Social media users are circulating an image that appears to show a list of government-connected salaries.
A Facebook post shared more than three years ago claims that a retired U.S. president is paid $450,000 annually for life, Senate and House members receive $174,000 annually for life, the speaker of the House is paid $223,500 annually for life and minority and majority leaders in the House and Senate earn $194,400 annually for life.
The post also says the average annual salary of a soldier deployed in Afghanistan is $38,000 and the average income of a senior citizen on Social Security is $12,000.
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The Jan. 3 , 2019, post generated over 3,000 interactions and close to 123,000 shares since it was published, and it recently regained traction on Facebook, where other variations have popped up.
But the claim is off on several fronts.
Most of the salaries listed in the post are not what that position was paid in 2019. And the post asserts that former presidents and congressional members continue to receive a full salary annually for life, which is not accurate.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment.
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