The United States took a hard line on the pension policy. It seems that the country’s economy cannot afford to spare no expense so the US government decided to cut pension payments to the former presidents.
The US Congress unanimously voted for a reduction in the size of the pension benefits for the former presidents to $200 thousand annually. Probably, the Congressmen think that these citizens do not need extra funding resources. They are vigorous enough to earn their living themselves, writing memoirs and delivering lectures. Interestingly, the Russian authorities have the same attitude towards pensioners. Russia’s finance minister Anton Siluanov said that they work to amuse themselves but not to earn their living. However, the Russian government does not hurry to cut pension benefits.
The US Government took such a measure, intending to reduce public spending. According to John Hayes, one of the authors of the bill, in 2017 pensions of five ex-presidents cost the government $2.84 million.