He retired in 1798, after 43 years of service to the Austrian Empire. In 1771, Maria Theresia gave von Kempelen an annual pension of 1,000 ducats. After her death, her son Joseph II cut the pensions given to the court's civil servants. In 1802, he tried to get his pension back from Francis II, and also asked for compensation of 20,000 Gulden, but was not granted.