The Vice President of the United States holds a constitutionally defined role that includes presiding over the Senate and casting tie-breaking votes when necessary. The Vice President also serves as a principal advisor to the President and is first in line to succeed the President if needed.
Along with these responsibilities, the Vice President enjoys several notable perks. These include receiving a generous salary and benefits, residing at the historic Naval Observatory, and having access to a comprehensive support staff and offices in both the Senate and the executive branch.
Salary
Under law, the Vice President’s salary is adjusted annually on a formula based on the most recent percentage change in the Employment Cost Index, a measurement from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the rate of change of private sector pay. Each year, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publishes an Executive Order reporting adjustments for federal rates of pay. This includes a specified dollar figure for the Vice President’s salary. However, this is not the actual amount paid to the Vice President. Under separate laws, the amount payable to Vice Presidents (and other federal officials) has been frozen for several years. OPM’s reported salary for the Vice President is still adjusted annually because it represents a ceiling on the salary of certain senior-level federal employees, but it causes confusion and misunderstanding about what the Vice President is actually paid. Below is an overview of the laws that have impacted the Vice President’s pay in most recent years.
The first cap on the Vice President’s salary was enacted in 2014, likely to keep it in line with the salaries of Members of Congress. By law, Members of Congress receive an automatic annual cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase unless Congress votes to decline it. Due to annual votes preventing an increase, the pay for Congress has been frozen since 2009 at $174,000 for rank-and-file members. Annual appropriations laws have similarly frozen the Vice President’s pay, except for a 1.9 percent increase in 2019.
Table 1: Laws Setting the Vice President’s Salary since 2014 | ||||
Public Law | Date | Section | Provision | Salary |
| 113-76 | Jan. 17, 2014 | 741 | The Vice President may not receive a pay raise in calendar year2014, notwithstanding the rate adjustment made under section 104of title 3, United States Code, or any other provision of law. | $230,700 |
| 113-235 | Dec. 16, 2014 | 738 | The Vice President may not receive a pay raise in calendar year2015, notwithstanding the rate adjustment made under section 104of title 3, United States Code, or any other provision of law. | $230,700 |
| 114-113 | Dec. 18, 2015 | 738 | The Vice President may not receive a pay raise in calendar year2016, notwithstanding the rate adjustment made under section 104of title 3, United States Code, or any other provision of law. | $230,700 |
| 115-31 | May 5, 2017 | 738 | The Vice President may not receive a pay raise in calendar year2017, notwithstanding the rate adjustment made under section 104of title 3, United States Code, or any other provision of law. | $230,700 |
| 115-141 | Mar. 23, 2018 | 738 | The Vice President may not receive a pay raise in calendar year2018, notwithstanding the rate adjustment made under section 104of title 3, United States Code, or any other provision of law. | $230,700 |
| 116-6 | Feb. 15, 2019 | 749 | The rate payable to the Vice President during calendar year2019 shall be 1.9 percent above the rate payable to theVice President on December 31, 2018, as limited under section738 of division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018(Public Law 115–141). | $235,100 |
| 116-93 | Dec. 20, 2019 | 749 | The rate payable to the Vice President during calendar year2020 shall be the rate payable to the Vice President onDecember 31, 2019, by operation of section 749 of divisionD of Public Law 116–6. | $235,100 |
| 116-260 | Dec. 27, 2020 | 748 | The rate payable to the Vice President during calendar year2021 shall be the rate payable to the Vice President onDecember 31, 2020, by operation of section 749 of divisionC of Public Law 116–93. | $235,100 |
| 117-103 | Mar. 15, 2022 | 747 | The rate payable to the Vice President during calendar year2022 shall be the rate payable to the Vice President onDecember 31, 2021, by operation of section 748 of divisionE of Public Law 116–260. | $235,100 |
| 117-328 | Dec. 29, 2022 | 747 | The rate payable to the Vice President during calendar year2023 shall be the rate payable to the Vice President onDecember 31, 2022, by operation of section 747 of divisionE of Public Law 117–103. | $235,100 |
| 118-47 | Mar. 23, 2024 | 747 | The rate payable to the Vice President during calendar year2024 shall be the rate payable to the Vice President onDecember 31, 2023, by operation of section 747 of divisionE of Public Law 117–328. | $235,100 |
Expense Allowance
A 1949 law also provides an annual expense allowance to the Vice President paid through the Senate’s budget. Originally set at $10,000 per year, Congress increased the amount to $20,000 in 2003. Since 1951, this amount has been taxable.
Residence
Every vice president since Walter Mondale has resided with their families on the grounds of the US Naval Observatory because the cost of securing the private residences of vice presidents grew substantially over the years. In 1974, Congress agreed to refurbish the house at the Naval Observatory and officially designate it as the home of the vice president. It took 3 years before the renovations were completed and the vice president could reside on the grounds.
