12 perks of being a Supreme Court justice

By Gabbi Shaw

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has been the head of the highest court in the land since 2005.

His salary, as of 2026, is $320,700. That's less than the president ($400,000), but more than the vice president ($235,100) or the speaker of the House ($223,500), per the United States Courts and the Office of Personnel Management.

However, it's potentially lower than the justices could earn in private practice. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, lawyers among the top 10% of earners in their industry were paid more than $239,200 in 2024, excluding profits for partners and shareholders.

Associate justices are still well compensated, with salaries in the low $300,000s, even if they make less than the chief justice.

To receive a lifetime salary, you must retire at the age of 70 with at least 10 years of service, or at the age of 65 with 15 years of service.

However, to receive this pension, retired justices in good health are still expected to remain somewhat active in the legal profession, such as serving on lower courts, completing administrative work, or working for a state or federal agency, per the Office of the Law Revision Counsel's US Code. Justices with disabilities are exempt.

This is one of the few government jobs that receive a lifetime pension that matches your final salary — not even the president gets that.

It's an arduous process and the culmination of decades of schooling and hard work, but once you're on the bench, you're on it for life (or until you retire).

Technically, a justice can be impeached, but it's only happened once in US history. In 1804, Samuel Chase was impeached by the House, which accused him of acting in a partisan manner in trials. He was later acquitted by the Senate and remained on the Supreme Court until his death in 1811.

Like the president, who receives lifetime protection from the Secret Service, Supreme Court justices receive lifetime protection from the US Marshals, according to the advocacy organization Fix the Court.

Active justices receive full-time security protection, while retired justices may receive protection when it's deemed warranted, and justices can decline it if they choose.

Financial disclosure laws apply to justices, but with some caveats. All federal employees (including judges) have to disclose "income, dividends, most capital gains, significant debts, the purchase or sale of land, and gifts, among other things," per the Brennan Center.

However, Supreme Court justices aren't beholden to the code of conduct for other federal judges, the "Judicial Conference's interpretations of the ethics law."

In 1991, the justices agreed to follow these lower-court rules, but it was voluntary. Then, in 2023, the Court adopted its own formal Code of Conduct for Justices, but it did not include a mechanism for enforcement.

This means it's a bit of a legal gray area if they don't follow the code. On occasion, justices have been called out for being less than forthcoming with gifts and perks they receive.

For example, in 2024, Justice Clarence Thomas faced ethics questions for failing to disclose luxury trips funded by billionaire GOP donor Harlan Crow, including travel on his private jet.

In response, Thomas said he thought he didn't need to report the trips because he believed they were considered "personal hospitality" as he was friends with Crow. He later said he would comply with newer, stricter guidelines about personal hospitality.

He's not the only one who's received perks. In 2024, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson received Beyoncé tickets worth almost $4,000. Jackson reported the tickets in her financial disclosure form.

Many of the Supreme Court justices earn thousands of dollars from teaching gigs at universities, although there is a cap on this outside pay of around $30,000, The New York Times reported.

In 2024, Justice Neil Gorsuch was paid $30,379 for a two-week course in Portugal through George Mason University, per his financial disclosure report. That same year, Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett each received $31,815 from the University of Notre Dame Law School for separate courses.

But the most lucrative thing for a justice to do is write a book, and there is no cap to what they can earn here. Jackson received a $2 million advance from Penguin Random House for her memoir, "Lovely One," which was published in 2024. That same year, Gorsuch received $250,000 from HarperCollins for his legal book, "Over Ruled."

From the end of June to the first Monday in October every year, the Court is in recess.

While the justices still work during this time, they have more free time in the summer than they do when the court is in session. They do not have to be present at their Washington, DC, building, and some justices through history have taken advantage of that by visiting remote locations.

Still, "there is no escape from the work itself, and it finds its way to them wherever they travel," per the Supreme Court Historical Society.

Much like the rest of the US Supreme Court Building, the personal chambers of each justice are secretive, and no photos are allowed.

But each one gets their own space to run as they please, including room for their clerks and other administrative employees. The chambers can include libraries, ornate details such as wood paneling, and fireplaces.

Famously, there's a basketball court on the fifth floor of the Supreme Court building, aptly nicknamed "the Highest Court in the Land."

The clerks are mainly the ones taking advantage of the court, though justices have been known to play.

There's also a private dining room for justices to use when hearing cases. They make a point to eat lunch together, which helps ease tensions.

"It's a wonderful experience," Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Judicature in 2018. "We try to avoid controversy," she added.

Unlike the rest of us, who have to listen to our bosses and sometimes do work we really don't feel like doing, the Supreme Court justices have autonomy to hear whatever cases they want.

Lower courts send cases to the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court doesn't have to hear them — it typically reviews 100 to 150 of 7,000 cases sent its way each year. For a case to be reviewed, four of the nine justices must vote to accept it.

The court typically chooses cases that "could have national significance, might harmonize conflicting decisions in the federal Circuit courts, and/or could have precedential value," per the United States Courts.

Is this a perk, a responsibility, or both?

We'd argue that the branch of government with the ability to make the longest-lasting changes in our society is the Supreme Court, which has legalized gay marriage, protected (and then struck down) abortion access, ended school segregation and anti-miscegenation laws, and more.