
President.39 The security and travel expenses of a former First Lady are authorized up to $500,000
per year, pursuant to the law. GSA makes the final determination on appropriate costs for travel
expenses.40
Secret Service Protection41
The Secret Service provides lifetime protection to former Presidents.42 Former Presidents’
spouses also receive protection until one of two events occurs: divorce from the former President
or death of the former President followed by remarriage.43 Protection for a former President’s
children is available until the age of 16.44 Legislation enacted in 1984 allows former Presidents or
their dependents to decline Secret Service protection.45 Former Vice Presidents, their spouses, and
children under the age of 16 are authorized to receive Secret Service Protection for six months
after they leave office.46
The FY1995 Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act47 amended 18
U.S.C. §3056 to limit protection to 10 years for former Presidents who begin serving after
January 1, 1997, and their spouses.48 Former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush
would have been the first former President and First Lady affected by this statutory limit. On
January 10, 2013, however, President Obama signed into law the Former Presidents Protection
Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-257), which reinstated lifetime Secret Service protection for all former
Presidents and their spouses. The Secretary of Homeland Security is authorized to direct the
Secret Service to provide temporary protection to a former President or his spouse at any time.49
39
3 U.S.C. 102 note (g).
FY1969 Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 90-608; 82 Stat. 1192).
41
For more information on the Secret Service and their protection of former Presidents and other officials, see CRS
Report RL34603, The U.S. Secret Service: An Examination and Analysis of Its Evolving Missions, by Shawn Reese.
42
18 U.S.C. §3056. The original statute (P.L. 87-829; 76 Stat. 956) limited Secret Service protection to “a reasonable
period after he leaves office.” The following year, 1963, a new statute (P.L. 88-195; 77 Stat. 348) authorized the Secret
Service to protect Jacqueline Kennedy, the widow of President John F. Kennedy, and their two children for “not in
excess of two years.”
43
If a President dies while in office, a spouse may receive Secret Service protection for one year. 18 U.S.C.
§3056(3)(B).
44
In 1965, the FPA was amended (P.L. 89-186; 79 Stat. 791) to provide “protection of the person of a former President
and his wife during his lifetime and the person of a widow and minor children of a former President for a period of four
years after he leaves or dies in office.”
45
P.L. 98-587; 98 Stat. 3110.
46
P.L. 110-326; 122 Stat. 3560.
47
P.L. 103-329; 108 Stat. 2413.
48
The 10-year limit on Secret Service protection applied to former Presidents’ spouses unless Secret Service protection
was terminated earlier because the spouse divorced the former President or the spouse remarried following the death of
the former President.
49
18 U.S.C. §3056. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §879, a person who makes threats against a former President or his
immediate family member can be fined or imprisoned for up to five years.
40
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Currently, former First Lady Nancy Reagan and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W.
Bush, William J. Clinton, George W. Bush, and their wives receive Secret Service protection.50
The Secret Service does not publicly disclose protection costs or details for security reasons.51
Health Benefits
No statutes explicitly govern the payment of health benefits for former Presidents. Generally,
however, former federal employees must be enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits
program for five years to qualify for health benefits (5 U.S.C. §8905(a)). GSA, historically, has
interpreted similar service requirements for a former President to qualify as a federal annuitant
(defined in 5 U.S.C. §8901(3)).
Presidential terms are four years. Jimmy Carter served a single presidential term, and, therefore,
does not qualify for federally funded health benefits. Although George H.W. Bush served only
one term as President, he is entitled to federal health benefits because of his extensive federal
service in other positions, including Director of Central Intelligence and Ambassador to the
United Nations. While former President George H.W. Bush is eligible for federal health benefits,
he opts not to receive them.52 Since former President Clinton served two presidential terms and
receives a monthly pension, GSA’s position is that he qualifies for federal health benefits. George
W. Bush is eligible for and receives federal health benefits.53
Funerals
The incumbent President is charged with officially announcing the death of a former President by
presidential proclamation and ordering the U.S. flags on all federal buildings to be flown at halfstaff for 30 days (4 U.S.C. §7(m)). Former Presidents are entitled to an official state funeral,
including traditions and requirements determined by the armed forces.54
According to state funeral policy, the incumbent President must notify Congress that the former
President had requested a state funeral, and then set a date for the ceremony. The Secretary of
Defense is then designated as the representative of the incumbent President for the purpose of
making all state funeral arrangements in Washington, DC. The Secretary of Defense may
designate the Secretary of the Army as his personal representative, who may then delegate to the
50
Former President Richard Nixon discontinued Secret Service protection for himself and his wife, Pat, more than 10
years after his resignation from office. See Philip H. Melanson, The Secret Service: The Hidden History of an
Enigmatic Agency (New York, NY: Carroll & Graff, 2005), p. 163.
