multitude do n’t typically get into U.S. political science for enceinte bucks . sure enough , there are a stack of other prestigious perk that fare along with a high - rank place , but government jobs are n’t typically have sex to be the most lucrative employment opportunities . And get ’s be actual : The true " value " of public armed service has seen beneficial days .
Take theU.S. president , for example . Whilethe annual salary($400,000 ) dwarfs that of the median American income ( $ 59,039 ) , but it ’s not much more than atop - level technical school administrator in the Bay Area($316,763 ) . So while a hefty payroll check may not be the most impressive piece of a politician ’s visibility , are n’t you a footling curious what some government official make ? And how long do they have to work before they ’re paidfor life(because that ’s a thing ) ? curiosity no more .
Presidential Perks
But let ’s get back to the president . We sleep with the annual salary is n’t astronomic , but what about the post - White House perks ? TheFormer Presidents Act of 1958(FPA ) was ordain to " maintain the dignity " of the office of the president . Along with being a former prexy ( and his or her partner ) comes a mass of perks , including lifelongSecret Serviceprotection .
But former president also receive a pension that is adequate to the annual salary for storage locker secretaries ; in 2017,that amountwas $ 207,800 . But that ’s not all . The FPA also provides former U.S. presidents with a great deal of other perk , admit keep faculty , position space , travel funds and even free postage , all funded by taxpayer of course of action . Fox Newsreported that in 2017 , former President Barack Obama was okay for $ 536,000 for billet space in D.C. , while Bill Clinton receive $ 518,000 for his New York City office and George W. Bush fetch $ 497,000 for his infinite in Dallas .
Retiring in Style
When it come to members of U.S. Congress , one-year pay is pretty cut and juiceless : Salary for most is $ 174,000 per year ( though those in leaders positions like the Speaker of the House make more ) . concord toPolitiFact , a long - standing urban legend has convinced many multitude over the years that rank - and - file member of the House of Representatives only have to serve for two long time in parliamentary law to encounter $ 174,000 annually for the rest period of their life . Unfortunately for members of Congress , the legend is , well , a legend .
A composition on " Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress " stipulates that no member of Congress is eligible to receive pension until they ’ve served for at leastfiveyears ( senators serve up six - twelvemonth terms , but members of the House have to seek reelection every two years ) . There are other provisions as well : The congressperson or senator has to be 62 age old or at least 50 with 20 years of armed service ( or , if they ’re whiz kids , they can be any age , as long as they ’ve served for 25 years ) before they can commence have their pension .
And that $ 174,000 rumor is n’t quite right either . According to theFederal Employees Retirement System(FERS ) , introductory pension plans depend on their age of service and the spokesperson ’s " high-3 " norm ( i.e. their three highest - paid consecutive years of armed service ) . There ’s some other math that belong into figuring out the final number , but , for representative , a rank - and - single file member who ’s serve for 25 year can await to take home about $ 67,250 per year in pension . But a congressperson who ’s only served three terminal figure ( or one if they ’re a senator ) might only get $ 17,588 if they go to bed after six years .
Members of Congress can also delight other retirement benefit thanks to FERS : Social Security and theThrift Savings Plan(TSP ) . If a government employee is covered by FERS , they devote into their Social Security fund at the same rate as private employees . But they also have the choice to invest in the TSP , which is available to all Union employee and is exchangeable to a401(k).According to Investopia , what ’s so great about the TSP is the plan has super - low operating expense compared to those outside of the TSP ( 38 cent in expenses for every $ 1,000 commit equate to $ 1.20 per $ 1,000 empower ) . That mean their nest ball grows faster than most because lowly expenses help them accomplish " high retentive - term investment returns . " Not too shabby if you could put up with everything else that goes along with public table service these Clarence Day .
