Biden’s ‘extravagant’ pension is largest of any president in history – and even more than what he earned as prez
By Victor Nava
Published Jan. 4, 2026, 2:50 p.m. ET
Former President Joe Biden’s long career in politics allowed him to retire with the largest taxpayer-funded pension of any ex-prez in US history — $417,000, or more than his presidential salary, an expert says.
Biden, 83, was in line to rake in the massive amount from two pension funds in his first year as former president, according to an analysis by National Taxpayer Union Foundation vice president Demian Brady.
“It’s pretty unusual, historically unusual, to have such a large pension amount,” Brady told The Post.
“I would have to say that it’s the largest,” the taxpayer advocate said when asked to compare Biden’s pension to his predecessors’.
The hefty estimated annual sum is double what Biden’s former boss, Barack Obama, has received in retirement pay after leaving the White House and $17,000 more than Biden’s $400,000-per-year presidential salary.
It also reflects Biden’s “unique situation” as a former senator, vice president and president, a career path that has allowed him to take advantage of a “loophole” letting him tap into multiple taxpayer-backed retirement funds, Brady said.
Biden, who once described himself as “one of the poorest members” of Congress, is able to collect the lucrative payouts by double-dipping in benefits established under the Former Presidents Act of 1958 as well as the Civil Service Retirement System for ex-senators.
Annual pay in the CSRS pension plan is determined by a formula that takes into account Biden’s 44 years in the Senate and as vice president, as well as his three highest years of salary during that span.
“Biden’s starting pension could be as much as $166,374, including an $18,186 set-aside in the program for the spousal portion of benefit,” according to Brady, who noted his estimate assumes Biden sought to maximize the size of his Senate pension.
The former prez would have raked in more than $254,000 in annual benefits from CSRS if not for a cap limiting his annual payouts to 80% of his highest salary, which was $230,700 a year as vice president and president of the Senate.
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https://nypost.com/2026/01/04/us-news/bidens-pension-is-largest-of-any-us-president-in-history/