51
Information provided via telephone from the Secret Service to the author on February 11, 2013. Total Secret Service
appropriations for protection of “persons and facilities” is available in CRS Report RL34603, The U.S. Secret Service:
An Examination and Analysis of Its Evolving Missions, by Shawn Reese, p. 4.
52
Former President George H.W. Bush is eligible and may elect to receive health benefits that are appropriated
pursuant to an authority other than the Former Presidents Act.
53
All information on former Presidents and health benefits was provided to the author electronically on February 11,
2013.
54
U.S. Headquarters of the Departments of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Treasury, “State, Official, and
Special Military Funerals,” Army Pamphlet 1-1, December 1965.
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commanding general of the U.S. Military District of Washington (MDW) the overall authority for
planning and implementing the funeral arrangements within Washington, DC and elsewhere.55
The former President’s funeral plans are to be collected by those making the arrangements, and an
aide is to be assigned to assist the former President’s next of kin. Certain military honors and
traditions may be extended by the military, based on the wishes and requests made by the former
President’s surviving family members.56 A guard of honor, which is composed of members from
each of the armed forces, attends to the former President’s remains. If a former President dies
outside of Washington, DC, arrangements are made to return his remains to the District.
The former President’s remains are to lie in repose for one day,57 and then be moved to the
Capitol Rotunda to lie in state for an additional 24 hours.58 A ceremony is then traditionally held
at the Capitol, which includes the playing of a hymn and a cannon salute. A former President, as
former Commander-in-Chief, is also entitled to burial and ceremony in the Arlington National
Cemetery.59 If the former President is to be buried outside of Washington, DC, however, honors
will be rendered at the train station, terminal, or airport that serves as the point of departure for
the remains. Traditionally, a flag is draped over the former President’s casket. At the state funeral
service, certain additional honors may be rendered, including musical honors and gun salutes.60 In
addition, the U.S. Air Force may coordinate a flyover or the armed forces may stage a cannon
salute.61
55
Ibid., p. 1.
The military has rendered military honors to former Presidents since the burial of George Washington on December
18, 1799, at Mount Vernon, VA.
57
For more information on the ceremony at the place of repose, see U.S. Headquarters of the Departments of the Army,
the Navy, the Air Force, and the Treasury, “State, Official, and Special Military Funerals,” pp. 12, 14.
58
State funerals require that the former President’s remains lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. In addition, Congress
may adopt a resolution or otherwise authorize a deceased President to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda for a state
funeral ceremony, followed by public, closed-casket viewing.
59
Arlington National Cemetery, “A Guide to Burial at Arlington National Cemetery,” at
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/funeral_information/guide.interment.html. Two former Presidents are buried in the
National Cemetery: William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy.
60
Musical honors include the playing of “Ruffles and Flourishes,” in which drums play the ruffles and bugles play the
flourishes. Presidents receive four flourishes, the highest honor. “Hail to the Chief” is then played. One day after the
death of a former President—unless that day is a Sunday or holiday—an order is rendered that one gun be fired every
half hour from reveille to retreat. If the day after the former President’s death is a Sunday or holiday, the salute is
scheduled for the following day. On the day of the former President’s burial, a 21-minute gun salute begins at noon at
all military installations. The guns fire at one-minute intervals. Also on the day of the former President’s burial, all
military installations traditionally fire a 50-gun salute—one round per state—after the American flag is lowered. For
more information see U.S. Headquarters of the Departments of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Treasury,
“State, Official, and Special Military Funerals,” pp. 57-58; and U.S. Department of Defense, American Forces Press
Service, “Military Tradition to Be Evident in Ford Funeral Events,” December 28, 2006.
61
Following former President Gerald R. Ford’s death on December 26, 2006, President George W. Bush announced by
proclamation that U.S. flags on all federal facilities be flown at half-staff. Two days later, President Bush issued E.O.
13421, which proclaimed January 2, 2007, a day of respect and remembrance for the former President and ordered the
closing of federal offices and agencies. A funeral took place in the Capitol Rotunda on December 30, 2006, where
former President Ford lay in state, with subsequent services on January 2, 2007, at Washington National Cathedral.
