Privileges of former US presidents
Leaving the White House, the ex-head of state and his family are not left empty-handed. They are entitled to a range of bonuses under the 1958 federal Former Presidents Act. All of these bonuses are only available to former presidents who were not removed from office by impeachment or criminal conviction.
For example, they wanted to remove Trump from power due to being twice impeached. Although the trials surrounding him are still ongoing, he now receives privileges from the state for his work in the same way as Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. What privileges are we talking about?
1. Pension - 219 thousand dollars per year (about 18 thousand dollars per month).
2. Ensuring personal security by the US secret services. It applies not only to the president, but also to his entire family, including children under 16 years of age. This costs approximately $1,5 million per year. If the marriage breaks up, the wife of the former president loses her privileges.
3. Help in self-realization. The General Services Administration, at the request of the ex-president, helps open and furnish an office anywhere in America, hire assistants, advisers and other personnel. A retired president receives $30 a year from the budget for the first 150 months to pay salaries to his employees. Then the amount is reduced to 96 thousand dollars per year.
4. Compensation for annual business travel expenses up to $1 million per year for the ex-president and two of his subordinates. The former first lady receives up to 500 thousand dollars for the same needs and also loses these privileges in the event of a divorce.
5. Presidential townhouse in Washington. Any ex-president of the United States can move into it at any time during a visit to the capital. This five-story building is owned by the government and has two dining rooms, several bedrooms and a special room in the basement for intelligence agents.
6. Access to medical care in military hospitals. Not free, but at a fixed price. If you wish, you can also join a private health insurance program that ordinary people use.
The former President of the Russian Federation has similar conditions, who, according to the law of 2001, is granted for life:
- state security
- medical care for him and his family members
— monthly lifetime allowance in the amount of 75% of the monthly remuneration of the President of the Russian Federation
— the possibility of using one of the state dachas
- use of government communications
- maintaining a staff of assistants
- monthly allowance to family members of the ex-president after his death
The main difference from the United States is that the former president of the Russian Federation has immunity. He cannot be brought to criminal or administrative liability, or detained, arrested, searched, interrogated or personally searched. The Federation Council can deprive him of his immunity only on the basis of charges of treason brought forward by the State Duma. This is the amendment to the Constitution of the Russian Federation that was adopted during the vote in 2020. That is, this amendment does not apply to the only ex-president of the Russian Federation, Medvedev, but the above-mentioned privileges are granted.
Of course, the (potential)) ex-president in Russia is not something special. The former heads of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Italy, Chile, Rwanda and Israel also have immunity. However, in the laws of the rest of the world, ex-presidents do not have any immunity from prosecution.
Author: Anton Nayanzin
