Presidential Pension Information

The retirement benefits received by former Presidents include a pension, Secret Service protection, and reimbursements for staff, travel, mail, and office expenses. The Presidential pension is not a fixed amount, rather it matches the current salary of Cabinet members (or Executive Level I personnel), which is $191,300/year as of March, 2008 (but see "Salary Info" section above for advice on how to track increases in this figure).
from: http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/pensionFARQ.html
Oh my gawd how did they ever survive on such a horrible salary?!