Funeral services for the former President were conducted on January 3, 2007, in Grand Rapids, MI, with interment at
the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
56
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Some Potential Policy Options for Congress
Congress has the authority to reduce, increase, or maintain the pension and benefits provided to
former Presidents of the United States. This section considers the potential effects of maintaining
the FPA, modifying the FPA in ways similar to H.R. 4093 (112th Congress), and other policy
options for consideration.
The Informal Public Role of a Former President
Currently, former Presidents are provided $96,000 for personnel compensation, a $199,700
pension, and as much as an additional $1,023,000 in various benefits.62 Former Presidents no
longer serve a formal role in the federal government, but arguably continue to perform certain
informal public roles. Some have argued that Presidents should continue to be provided access to
pension benefits because of these informal roles, such as responding to mail and interview
requests.63 Moreover, other public servants qualify for a pension—including executive,
legislative, and judicial branch employees as well as Members of Congress.64
Expectations, Limitations, and Opportunities of a Former President
On the other hand, the FPA was enacted so former Presidents would not be forced “to write and
lecture to gain a livelihood in their final days.”65 Yet every living former President has already
published an autobiography or presidential memoir.66 Pursuant to the FPA, there is only one
occupation that would result in the temporary removal of FPA pension and benefits: “an
appointive or elective office or position in or under the Federal Government or the government of
62
In FY2012, George W. Bush was obligated $1,319,000. Information provided by GSA.
For example, in 1958, Representative Tom Murray provided the following remarks on the House floor:
Today the President of the United States is virtually the only officer of the Federal Government
who is not covered by some kind of retirement program. He occupies the greatest office in the
world. His duties are most trying and exacting. A former President is considered a dedicated
statesman, available whenever desired for service to our country. The interest of the American
people in the President does not cease when his term of office has ended, nor does his responsibility
end when he retires. The public demands for speeches, conferences, and correspondence continue
after his term of office ends.
Representative Tom Murray, “Retirement, Clerical Assistants, and Free Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents of the
United States,” remarks in the House, Congressional Record, vol. 105, part 15 (August 21, 1958), p. 18941. Pursuant to
federal law, federal employees and Members of Congress must complete five years of federal service to qualify for
pension benefits. Presidents serve four-year terms, and may serve for two terms. Pursuant to the FPA, a President who
serves one term (four years) qualifies for the pension and certain benefits (excluding health care) provided to a former
President.
64
For more information on the pension and benefits provided to federal employees or Members of Congress, see CRS
Report 98-810, Federal Employees’ Retirement System: Benefits and Financing, by Katelin P. Isaacs and CRS Report
RL30631, Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress, by Katelin P. Isaacs.
65
Representative Joseph William Martin, Jr., “Retirement, Clerical Assistants, and Free Mailing Privileges for Former
Presidents of the United States,” remarks in the House, Congressional Record, vol. 104, part 15 (August 21, 1958), p.
18942.
66
See Jimmy Carter, Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President (Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 1995);
George H.W. Bush, All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings (New York: Scribner, 2000); Bill
Clinton, My Life (New York: Vintage, 2005); and George W. Bush, Decision Points (New York: Broadway, 2011).
63
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the District of Columbia to which is attached a rate of pay other than a nominal rate.”67 No living
former President has publicly claimed to suffer financial difficulties as a result of continued
public responsibilities or otherwise. To the contrary, the living former Presidents all earned
money writing autobiographies and memoirs that focused on their presidential tenures. Some
former Presidents also reportedly earn millions of dollars each year from paid speaking
engagements.68
Some argue that the expectations placed on former Presidents have changed, and so too should
the pension and benefits they are provided. H.R. 4093 in the 112th Congress, for example, would
have increased a former President’s pension by $300, but significantly limited the other benefits
provided. Moreover, H.R. 4093 would have removed $1 in federal benefits for every $1 a former
President earned in excess of $400,000.
While the bill arguably would have allowed current or future former Presidents from less affluent
backgrounds to live comfortably after leaving office, some may argue that reducing the benefits
provided to more affluent former Presidents could appear punitive or demonstrate that the federal
service of a President from an affluent background was less worthy than the service of a President
from poorer means. Moreover, the bill may prompt privacy concerns for former Presidents.
Details of a former President’s earnings may not be made public, but the public would know—
from a former President’s qualification for or disqualification from the receipt of benefits—
whether he earned more than $400,000 per year.
