Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2025
The Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2025 would overhaul the monetary support provided to former presidents and their surviving spouses under the Former Presidents Act of 1958. The bill creates an annual annuity of $200,000 for former presidents for life and an annual monetary allowance of $200,000, both payable monthly and subject to certain limitations. It also introduces a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) tied to the Social Security Act. A key feature is a new cap: the monetary allowance can be reduced in a given 12-month period based on the former president’s income above a threshold (with an income disclosure requirement to compute the reduction). The bill also expands and increases monetary support for surviving spouses to $100,000 per year and extends coverage to widows and widowers, with subsequent increases linked to the same COLA as the former presidents’ annuities. In addition, it requires the Administrator of General Services (in coordination with the Secret Service) to determine any extra amounts needed to cover security-related costs. The act includes specificity on applicability, exclusions for those already former presidents at enactment, and protections around confidentiality of tax information. Overall, the bill substantially increases baseline support for former presidents and their spouses while introducing an income-based reduction mechanism and security-related cost considerations. It also ensures that those already in office or currently eligible individuals at enactment are treated differently (grandfathering).
Key Points
- 1All former presidents would receive an annuity of $200,000 per year for life, plus a $200,000 annual monetary allowance, both payable monthly (subject to appropriations and specific limitations).
- 2A new cost-of-living adjustment would apply each December, increasing both the annuity and the allowance by the same percentage as Social Security title II increases, effective with the annual SSA determination.
- 3A 12-month monetary allowance cap would apply, allowing reductions if a former president’s income (adjusted gross income plus certain tax-exempt interest) exceeds $400,000, with rules for joint returns and annual indexing to the COLA; there are strict confidentiality protections for disclosed tax information.
- 4Former presidents would be required to disclose tax return information to calculate the reduction, but such disclosures would be strictly limited to calculating the reduction and kept confidential.
- 5Security-related costs would be addressed: the Administrator of General Services, in coordination with the Secret Service, would determine any additional allowance needed to cover security-related costs that would have been payable but for the cap.
- 6Surviving spouses (widows and widowers) would see the monetary allowance increase from $20,000 per year to $100,000 per year, with automatic increases synchronized to the same COLA as former presidents’ annuities (and amended to cover both widows and widowers).
- 7The act makes changes to terminology and section headings to reflect widows and widowers, and it clarifies that the increased spouse allowance is subject to the same cost-of-living adjustments.
- 8Applicability: the act does not apply to individuals who are former presidents on the date of enactment or their widows/widowers; the changes are prospective for those not yet in that status.