Random Life of An Ex-President (18 items)

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  (#1) They Get A Pension For Life

  Once they leave office, former presidents get a lifelong pension. In 1958, when Congress first passed the Former Presidents Act, the pension's value stood at $25,000 a year. Today, the pension amount equals the salary of a Cabinet member, currently $210,700 a year. Surviving spouses of deceased former presidents also qualify for an annual pension of $20,000.

  But what about presidents who resign, like Richard Nixon? In 1974, the Justice Department decided Nixon (and any future presidents who resign) would still get a lifetime pension. But presidents removed from office by impeachment lose the right to a pension.
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  (#2) The Secret Service Never Goes Away

  As of 2013, former presidents get Secret Service protection for life. The Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012 reversed a 1994 law that ended Secret Service protection 10 years after a president leaves office.

  The same provision doesn't apply to the president's children and ex-spouses, though. Children get Secret Service protection until they turn 16, while spouses lose the protection if the couple divorces and they remarry.
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  (#3) They Get Their Own Library, Thanks To FDR

  Modern ex-presidents spend a lot of time on their presidential libraries. It wasn't always that way. In fact, the tradition started with Franklin D. Roosevelt, who envisioned the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum as a place to preserve his personal and presidential records.

  Before that, presidents simply packed up their records, and many were lost in the process. George Washington's nephew admitted the first president's documents had been "very extensively mutilated by rats and otherwise injured by damp."

  Planning, fundraising, and running the library can take up a lot of time. Some presidents, like Harry S. Truman, even worked at their presidential library after leaving office.
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  (#4) They Can Make Good Money With Book Sales

  Former presidents can earn millions by writing books. When Bill Clinton signed a deal to write My Life, he negotiated a $15 million advance. George W. Bush took home $7 million when he sold 1.5 million copies of Decision Points.

  Jimmy Carter was one of the first ex-presidents to transform himself into a major author, writing 14 books. Presidential historian James Thurber said of Carter, "He was broke when he came out of the White House." But the ex-president got creative and found a new source of revenue: "If you can write or you can write with someone else, you can write a book and make a great deal of money. Jimmy Carter did that."
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  (#5) They Aren't Allowed To Drive

  Presidents have to hand over the car keys for the rest of their lives. Former presidents aren't allowed to drive on public roads for security reasons; instead, their Secret Service teams drive them everywhere. Some presidents get around the rule by driving on their private property. George W. Bush drives on his Texas ranch; Ronald Reagan used to drive on his ranch, too.

  Former Vice President Joe Biden joked about the rule when he said, "There are a lot of reasons to run for president, but there's one overwhelming reason not to run for president... I like to get that [Corvette] Z06 from zero to 60 in 3.4 seconds."
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  (#6) The Secret Service Screens All Their Mail

  Ex-presidents never walk down to the mailbox to pick up their mail. Instead, the mail first goes to an off-site screening location where the Secret Service checks every package for signs of danger.

  In October 2018, the Secret Service intercepted pipe bombs mailed to the Clintons and Barack Obama, among other prominent political figures. In an October 24 statement, the Secret Service said:

  The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such. Both packages were intercepted prior to being delivered to their intended location.
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  (#7) Some Ex-Presidents Look For Jobs

  Before 1958, presidents didn't receive a pension after leaving office. For some ex-presidents, that meant they needed to find a job after serving in the highest office in the land. Harry S. Truman, for example, made sure his presidential library included an office where he could work during the 19 years he lived in Independence, MO, after leaving the White House.

  Grover Cleveland invested in the stock market to make money after serving two nonconsecutive terms as president. George Washington retired to Mount Vernon, where he ran his own whiskey distillery.
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  (#8) Ex-Presidents Often Become Good Friends

  Presidents often battle on the public stage when they're running for office, especially in contentious contests. Bill Clinton, for example, ousted George H.W. Bush from office, and his successor, George W. Bush, didn't have many fond things to say about Clinton on the campaign trail.

  But once they leave office, ex-presidents often bond over their shared experiences. After all, there aren't many other people guarded full-time by Secret Service. In 2017, George W. Bush even declared that he felt like Clinton was "a brother from another mother."
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  (#9) They Get Paid Staffers, Office Space, And Office Supplies

  Presidents might have to leave behind their Cabinets when they leave office, but they don't lose all their staff. The government pays for ex-presidents to have an office staff, with a budget of $150,000 per year for the first 30 months after leaving office. After that, the government foots the bill for $96,000 in staff expenses, and presidents can pay for any additional costs personally.

  A paid staff isn't the only ex-presidential perk. They also receive compensation for office space and office supplies anywhere in the country.
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  (#10) They Spend A Surprising Amount Of Time Planning Their Funeral

  Former presidents can choose to have a state funeral. In fact, presidents have to plan their funeral service while still in office, working with the Military District of Washington to design the event. Presidential funerals can include aircraft flyovers, gunfire salutes, and parades. The choreographed events typically last five days, and flags remain lowered around the country.