Pensions of the Widows of Former Presidents
While H.R. 4093 sought to reduce costs associated with former Presidents, the bill included
language that would increase the pension provided to the widow of a former President from
$20,000 to $100,000 per year. The widows of other federal employees and officials may be
eligible to receive survivor benefits, and, in some cases, may receive a pension valued greater
than the $20,000 provided annually to that of the widow of a former President.69 The widow of a
former President must decline other available pensions to be eligible for the $20,000. As noted
above, Nancy Reagan, the only surviving widow of a former President, has declined the $20,000.
Congress may choose to maintain the $20,000 pension benefit authority for the widows of former
Presidents. On the other hand, Congress may determine that $20,000 annually is not the
appropriate amount for the pension of a widow of a former President. Congress has the authority
to set the pension of the widow of a former President at any value or to eliminate it.
67
3 U.S.C. §102 note (a).
See, for example, Robert Yoon, “Clinton Surpasses $75 Million in Speech Income After Lucrative 2010,” CNN:
Political Ticker, July 11, 2001, at http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/11/clinton-surpasses-75-million-inspeech-income-after-lucrative-2010/; and Jennifer Epstein, “George W. Bush Made $15M on Speaking Circuit,”
Politico, May 21, 2011, at http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55372.html.
69
For more information on the survivor benefits provided to federal employees, see CRS Report RS21029, Survivor
Benefits for Families of Civilian Federal Employees and Retirees, by Katelin P. Isaacs.
68
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Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
Placing Limits on Certain Benefits
Some Members of Congress have argued that the FPA is unclear or overly permissive.70 Given
past congressional debates on the extent of financial assistance to former Presidents, Congress
may choose to consider legislation to clarify current laws governing certain allowances provided
for in the act—for example, by limiting office space allocations. Because existing laws are
unclear on whether GSA can reject a former President’s choice in office size or location, rental
payments in FY2012 ranged from $106,000 per year for former President Carter’s office to
$444,000 for former President Clinton’s. Among the options that might be considered are placing
a spending cap on office space for a former President, mandating that a former President’s office
be located in owned or leased federal office buildings, placing a cap on the square footage of a
former President’s office space, or leaving current provisions as they are.
70
In the 96th Congress (1979-1980), two pieces of legislation related to presidential retirement benefits were
introduced: a concurrent resolution (H.Con.Res. 149) requesting that former President Richard Nixon pay the federal
government $66,614.03 for non-security repairs made on his San Clemente estate paid for by the federal government,
and a house bill (H.R. 7144) that would have prevented pensions to former Presidents from “exceeding 50 times the
poverty level income for one urban family of four.” Neither bill was reported from committee. In the 98th Congress
(1983-1984), Senator Lawton Chiles introduced legislation that would have prohibited former Presidents from using
their federal pension “for partisan political activities or income generating activities.” The bill’s report noted that the
increases in the staff and office allowances for former Presidents had greatly exceeded Congress’s “original
expectations” for the FPA. The “original intent” of the FPA was to ensure former Presidents “dignified retired lives
free from the need to ‘commercialize’ and demean their status as elder statesmen.” See U.S. Congress, Senate
Committee on Governmental Affairs, Former Presidents Facilities and Services Reform Act of 1983, report to
accompany S. 563, 98th Cong., 2nd sess., (Washington, DC: GPO, 1983), p. 3. The bill was reported by the Senate
Committee on Governmental Affairs, but no further Senate action was taken. Similar bills were introduced in the 97th
(S. 1325), 98th (S. 563) and 99th (S. 1047) Congresses, but none of the bills were reported from committee. In 1988,
Senator Chiles introduced another similar bill to limit presidential allowances (S. 1647). It would have limited former
Presidents in how they could spend their pension, and would have required them to report annually to Congress on how
their pension was used. Additionally, the bill would have limited Secret Service protection to five years from the day a
President left office. The bill was not reported from committee. In addition, the Treasury, Postal Service, and General
Government Appropriations Act, 1994 (P.L. 103-123) contained a provision that amended the FPA by limiting office
allowances for former Presidents to a five-year period, beginning in 1998 (legislation enacted in 1997 repealed this
provision, and restored lifetime staff and office allowances to former Presidents). The Treasury, Postal Service, and
General Government Appropriations Act, 1995 (P.L. 103-329), included a provision that prohibited FPA funds from
being used “for partisan political purposes”). That language, however, applied only to appropriated funding for that
year.