The Observatory was first established in 1830 as the Depot of Charts and Instruments and is one of the oldest scientific buildings in the United States. Its primary function after its establishment was to care for the Navy’s navigational equipment. As the role of Depot was expanded from attending to the Navy’s navigational equipment to carrying out significant scientific research, it was officially converted to the Naval Observatory in 1844. The Observatory was initially housed in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, DC, but was moved in 1893 to its current Observatory Circle address in the northwestern part of the city in response to increasingly bad observational conditions in Foggy Bottom.
In FY 2024, the federal budget provided $321,000 to the Residence of the Vice President for “equipment, furnishings, dining facilities, and services as required to perform and discharge the Vice President’s official duties, functions, and obligations.” The amount includes $132,000 for personnel compensation and benefits, and $90,000 for “official entertainment.” The Government Accountability Office regularly reviews these expenditures to verify whether they were used for authorized purposes.
Executive Branch Office Budget and Staff
The Vice President has an office in the West Wing of the White House and a set of offices known as the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door to the White House.
The White House’s budget includes funding to the Vice President for Special Assistance to the President, enabling the Vice President to support the President. Funding provides a staff to support the Vice President with domestic and international policy, legislative affairs, communications, scheduling, and legal issues. This staff also provides support and assistance to the spouse of the Vice President.
The FY 2024 budget provided $6.1 million supporting a staff of 26 full-time equivalents, including $4.17 million for personnel compensation and benefits, and $763,000 for travel.
Senate Office and Staff
The Vice President is also responsible for presiding over the Senate, though this is generally only done in person when on standby to potentially cast a tie-breaking vote. Since 1859, office space for the Vice President has been located in a room just outside the Senate chamber. Administrative and clerical support staff are also located in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Funding is provided through the Senate’s budget. The Office of the Vice President received appropriations of $3 million in FY 2023 and approximately $3.1 million in 2024. In the most recent report from the Secretary of the Senate, 50 staffers are listed in the Senate’s Office of the Vice President.
Travel
For security reasons, the Vice President generally travels on military aircraft. Historically, Air Force Two is the Air Traffic Control designated call sign held by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the Vice President of the United States.
The sign is often associated with the Boeing C-32, a modified 757 that is most commonly used as the Vice President’s transport. For fiscal year 2024, the reimbursable rate for using the C-32 is set at $13,816 per hour. Other aircraft used to transport vice presidents include: the Boeing C-40 Clipper ($9,427 per hour), the C-37A ($8,240 per hour), and C-37B ($8,240 per hour).
When Vice Presidents use a military aircraft for unofficial trips such as campaign events, a portion of the costs of the use of the aircraft are reimbursed to the government, usually by a political party or an official campaign organization. The expenses should be reported in filings to the Federal Election Commission.
Security
The United States Secret Service is responsible for protecting the Vice President and securing the residence at the Naval Observatory. Former Vice Presidents, their spouses, and their children under the age of 16 are eligible for Secret Service protection for up to six months, but this can be extended by the Secretary of Homeland Security if events warrant.
Pension
Upon leaving office, former Vice Presidents may be eligible for a federal pension if they have a minimum of five years of creditable service to qualify for coverage in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). The value of the starting pension payment is based on a calculation including the length of federal employment and the average of the highest three years of federal salary. Subsequent yearly amounts may be eligible for cost-of-living adjustment.
As many previous holders of the office have had other careers as Members of Congress or the Executive Branch, this service can under certain FERS rules be combined with their tenure as Vice President for the pension benefit calculation. That service becomes more valuable for retirement, since the Vice President’s “high-three” salary is significantly greater than that of most other positions in government.
For example, Joe Biden spent 36 years in the Senate and another eight as Vice President. Because of his lengthy time in office and eligibility for the older Civil Service Retirement System, his starting congressional pension amount is limited to 80 percent of his final salary. In 2008, during his last year in the Senate, Biden was paid $169,300. In 2009, he received a significant pay increase to $227,300 as Vice President. This in turn boosted his starting pension amount to $166,374 (with $18,186 reserved for the spousal portion). National Taxpayers Union Foundation has estimated that previous Vice Presidents who also served in Congress received generous starting pensions.
Table 2. Starting Congressional Pension Benefit Amounts for Recent Vice Presidents | |
Vice President | Starting Pension |
Gerald Ford | $120,000* |
Walter Mondale | $27,799** |
George H.W. Bush | $65,000* |
Dan Quayle | $54,276 |
Al Gore | $94,810 |
Dick Cheney | $132,451 |
Joe Biden | $166,374* |
Mike Pence | $57,265 |
Kamala Harris | $18,926*** |
Notes: * Excludes the value of the separate pension benefit for former presidents, equal to the annual salary for a federal cabinet secretary. ** Estimate excludes Mondale’s appointment as ambassador from 1993 through 1996. *** Estimate assumes service through January 20, 2025. | |