10 Surprising Expectations of U.S. Presidents after Leaving Office

Being a president of the United States is a difficult enough job while you’re in the middle of it. For four long years (or eight, if you are lucky), you are asked to weigh in on every single major issue impacting the country and the world. You can never sleep easily because you never know if or when something might call your attention in the middle of the night. It’s impossible to relax, knowing that the weight of the world is quite literally on your shoulders. Oh, and did we mention that even after leaving office, there are a million rules that you are expected to follow, too?

Former presidents who finish up their terms in the White House are still expected to adhere to certain behavioral norms and codes of conduct. In this list, we’ll take a deep dive into those strong suggestions and outright requirements. One thing is for sure: Being president means following a ton of rules to ensure that you honor the office, its history, and its significance—even after you’ve left it and gone back to normal life!

Related: Top 10 Presidential “Bad Boys”

10 Stipend Time

Every president gets a comedown period after their term ends in order for them to transition out of office. Most notably, that means that they receive a financial stipend on which they can live for the next half-year after they leave the White House. The money is intended to help with their transition process and allow them to live comfortably after giving service to the nation. Interestingly, even presidents who resign are given this stipend. So, no matter how badly of a job you do or how much your opposition may have hated you in office, you get six months of free cash on the way out the door!

The expectation, of course, is that presidents will use that six-month grace period to line up new employment after their term(s). Obviously, most presidents have no problem with this. They either go into a consulting role or start hawking their memoir or whatever. Barack Obama famously made bank off Netflix, for example. And Donald Trump has his business projects to fall back on. But just in case a president needs it, they’ve got six months’ worth of free cash to cushion the fall after leaving the White House!^[1]

9 Earn That Pension

All former presidents are expected to take advantage of another post-White House perk, too: the pension! Every former president is handed a pension as soon as they leave the White House. The Former Presidents Act set this up specifically in order to help “maintain the dignity of the Office of the President.” In other words, they don’t want to see any presidents going to the poor house after serving the American people. And the pension itself is pretty decent, too, with an annual salary north of $200,000 as of 2017. Not bad for a retired former politician, right?!

Former presidents also receive an additional annual pension of another $150,000 for those first two years after they leave office. That amount is handed to them so that they are able to employ a couple staff members who help them ease out of the office and transition back into private life, and then it goes away. After two years, that amount is cut to $96,000, and presidents are expected to be more self-sufficient with fewer staffers paid by the government. Basically, the expectation is that presidents maintain a certain level of dignity after leaving the White House, and there are taxpayer dollars set aside for that exact reason.^[2]

8 Still Get Briefings

All former presidents still receive regular national security briefings. They are not updated nearly as often as the sitting POTUS, who gets a daily briefing about things that are going on. But they are expected to be kept in the loop and still be thinking about what goes on in the world even after they leave office. For one, this allows ex-presidents to mentor and advise the current commander-in-chief and people in Congress during difficult times. It also keeps them abreast of American policy so that when they go abroad on goodwill missions, they can better understand what they are doing and what their country expects of them.

Now, not every president wants those national security briefings to the same degree as others. Bill Clinton famously declined his security briefings after he left office. That was because his wife, Hillary Clinton, was the Secretary of State, and he wanted to be able to comment more freely on national and international problems without having the overhang of her office looming above him. However, aside from special situations like that, the expectation of former leaders is that they will continue to take an interest in the direction of their country, even if they have less of a direct say in it.^[3]

7 Secret Service Forever

Former presidents receive a Secret Service detail for the rest of their lives, and they are expected to use it! It would be terrible if a former president was attacked or killed—as recent events have definitely confirmed—so the federal government wants to go to every possible step to avoid that from happening. Now, ex-presidents are able to determine the degree to which they receive Secret Service protection. Some choose to have more protection on hand than others. Some feel as though there are more persistent and concerning threats to their well-being and that of their family. But every former president is granted Secret Service protection and expected to take full avail of it.

Interestingly, their families are also given Secret Service protection. Immediate family members are given a security detail for a time after the White House term ends, too. Any child under 16 is granted a full security detail, no matter what. And former presidents can apply for more protection for loved ones if they are concerned about things. The expectation is that the protection offer will never be turned down. But it has happened once! In 1985, Richard Nixon became the first and thus far only former president to stop using the Secret Service for protection long after his time in office ended.^[4]

6 Travel, Please!

Former presidents are expected to travel early and often as soon as they leave office. They may not have any technical and specific duties since they are no longer in the White House, of course. However, they are encouraged to travel the world as goodwill ambassadors to promote the United States and the American way of life. In fact, they are even granted travel allowances for the express purpose of going about the globe and spreading American cheer!