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Appendix A. Legislative History of the Former
Presidents Act
Prior to 1958, chief executives leaving office entered retirement without federal assistance. By
the end of the 19th century, public sentiment reportedly dictated that it was not appropriate for
former Presidents to engage actively in business affairs. Suitable post-presidency occupations
included practicing law, obtaining a university professorship, or writing for a newspaper or
magazine.71 Some former Presidents, like Rutherford B. Hayes, became successful entrepreneurs.
Others, like Ulysses S. Grant, suffered financial losses and had personal possessions taken by
creditors.
Andrew Carnegie’s Offer
In 1912, discussions began in Congress about providing former Presidents and their spouses with
annual pensions. That year, industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie reportedly offered to
fund $25,000 annual pensions for all future former Presidents and their widows until they were
provided for by the federal government.72 The pensions were to be funded by the Carnegie
Foundation of New York, which was founded just a year earlier.73 The New York Times reported
that many Members of Congress deemed it inappropriate for a private corporation to provide
pensions to former Presidents. Former President William Howard Taft publicly declined to
become the first beneficiary of Carnegie’s former President’s pension fund when he left office in
1913.74
At the time, some Members of Congress and the public believed that Carnegie’s proposal was
intended to bring attention to the financial difficulties that some former Presidents faced after
leaving federal office.75 On that count, Carnegie’s gambit was a success. In December 1912, two
bills were introduced in Congress to provide pensions for former Presidents and their widows.
The proposed House legislation (H.R. 26464) would have provided a $2,000 per month pension
for former Presidents, a $1,000 per month pension for widows, and a $200 per month pension for
minor children under age 21, if both parents were deceased.76 The bill was referred to the House
Committee on Pensions and was not reported. Legislation introduced in the Senate (S. 7519)
would have provided a $10,000 annual retirement pension for the President as Commander-inChief of the Army. It would also have provided an annual pension of $5,000 for the unmarried
71
Marie B. Hecht, Beyond the Presidency (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co, Inc., 1976), p. 214. According to
Hecht, the practice of law was meant to be “limited to important cases and restricted court appearances.” In 1912, the
New York Times reported that former President Rutherford B. Hayes saved money from his presidential salary and
returned to his home state of Ohio where he successfully raised chickens. Ulysses S. Grant, however, retired to New
York City and lost his money in a brokerage firm he ran with his son. Some of Grant’s possessions were confiscated
because of his financial turmoil. See “Carnegie Pension to Ex-presidents; Bars Roosevelt,” New York Times, November
22, 1912, pp. 1, 4.
72
“Carnegie Pension to Ex-Presidents; Bars Roosevelt,” New York Times, November 22, 1912, p. 1.
73
Ibid.
74
“Taft Would Refuse a Carnegie Pension,” New York Times, November 23, 1912, p. 1. As former President, Mr. Taft
taught law courses at Yale University, and later served as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
75
“Carnegie Pension to Ex-Presidents; Bars Roosevelt,” New York Times, November 22, 1912, pp. 1, 4.
76
“President’s Pension Bill In,” New York Times, December 3, 1912, p. 3; and U.S. Congress, House, Journal of the
House of Representatives of the United States, 62nd Cong., 3rd sess. (Washington, DC: GPO, 1913), p. 6.
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widows of former Presidents.77 The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Pensions, but it
was not reported.
Truman’s Finances
The idea to provide pensions to former Presidents was largely forgotten until President Harry S.
Truman left office in 1953. In view of former President Truman’s financial limitations in hiring an
office staff to handle his mail and requests for speeches once he left the White House, the Senate
considered legislation in 1955 to provide retirement benefits to former Presidents. The legislation
aimed “to maintain the dignity of that great office” and to prevent an ex-President from engaging
“in business or [an] occupation which would demean the office he has held or capitalize upon it
in any way deemed improper.”78 The proposal passed the Senate, but was never acted on by the
House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service.
President Truman’s financial difficulties were disclosed in a 1957 letter to House Speaker Sam
Rayburn that stated if such legislation were not enacted, former President Truman would be
forced to “go ahead with some contracts to keep ahead of the hounds.”79 Having rejected several
business proposals that were offered to him when he left the presidency in 1953, former President
Truman acknowledged his income was largely based on the sale of his father’s farm and the
proceeds from publication of his memoirs. In 1958, Mr. Truman became the first former President
to grant a televised interview for “a substantial fee” when he appeared in 1958 on Edward R.