  Former presidents can also opt out of a state funeral. Richard Nixon made that decision - when he passed in 1994, he was buried at his presidential library in California.
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  (#11) Speeches Help Fund The Ex-Presidential Lifestyle

  Presidents don't stop giving speeches when they leave office. In fact, some of them might give even more speeches as ex-presidents. Since leaving office in 2001, Bill Clinton has netted $150 million between his speaking engagements and his books. In 2012, CNN calculated that about $75 million came from speeches given around the world.

  Clinton told Wolf Blitzer in 2010, "I've never had any money until I got out of the White House. But I've done reasonably well since then."
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  (#12) They Get A Huge Budget For Travel

  Former presidents get a huge travel budget. According to the Former Presidents Act, each former president can receive up to $1 million in security and travel expenses each year, with an additional $500,000 for their spouse. There's just one catch - a 1968 law states the funds must be used for travel as an official representative of the US government.

  Former presidents sometimes hop on Air Force One with the current president, as George W. Bush did in 2013 when he flew to South Africa with the Obamas and Hillary Clinton.
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  (#13) They Chase The Nobel Prize With Philanthropic Work

  Many presidents devote themselves to diplomacy and philanthropy in their post-presidential lives. After leaving office in 1981, Jimmy Carter founded the Carter Center. His organization promotes election fairness around the world, mediates diplomatic disputes, and even works to eradicate diseases. Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his humanitarian work.

  Michael Duffy, co-author of The Presidents Club, said of Carter's philanthropic work, "He's made it difficult for absolutely everyone who's come after him. Because who can keep up?"
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  (#14) Ex-Presidents' Homes Range From Modest To Lavish

  Despite sharing one very similar experience - being president of the United States - former presidents lead very different lives after leaving office. Jimmy Carter moved back to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, specifically returning to a two-bedroom house he and Rosalynn Carter built in 1961. Harry S. Truman moved into his mother-in-law's house in Independence, MO.

  Others live a more lavish lifestyle. The Obamas moved from the White House into a $6.3 million mansion in Washington, DC, after the former president left office in 2017. The Clintons moved to a rambling 11-room home in Chappaqua, NY, where they also bought the house next door for visitors. Ronald Reagan returned to Bel-Air, CA, where he lived in a 7,000-square-foot mansion.
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  (#15) They Aren't Guaranteed Health Benefits

  Some former presidents leave office after serving for eight years, while others leave after only four. One surprising thing separates these two groups: their health benefits. To qualify for government health benefits, federal employees must work for the government for at least five years.

  Jimmy Carter, as a one-term president, didn't qualify for federal health benefits. Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton were each elected to two terms and qualified for health benefits after leaving office.
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  (#16) They Often Have Trouble Adjusting Right Away

  After four or eight years in the heightened reality of the presidency, stepping back into civilian life can be a major adjustment. Obviously, the relative lack of public scrutiny or immediate geopolitical concerns mark a major change in the life of a former head of state, but the more mundane aspects of life can also require some adjustment.

  Speaking with David Letterman on his Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Barack Obama revealed that he "slept in" on his first day as a non-president, saying, "I sort of enjoyed puttering around the house, finding out, ‘Does the coffee maker work?’ and fighting with Michelle for closet space.”

  On his first morning as a regular citizen, meanwhile, Bill Clinton found himself stumped by the coffee machine at his new Westchester home. With no staff to help him out, Clinton headed to a local deli, declaring, "Let's go get some coffee."

  Though Obama admitted, "Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion," he also dispelled the myth of the dottering ex-president, explaining, "The stereotype of former presidents is you’re kind of sitting around your house, waiting for someone to call, lonely, don’t know what to – but the truth is it felt exciting.”
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  (#17) They Don't Criticize The Sitting President Too Much

  An unspoken rule has long mandated that retired presidents keep quiet about subsequent commanders in chief. The unofficial agreement to avoid overt public criticism is largely assumed to protect the dignity of the office, while also keeping the former executives out of the contemporary political fray.

  As with so many unspoken rules, however, this one is frequently disregarded, with the likes of Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George HW Bush all offering critiques of their successors in office.

  In 1982, Carter took issue with the next president, declaring, "There is always the temptation for an incumbent politician to blame all his mistakes on his predecessor. Most are willing to withstand the temptation. Mr. Reagan, apparently, is not.'
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  (#18) They're Generally Not Called "President" Anymore

  Though many are tempted to call former presidents by their august title, in formal settings, it's customary to use a less formal title. Rather than referring to him as "President Washington," for example, one would call the first executive "Mr. Washington."

  If that's simply too casual, "former President Washington" also works. In private settings, meanwhile, going with "President Washington" is acceptable, but publicly, the title is reserved for the sitting commander in chief.

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