While not rewarded with the same seven-figure salaries as some attorneys who appear before the Court, Supreme Court Justices are well compensated and receive a bevy of job-related benefits.
According to the latest figures, Chief Justice Roberts earns an annual salary of $255,500 while Associate Justices receive $244,400 per year. By comparison, the President of the United States makes $400,000 and the Vice President receives $227,300 per year.
| Year | Chief Justice | Associate Justices | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1789 | $4000 | $3500 | |
| 1819 | $5000 | $4500 | |
| 1855 | $6500 | $6000 | |
| 1911 | $15000 | $14500 | |
| 1946 | $25500 | $25000 | |
| 1969 | $62500 | $60000 | |
| 1985 | $108400 | $104100 | |
| 2000 | $181400 | $173600 | |
| 2009 | $223500 | $213900 | |
| 2014 | $255500 | $244400 |
Members of the Court also secure lifetime employment, widespread admiration, a unique position in history, and a lifetime pension equal to his or her highest salary upon retirement (not even U.S. presidents get to keep drawing their entire salary after they’ve left office).
The Justices also receive abundant free time during the Court’s three month summer recess. As Chief Justice Roberts once joked: “Only Supreme Court Justices and schoolchildren are expected to and do take the entire summer off.”
Salaries for the Justices are set by Congressional law and modified every few years. Adjusted for inflation, the Justices were at their highest earning power in 1969 when the Chief Justice received the equivalent of $397,005 per year and Associate Justices earned $381,125 per year.