Murrow’s “See it Now.”80
On January 14, 1957, Senator A.S. Mike Monroney introduced S. 607 (85th Congress) to provide
an annual pension of $25,000, clerical assistants, and free mailing privileges for former
Presidents.81 A companion bill (H.R. 4401; 85th Congress) was introduced by Representative John
McCormack, majority leader of the House, on February 5, 1957.82 Both bills were strongly
supported by Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, the Democratic leader in the Senate.83
Passing the Former Presidents Act
Congressional debate in favor of the proposed pension legislation emphasized that the
expenditures necessary to implement a $25,000 annual pension and office expenses for former
Presidents were modest, “in consideration of the assurance it provides that former Presidents ...
77
“For $10,000 Presidential Pension,” New York Times, December 4, 1912, p. 5; and U.S. Congress, Senate, Journal of
the Senate of the United States of America, 62nd Cong., 3rd sess. (Washington, DC: GPO, 1912), p. 12.
78
U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the Post Office and Civil Service, Allowances for Former Presidents and Their
Widows, report to accompany S. 1516, 84th Cong., 1st sess., April 20, 1955, S.Rept. 205 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1055),
pp. 1-2. For similar remarks, see Senator John O. Pastore, “Retirement, Clerical Assistance, and Free Mailing
Privileges for Former Presidents of the United States,” remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, vol. 101, part 5
(May 5, 1955), p. 5731.
79
Marie B. Hecht, Beyond the Presidency, p. 187.
80
John W. Chambers, “Presidents Emeritus,” American Heritage, vol. 30, June-July 1979, at
http://www.americanheritage.com/content/presidents-emeritus?page=5. According to Chambers, the public was largely
unaware that Truman received payment to appear on the program.
81
“Bills and Joint Resolutions Introduced,” Congressional Record, vol. 103, part 1 (January 14, 1957), p. 480.
82
“Bills and Joint Resolutions Introduced,” Congressional Record, vol. 103, part 2 (February 15, 1957), p. 1573.
83
Marie B. Hecht, Beyond the Presidency, pp. 187-188.
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will not want either for a matter of subsistence or for the necessary clerical employees to answer
the letters of the public.”84 The House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service reported the
bill, saying it would “avoid the possibility of indignities and of deterioration in public and world
regard for the office of the President of the United States.”85 The amount of the proposed pension
for former Presidents was based on comparable pensions accorded five-star generals.86 Majority
Leader John McCormack stated that the proposed retirement allowances provided recognition and
gratitude for a former President’s service to his country, which did not end with his term of office.
He and others urged favorable consideration of S. 607 to authorize retirement benefits for an
outgoing President. Congressman Chester “Chet” Holifield advocated for the bill by stressing the
“burden” of duties placed on an ex-President who can receive “100 to 400 letters a day” and “300
to 400 invitations a month to speak.” Holifield added that passing the bill was “something that
we, the greatest Republic in the world, can do to show that we have respect for the office of
President and that we recognize the duties and responsibilities that he has to carry on after he
leaves that office.”87
S. 607, as introduced, provided that the compensation for an administrative assistant, secretary,
and other clerical assistants for each former President should not exceed the aggregate amount
authorized for the staff of the Senators from the least populous state, which at the time was
$100,000.88 During House debate on S. 607, however, it was argued that the staffing provision of
the proposed legislation could involve salaries totaling as much as $120,000 for each former
President’s office, depending on the individual salary paid to each staff person. House and Senate
conferees believed that even $100,000 was excessive, and imposed a $50,000 limitation on the
total compensation authorized for a former President’s office staff.89 The bill also originally
authorized the GSA administrator to furnish suitable office space for each former President in a
federal building “at such place within the United States as the former President shall specify.”
The conference committee deleted the reference to “federal building,” allowing GSA to furnish
suitable office space for a former President in non-federal office space.90
Despite strong support by the leadership of both the House and the Senate, opposition to the
concept of providing benefits to former Presidents persisted. In an effort to bring their dissenting
views “to the attention of the Members of the House of Representatives and of the American
public,” seven members of the House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service prepared a
84
U.S. Congress, House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Retirement, Staff Assistants, and Mailing
Privileges for Former Presidents and Annuities for Widows of Former Presidents, report to accompany S. 607, 85th
Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 2200 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1958), p. 4. See also Senate Hearing Before the Committees on
Appropriations and Governmental Affairs, Cost of Former President to U.S. Taxpayers, Fiscal Year 1980, 96th Cong.,
1st sess., (Washington, DC: GPO, 1980), p. 236.
