Hunter was eventually replaced by David O. Maxwell as Fannie Mae's chairman and president in 1981. After Maxwell left a $7.56 million yearly salary with Fannie Mae and retired with a $19.6 million pension, Hunter said, "Executive compensation at Fannie Mae has run amok." Hunter himself retired with a $80,000 pension in 1981, and said that he believed that the CEOs of government-backed corporations shouldn't make the million-dollar salaries found in the private sector. Hunter also said in an interview, "I don't think it's justified by any rational standard."