To encourage and push presidents to travel often after they leave office, the federal government offers them a $1 million annual travel budget. Pretty good, right? Who wouldn’t want to travel the world on a million bucks paid out by somebody else! Former presidents aren’t the only ones with the budget, though. Their spouses receive a $500,000 travel budget, as well. All former presidents are also granted diplomatic passports for life so they can avoid the hassle of having to obtain visas. Of course, there’s a lot of pressure to use those budgets to the country’s advantage. The feds want former presidents on planes all the time!^[5]

5 The Best Healthcare

Former presidents receive the best healthcare possible. Their spouses and children are also entitled to be treated, too. For one, since the president is the commander-in-chief, all ex-presidents are granted free care at all military hospitals. Even if they come into office as civilians, once they earn the role of president and take on military responsibilities, they are given that access. They can pay for private insurance on top of what the government grants them, too, but that must come out of their own pockets. The government healthcare is a freebie handed out to former leaders. And it is expected and planned that they’ll use it for sicknesses, medical tests, and more!

There are a lot of other healthcare rules for presidents, too. For example, any president in office for at least five years (so, more than just a one-term guy) is eligible for even deeper and more expansive long-term government health benefits. That leaves Jimmy Carter out in the cold, unfortunately. But Jimmy is doing okay. Whatever healthcare he’s been enjoying has clearly been working for him regardless of the fact that he’s a one-term president who doesn’t qualify for the next-level federal benefits!^[6]

4 Free Crash Pad

After serving in the White House, former presidents can’t just come back and crash there whenever they return to D.C. But they can crash at a nearby house that was designed and built specifically for them! There is a presidential townhouse adjacent to the White House. It was first thought up and constructed in 1969. Richard Nixon was the one who designated it as the official lodging for former presidents who had to return to Washington to visit for whatever business was going on. That way, ex-presidents don’t have to worry about staying in hotels and the security headaches that come with that.

As far as the home’s accouterments are concerned, the presidential townhouse boasts five stories of rooms. There are several bedrooms, two dining rooms, and even a full series of accommodations for the Secret Service. There is even a government support fund that covers the costs of maintaining the historic building to the standards worthy of a former president. And those ex-leaders are expected to avail themselves of it, too. No sense in staying elsewhere when they can stay for free in a place so close to the White House!^[7]

3 Build a Library… or Else

The Presidential Libraries Act was first passed in 1955. That act encourages (very, very strongly encourages) former presidents to donate their presidential papers and various other historical materials to the establishment of an official library in their name. It’s not just that people are hoping every former president will put together a library and show off their time in office through it. It’s more that they are very strongly expecting that the former commander-in-chief will do so in a way that shows their support for public service and the good people who elected them to office.

Sure, there’s no penalty if they don’t create a library after their term ends, but it does have a pretty strong “do this or else” vibe to it. Presidential libraries are almost always open to the public, too. And many former presidents even go a step further than that: after their deaths, they choose to be buried on the site of their presidential library! That’s quite a way to honor their post-presidency commitment to the people who want to come to visit them.^[8]

2 No Driving!

The assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 changed everything when it came to the president’s security detail. Among other things, it made it so that current and former presidents alike are no longer allowed to drive on open roads. The rule has officially been on the books since Lyndon Johnson first left office. And while former presidents can drive on private roads—George W. Bush very famously drives around his expansive Texas ranch—they aren’t allowed to take to public roads while behind the wheel of a car. The risks are just simply too great!

That rule goes for current and former vice presidents, too. Joe Biden joked way back in 2014 about how difficult it was for him not to be able to get behind the wheel of his beloved Chevy Corvette now that he had attained the then-second-highest position in the land. So, if you’re a former president who loves cars, the task can be tough. You are expected not to drive in order to protect your health from the worst possible outcomes. But while having a chauffeur would be pretty nice for a while, it also seems so limiting to constantly be driven around, doesn’t it?^[9]

1 Earn a State Funeral

Former presidents are granted the privilege of having state funerals. They aren’t required to have them, and some have chosen to avoid that pomp and circumstance altogether by having private ceremonies instead. But whichever option they decide to have, presidents are expected to follow a few particular rules when it comes to being laid to rest. For one, their procession has to move at 20 miles per hour (32.2 km/h) as their cars line through the streets of the town in which they are to be buried. And the military guards on duty during the outing must walk in a very specific way.

It seems a little goofy, of course, but that pomp and circumstance is very much expected when it comes to laying to rest those who have held the highest position in the country. Interestingly, when Ronald Reagan was buried in 2004, he had the first state funeral that was chosen to be held by any president in more than 30 years. It’ll be interesting to see as future presidents age out and pass away whether they choose to hold a state funeral. But regardless, there will be expectations either way!^[10]