85
U.S. Congress, House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Former Presidents—Retirement, Clerical
Assistants, and Free Mailing Privileges, report to accompany S. 607, 85th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 2200. Also available
in the U.S. Congress, Senate Hearing Before the Committees on Appropriations and Governmental Affairs, Cost of
Former President to U.S. Taxpayers, Fiscal Year 1980, 96th Cong., 1st sess., (Washington, DC: GPO, 1980), p. 235.
86
“Retirement for Former Presidents,” remarks in the House, Congressional Record, vol. 104, part 12 (July 30, 1958),
p. 15624. See also Senate Hearing Before the Committees on Appropriations and Governmental Affairs, Cost of
Former Presidents to U.S. Taxpayers, Fiscal Year 1980, 96th Cong., 1st sess., (Washington, DC: GPO, 1980), p. 247.
87
“Retirement for Former Presidents,” remarks in the House, Congressional Record, vol. 104, part 12 (July 30, 1958),
p. 15632, and in Cost of Former Presidents to U.S. Taxpayers, p. 255.
88
“Retirement, Clerical Assistants, and Free Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents,” House debate, Congressional
Record, vol. 104, part 15 (August 21, 1958), pp. 18940-18941.
89
Ibid., p. 18941.
90
Ibid.
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formal report on why they opposed authorizing presidential retirement benefits.91 They argued
that no adequate need or justification to provide such benefits existed, and that enactment of S.
607 would create a “separate entity” for former Presidents, with “an aura of official standing” and
a “wholly undefined relationship to the constitutional functions of the [f]ederal [g]overnment.”92
Equally problematic for the seven dissenting Members was the “unprecedented vagueness” of the
proposed legislation’s provisions for staff and office allowances, which created “wide and
dangerous loopholes.”93 The Members were also concerned about the provision to provide each
former President with suitable furnishings in an office space that could be located anywhere
within the United States. Such a broad provision, the dissenting Members argued, took into
account only the proposed costs for providing allowances to the two surviving former
Presidents—Herbert Hoover and Truman—and overlooked potential future costs that could be
incurred as subsequent Presidents began receiving pension benefits after leaving office.94
S. 607, as amended, was approved by the Senate on August 16, 1958; passed by the House on
August 21, 1958; and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on August 25, 1958.95
As enacted, the Former Presidents Act (FPA) provided each former President an annual taxable
allowance of $25,000, payable monthly by the Secretary of the Treasury. The GSA administrator
was authorized by the FPA to provide and fund an office staff and suitable office space,
“appropriately furnished and equipped,” at a location within the United States designated by a
former President. The former President’s staff would not be considered federal employees, but
would be entitled to health care and benefits of federal employees. The FPA also authorized free
mailing privileges for former Presidents. Pursuant to the act, the widow of a former President also
was provided an annual pension of $10,000, if she waived the right to any annuity or pension
authorized under any other legislation.96
91
U.S. Congress, House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Retirement, Staff Assistants, and Mailing
Privileges for Former Presidents and Annuities for Widows of Former Presidents, report to accompany S. 607, 85th
Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 2200, Part 2 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1958), p. 1.
92
Ibid., pp. 1-2.
93
Ibid., p. 4.
94
Ibid., pp. 2-3.
95
72 Stat. 838.
96
In 1971, the FPA was amended (84 Stat. 1963) to provide the widow of a former President a $20,000 taxable annual
pension, to be paid monthly by the Secretary of the Treasury. The widow’s pension begins on the day after the former
President’s death, and would end with death or remarriage before reaching 60 years of age. The FPA prohibits pension
benefits to a former President’s widow while he or she holds an appointive or elective office or position in the federal
government or District of Columbia and receives a rate of pay other than a “nominal rate.” To be eligible for the FPA
pension, a former President’s widow must waive the right to any annuity or pension available pursuant to other
legislation. Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, and Laura Bush, according to GSA, did not waive their rights to other
statutorily available annuities or pensions, and therefore do not receive the annual pension.
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Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
Appendix B. Post-Presidential Lifespans
Table B-1 shows the post-presidential retirement periods for the 30 Presidents who survived the
presidency and who subsequently died.97 Former President Jimmy Carter is the former President
with the longest post-presidential lifespan (nearly 32 years). The shortest presidential retirement
period was James K. Polk’s 103 days. On average, former Presidents who have subsequently died
have lived about 13 years (4,720 days) after leaving office.
