Does Jimmy Carter still have Secret Service?

Former president and beloved American pillar Jimmy Carter turned 100 years old on Oct. 1, 2024, making history as the first president to ever live a full century on this Earth.

Carter served as the nation’s 39th president between 1977 and 1981, remaining in office for only a single term before handing the reins to Ronald Reagan in the early ’80s. His time in office marks an ethical high point in American politics, but it’s what Carter did with the time following his term that really established him as among the nation’s greatest statesmen. His humanitarian work is nearly unmatched, his legacy is one of compassion, kindness, and human caring, and the mark he will leave on this world is untarnished by time.

For more than 40 years now, Carter has established himself as a good man — not just a good president. He continued to serve the nation long after he left office, and the government continued to serve him in its own way as well. Carter, as a former president, is entitled to certain benefits (and detriments) thanks to his former position, but is a continued Secret Service presence among them?

How long do presidents have Secret Service?

When an American citizen goes from regular voter to being on the ballot, they typically earn a certain level of protection provided by the government. Carter, for his part, first gained Secret Service protection while he was a presidential candidate in the 120 days leading up to the 1976 election. Once he earned his position as Commander in Chief, those same agents (and a few fresh ones) continued to protect him across his term as president — but it didn’t end there.

Presidents don’t stop being targets just because they’re no longer in office. Unfortunately, the danger associated with such a prominent position continues across the course of a person’s life, which means that anyone who ever served in the office of the presidency earns Secret Service protection from the day they’re elected (and even before) until they day they die.

Which means that Carter is officially among the longest-protected American citizens in history. He’s only surpassed by Lady Bird Johnson, wife of former president Lyndon B. Johnson, who was protected by the Service for nearly 50 years. Carter is pushing that number himself — in January of 2024, the Secret Service celebrated a full 43 years of protecting the former president.

In 2023, as the Service was celebrating its 42nd year at Carter’s side, a number of agents stepped forward to discuss their time in the 39th president’s service, and the unmatched memories that are made traveling with one of the most influential people on the planet. Several of his longtime companions, including former Special Agents in Charge Alex Parker and Bill Bush, discussed the hundreds of countries they visited with Carter, and gushed over the charming memories they share with the beloved and widely admired statesman.

Carter’s Secret Service protection will continue up until his death — which is hopefully a ways off, still. Up until that day comes, the nation will continue to feel gratitude for a man who seized immense power and wielded it gently, with an aim to truly make the world a better place.