Donald Trump has nothing to lose in November, at least when it comes to his retirement benefits. He already collects the $246,400 annual pension for former presidents and there is no bonus for a second term.
Kamala Harris , meanwhile, stands to boost her federal pension more than 12-fold with a White House win. She has already qualified for about $18,800 annually for her years as vice president and senator.
No matter what happens on Nov. 5, the candidates and their running mates can take some consolation in their pensions: They are all on track for a guaranteed taxpayer-funded income for life—in addition to other perks. In fact, when President Biden hands off the keys to Air Force One, he will start earning more from his pensions than he did in the Oval Office.
The leader of the free world didn’t get any pension until 1958, after Harry Truman complained to Congress that his ex-presidential expenses, including answering mail, were draining his accounts.
Presidents are eligible for the pension unless they are impeached , convicted and removed from office.
Since 2000, taxpayers have spent $125 million on pensions and other perks for former presidents, including staff salaries and office rent, said Demian Brady , vice president of research at the fiscally conservative nonprofit National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
Here are the federal pensions those seeking—and leaving—higher office stand to receive.
Donald Trump
Trump has at least three pensions.
Since leaving office in 2021, he has received the presidential pension, currently $246,400. (Buying an annuity equivalent to that amount would cost a retiring 65-year-old roughly $3.4 million).
This taxable benefit is periodically adjusted for inflation. If Melania Trump outlives her husband, she is eligible to receive $20,000 a year, according to the National Archives.
Trump’s financial disclosures show he also receives pensions for his film and television work as far back as “Home Alone 2” : $6,484 a month from the Screen Actors Guild and $727 from the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. (It couldn’t be determined if the pension covers his “Apprentice” years. SAG-AFTRA declined to comment.)
If Trump, 78, is re-elected, his presidential pension will stop until he returns to civilian life, according to a U.S. General Services Administration spokesperson. He won’t receive the skipped payments.
His other post-presidency perks will also be suspended, including rent for his office in West Palm Beach, Fla., Brady said. Taxpayers have covered $972,000 for that expense over the past three fiscal years, according to GSA documents.
Kamala Harris
There is no special pension for being vice president. Instead, vice presidents accrue benefits under the pension for Congress.
Harris, 60, was a senator for four years before becoming vice president. That makes her eligible for a federal pension of about $18,800 a year. If she chooses a benefit that continues for her husband, Doug Emhoff , if he outlives her, the sum declines to about $17,000, said Brady. The survivor benefit for Emhoff would be about half of that, he said.
The pension for members of Congress and vice presidents is based on years of service and the average of their three highest years of pay. These pensions are financed through a combination of employee and employer contributions. In contrast, Congress fully funds the pension for former presidents.
Harris is eligible to start her federal pension at age 62. If she becomes president, those payments won’t begin until she leaves office, when she would also get the $246,400 annually for former presidents. Harris has two other pensions she earned while working in public-sector jobs in California. Under one, she is eligible for $3,981 a month starting at age 60, according to her financial disclosures. Harris and Emhoff have retirement assets and bank account balances worth between $3.1 million and $7.2 million.
Tim Walz
Tim Walz , 60, and wife Gwen Walz have a net worth of between $117,000 and $330,000—not including several pensions they have earned .
The couple each have a Minnesota teachers pension, one of which would pay $13,332 a year if taken today, according to disclosures. From his time in Congress from 2007 to 2019, Walz earned a pension of about $35,000 a year. He would be able to collect that sum starting at age 62.
If elected vice president, that payment would increase to either $63,900 or $80,000, depending on how many terms he serves. The payments would be about 10% lower for a benefit that covers both spouses for life, said Brady.
Walz could continue to save in his Thrift Savings account, from which he pulled $135,000 last year to pay for his daughter’s college education.
He also qualifies for a National Guard pension, estimated at around $8,000, that likely started this year.
JD Vance
JD Vance and wife Usha Vance have retirement, brokerage bitcoin and bank account balances worth between $3.6 million and $10.9 million.
With nearly two years in the Senate, Vance isn’t yet eligible for a federal pension, which requires at least five years of service.
If Vance, 40, serves the rest of his term as senator from Ohio, he would accrue a pension of about $10,440 a year starting at age 62. If he becomes vice president, his salary would rise from $174,000 to $235,100, bumping his pension to $14,100.
Joe Biden
When he left the vice presidency in January 2017, Biden was eligible to tap the federal pension he earned in the Senate for 36 years and as vice president for eight years. It is likely $166,374 a year, said Brady. The survivor benefit for first lady Jill Biden would be about half of that, he added.
Biden’s payments likely stopped while in the White House, according to his tax returns. They will resume when he leaves office in January.
Starting next year, Biden, 81, will also receive the $246,400 pension for former presidents. His total pension income will exceed his current $400,000 salary.
According to the Bidens’ 2023 disclosures, they have investment and bank account balances worth between $1.05 million and $2.6 million. Their income includes $35,000 in pensions and annuities and $64,000 in Social Security.
Write to Anne Tergesen at anne.tergesen@wsj.com