Table B-1. Retirement Period of Former Presidents After Leaving Office
Retirement Period
President
Date Left Office
Date of Death
Days
Years
George Washington
March 4, 1797
December 14, 1799
1,015
2.78
John Adams
March 4, 1801
July 4, 1826
9,253
25.33
Thomas Jefferson
March 4, 1809
July 4, 1826
6,331
17.33
James Madison
March 4, 1817
June 28, 1836
7,056
19.32
James Monroe
March 4, 1825
July 4, 1831
2,313
6.33
John Quincy Adams
March 4, 1829
February 23, 1848
6,930
18.97
Andrew Jackson
March 4, 1837
June 8, 1845
3,018
8.26
Martin Van Buren
March 4, 1841
July 24, 1862
7,812
21.39
John Tyler
March 4, 1845
January 18, 1862
6,164
16.89
James K. Polk
March 4, 1849
June 15, 1849
103
0.28
Millard Fillmore
March 4, 1853
March 8, 1874
7,643
20.94
Franklin Pierce
March 4, 1857
October 8, 1869
4,601
12.60
James Buchanan
March 4, 1861
June 1, 1868
2,646
7.24
Andrew Johnson
March 4, 1869
July 31, 1875
2,340
6.41
Ulysses S. Grant
March 4, 1877
July 23, 1885
3,063
8.39
Rutherford B. Hayes
March 4, 1881
January 17, 1893
4,337
11.87
Chester A. Arthur
March 4, 1885
November 18, 1886
624
1.71
Grover Clevelanda
March 4, 1889
June 24, 1908
—
—
Benjamin Harrison
March 4, 1893
March 13, 1901
2,930
8.02
Grover Cleveland
March 4, 1897
June 24, 1908
4,129
11.30b
Theodore Roosevelt
March 4, 1909
January 6, 1919
3,595
9.84
William Howard Taft
March 4, 1913
March 8, 1930
6,213
17.01
Woodrow Wilson
March 4, 1921
February 3, 1924
1,066
2.92
97
Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms, and is, therefore, included twice in the table. Eight Presidents
died while in office—William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William
McKinley, Warren G. Harding, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy—and are, therefore, not included in
this table.
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Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits
Retirement Period
President
Date Left Office
Date of Death
Days
Years
Calvin Coolidge
March 4, 1929
January 5, 1933
1,403
3.84
Herbert Hoover
March 4, 1933
October 20, 1964
11,553
31.63
Harry S. Truman
January 20, 1953
December 26, 1972
7,280
19.93
Dwight D. Eisenhower
January 20, 1961
March 28, 1969
2,989
8.18
Lyndon B. Johnson
January 20, 1969
January 22, 1973
1,463
4.01
Richard Nixon
August 9, 1974
April 22, 1994
7,196
19.70
Gerald Ford
January 20, 1977
December 26, 2006
10,932
29.93
Jimmy Carter
January 20, 1981
—
Ronald Reagan
January 20, 1989
June 4, 2004
5,614
15.37
George H.W. Bush
January 20, 1993
—
Bill Clinton
January 20, 2001
—
George W. Bush
January 20, 2009
—
4720.4
12.924
Average retirement period after leaving office for deceased presidents:
Source: Dates are available from The White House, “Presidents of the United States,” at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/. For former Presidents who died prior to 1900, the length of life
after leaving office was calculated using Duke University’s Date Calculator page, which is available at
http://cgi.cs.duke.edu/~des/datecalc/datecalc.cgi. For former Presidents whose deaths occurred after 1900, CRS
used Excel to calculate length of life after leaving office. Excel cannot calculate the number of days between dates
prior to January 1, 1900. According to Excel’s operating documents, “Excel stores dates as sequential serial
numbers so that they can be used in calculations. By default, January 1, 1900 is serial number 1, and January 1,
2008 is serial number 39448 because it is 39,448 days after January 1, 1900.” Years in the post-presidency are
calculated by dividing the days by 365. Leap years, therefore, are not included in this calculation.
a.
Grover Cleveland was elected to the presidency two different times, not in succession. He lived 11 years,
112 days after the end of his second term.
b.
This figure excludes the four years between President Cleveland’s first and second terms.
Author Contact Information
Wendy Ginsberg
Analyst in American National Government
wginsberg@crs.loc.gov, 7-3933
Acknowledgments
This report draws upon and supersedes CRS Report 98-249, Former Presidents: Federal Pension and
Retirement Benefits, by Stephanie Smith.
Congressional Research Service
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