http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepresidentandcabinet/a/prescababout.htm
By Robert Longley
Updated July 05, 2016.
Presidential retirement benefits were non-existent until the enactment of the Former Presidents Act (FPA) in 1958. Since then, presidential retirement benefits have included a lifetime annual pension, staff and office allowances, travel expenses, Secret Service protection and more.
Pension
Former presidents are offered a taxable lifetime pension equal to the annual rate of basic pay for the heads of executive branch departments, like the Cabinet Secretaries. This amount is set annually by Congress and is currently (2016) $205,700*per year. The pension starts the minute the president officially leaves office at noon on Inauguration Day. Widows of former presidents are provided with a $20,000 annual lifetime pension and mailing privileges*unless they choose to waive their right to the pension.
In 1974, the Justice Department ruled that presidents who resign from office before their official terms of office expire are entitled to the same lifetime pension and benefits extended to other former presidents.
However, presidents who are removed from office due to impeachment forfeit all benefits.
Transition Expenses
For the first 7 months, beginning one month before the January 20 inauguration, former presidents get transition funding the help them transition back into private life. Granted under the Presidential Transition Act, the funds can be used for office space, staff compensation, communications services, and printing and postage associated with the transition. The amount provided is determined by Congress.
Staff and Office Allowances
Six months after a president leaves office, he or she gets funds for an office staff. During the first 30 months after the leaving office, the former president gets a maximum of $150,000 per year for this purpose. Thereafter, the Former Presidents Act stipulates that the aggregate rates of staff compensation for a former President cannot exceed $96,000 annually. Any additional staff costs must be paid for personally by the former president.
Former presidents are compensated for office space and office supplies at any location in the United States. Funds for former presidents' office space and equipment are authorized annually by Congress as part of the budget for the General Services Administration (GSA).
Travel Expenses
Under a law enacted in 1968, the GSA makes funds available to former presidents and no more than two of his or her staff members for travel and related expenses. To be compensated, the travel must be related to the former president's status as an official representative of the United States government. In other words, travel for pleasure is not compensated. The GSA determines all appropriate costs for travel.
Secret Service Protection
With the enactment of the Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012 (H.R. 6620), on Jan. 10, 2013, former presidents and their spouses receive Secret Service protection for their lifetimes. Under the Act, protection for the spouses of former presidents terminates in the event of remarriage. Children of former presidents receive protection until they reach age 16.
The Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012 reversed a law enacted in 1994 that terminated Secret Service protection for former presidents 10 years after they left office.
Medical Expenses
Former Presidents and their spouses, widows, and minor children are entitled to treatment in military hospitals. Former presidents and their dependents also have the option of enrolling in private health insurance plans at their own expense.
State Funerals
Former presidents are traditionally granted state funerals with military honors. Details of the funeral are based on the wishes of the former president's family.
Related
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Obama Vetoes Bill Cutting Former Presidents' Pension, Allowances
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What Is the President's Cabinet?
Operating from an on-site clinic, the White House Medical Unit also attends to the medical needs of the White House staff and visitors. The official physician to the president*oversees a staff of from 3 to 5 military physicians, nurses, medical assistants and medics. The official physician and some members of his or her staff remain available to the president at all times, in the White House or during presidential trips.
Presidential Retirement and Maintenance
Under the Former Presidents Act, each former president is paid a lifetime, taxable pension that is equal to the annual rate of basic pay for the head of an executive federal department -- $201,700*in 2015 -- the same annual salary paid to secretaries of the Cabinet agencies.
Each former president and vice president may also take advantage of funds allocated by Congress to help facilitate their transition to private life. These funds are used to provide suitable office space, staff compensation, communications services, and printing and postage associated with the transition. As an example, Congress authorized a total of $1.5 million for the transition expenses of outgoing president George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan ******.
The Secret Service provides lifetime protection for former presidents who entered office before January 1, 1997, and for their spouses. Surviving spouses of former presidents receive protection until remarriage. Legislation enacted in 1984 allows former Presidents or their dependents to decline Secret Service protection.
Former Presidents and their spouses, widows, and minor children are entitled to treatment in military hospitals. Health care costs are billed to the individual at a rate established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Former Presidents and their dependents may also enroll in private health plans at their own expense.
Proposed Bill Would Trim Presidential Retirement Benefits
UPDATE:*On July 22, 2016, President*Obama vetoed the Presidential Allowance Modernization Act, telling Congress the bill “would impose onerous and unreasonable burdens on the offices of former presidents.”
In May 2015, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), introduced a bill that would limit the lifetime pension paid to former presidents at $200,000 and remove the current link between presidential pensions and the salary paid to Cabinet secretaries.
In addition, Sen. Chaffetz’s Presidential Allowance Modernization Act would reduce the presidential pension by $1 for every dollar over $400,000 per year earned by former presidents from all sources. For example, under Chaffetz’ bill, former President Clinton, who made almost $10 million from speaking fees and book royalties in 2014, would get no government pension or allowance at all.
The bill was passed by the House on January 11, 2016, and passed by the Senate on June 21, 2016. Amendments made by the Senate have been sent back to the House for its consideration.
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