How does survivor benefit plan work

Click here for more information. The repeal phases in the reduction of this offset and started on January 1, and culminating with elimination of the offset in its entirety on January 1, The return home from combat can often leave servicemembers feeling out of place with the most important people in their lives - their families. Ken Williams, 14th Military Police Brigade chaplain.

All members of the family adapt to a new 'normal' way of life. When the servicemember returns, the family may feel uncomfortable with each other, and the servicemember may withdraw from the family.

Toggle navigation. Regular Army retired SBP, if they enroll upon retirement. Retired pay stops at the death of the Soldier. Benefits Facts. Preventive dental services and routine dental care are critical components in helping to prevent serious health issues Benefits Survivor Benefits. The Survivor Benefit Plan Explained. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. You May Also Like. Some Tricare Users Will See a Small Price Increase in Military families and retirees will be paying more for Tricare in , but thankfully the price increase is relatively small New Technology Available Through the VA Increases Independence for Blind Veterans Veterans who experience low vision or who are legally blind now have a new tool to increase their freedom and ability to Arlington National Cemetery Since , Arlington National Cemetery has served as the nation's military cemetery honoring those who served.

Preventive Dental Care Can Impact Your Health Dramatically Preventive dental services and routine dental care are critical components in helping to prevent serious health issues My Profile News Home Page. However, when the SBP was created, because members of the Reserve Components 26 were not eligible to receive Reserve Component retired pay until age 60, regardless of the age at which they actually retire, the structure of the Reserve Component SBP RCSBP is different from that applicable to active duty members.

Prior to , Reserve Component personnel could not provide survivor protection for an eligible beneficiary until they were eligible to draw retired pay-then at age In , Congress modified the law to allow reservists on extended active duty to reduce the age at which they can begin to receive retired.

This reduction was limited to 50 years of age. Reserve Component members who are not yet eligible to receive retired pay and who are retirement eligible aka "gray area retirees" may elect to provide SBP protection under one of three options.

The costs and amount of coverage available depend on the option selected and the category of beneficiary. A prospective Reserve Component retiree must select one of the following RCSBP options within 90 days of being notified of retirement eligibility:.

Should the retiree die before reaching eligibility to draw retired pay, no RCSBP benefit will be paid. The retiree will again be offered the opportunity to participate in the SBP when they become eligible to receive retired pay. Option B - The retiree may elect RCSBP coverage such that survivor payments will begin on 1 the date of the retiree's death of 2 the date the retiree would have become eligible to receive retired pay, whichever is later.

Option C - The retiree may elect, under this option, to provide an RCSBP benefit that would begin immediately following the death of the retiree, regardless of the retiree's age at the time of death. Under option A, the costs and types of coverage available once the retiree becomes eligible to receive retired pay are the same as under the active duty SBP. The retiree's portion is paid through deductions in retired pay when the retiree becomes eligible to receive retired pay.

The beneficiary's or beneficiaries' share is paid through benefit reductions. The costs under options B and C are dependent upon the type of coverage see active duty retirees , as well as the age of the retiree and selected beneficiary ies. Under certain circumstances, an RCSBP benefit may be paid to the eligible surviving spouse, dependent child ren , or former spouse of a member of the Reserve Components who dies. These widows were married to certain retired or retirement-eligible members who died without electing SBP coverage.

Subject to certain restrictions on remarriage and the receipt of certain other government-sponsored compensation, the eligible surviving spouse must have been married to a member who. A became entitled to retired or retainer pay before September 21, , died before March 21, , and was entitled to retired or retainer pay on the date of death; or. B died before October 1, , and at the time of his death would have been entitled to retired pay under chapter 67 [Retired Pay for Non-Regular Service] of title 10, United States Code as in effect before December 1, , but for the fact that he was under 60 years of age.

Under the original SBP, an SBP benefit may be paid to an eligible spouse, dependent child ren , eligible former spouse, or eligible former spouse and dependent child ren following the death of an active duty member.

This benefit will be paid if the deceased active duty service member, at the time of death,. Recent legislation 31 has expanded the coverage to the survivors of individuals who die while on active duty and who are not retirement-eligible, effective September 10, Under these provisions, the surviving spouses of active duty personnel who die are provided an annuity. This annuity for an active duty non-retirement-eligible member is determined by assuming the individual would have been eligible to retire under Sec.

The surviving spouse's annuity is based on the amount of disability retired pay the servicemember would have received under Sec. Depending on when the individual entered the service, the amount used may be either the terminal monthly basic pay for those who entered service on or before September 7, or the average basic pay for the month period i. The legislation assumes the level of disability is In , Congress allowed for these benefits to be paid to the surviving children, if any, of an active member who dies.

Prior to , SBP benefits were either "offset" in part by the receipt of Social Security benefits earned as a result of the military members service aka the Social Security offset , or subjected to a two-tier benefit structure. Both reduced SBP benefits when the recipient turned age Many congressional constituents expressed confusion and dissatisfaction with these provisions.

Simply stated, this law phased out the two-tier and Social Security offset formulas discussed above. This change substantially increased the survivors' benefits but was criticized as a form of "double dipping" since it allowed the beneficiary to receive overlapping federally supported payments from Social Security and SBP based on the same career. A service member can, for example, 1 contract a disease or incur an injury during active duty or active duty training, 2 recover and return to active duty, 3 retire from an active duty or Reserve Component military career and participate in the SBP, and 4 subsequently die because of complications resulting from the original service-related disease or injury.

In this situation, however, the surviving spouse or former spouse of the retiree is not entitled to receive the combined total of full SBP and DIC benefits. A surviving spouse or former spouse who remarries loses his or her entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation payments.

Upon losing Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, however, the remarried spouse or former spouse has his or her full SBP benefit restored, provided the remarriage—in accordance with SBP restrictions—occurs after age 60 or age 55 if the remarriage occurs after November 14, Also, if the DIC is paid to an SBP-eligible surviving spouse or former spouse, a percentage of the deceased retiree's original contributions to the SBP offset by DIC will be returned to the surviving spouse or former spouse.

In other words, if the SBP is offset by DIC, that proportion of deductions from the deceased retiree's retired pay which financed the offset portion of the SBP will be refunded to the surviving spouse or former spouse. In recent years, Congress has addressed an issue concerning the payment of military retired pay to retirees who qualify for disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs VA.

In , Congress passed language prohibiting what it regarded as "dual compensation" for either past or current service and a disability pension. For those eligible for both, military retired pay was offset or reduced, dollar for dollar, by VA disability benefits. Although such changes do not affect the receipt of an SBP annuity, some have claimed that if concurrent receipt or "special pays" for military retirees is allowed, such should also be afforded their survivors.

Under this reasoning, if a military retiree is allowed to receive both military retired pay and VA disability payments or other "special pay", it is only fair that the surviving spouse also receive both the SBP annuity and DIC benefits.

Critics contend that concurrent receipt was originally barred because Congress viewed it as "double dipping" or paying someone twice for the same period of service. These critics reason that allowing concurrent receipt to the retiree or the retiree's survivor are forms of "double dipping" that are inherently unfair to the taxpayer. Unlike retirees, active duty personnel do not designate a beneficiary.

As stated earlier, children remain eligible to receive SBP until they reach age 18 or 22; or for life if mentally or physically incapacitated and if the incapacitating condition existed prior to age Eligibility terminates if the child marries.

This language was dropped by the conference committee prior to final passage. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service details the new certification process on their website, including all the changes.

Enrollment period — It is important to make a decision about your Survivor Benefit Plan election before you retire because it is difficult to make changes after enrollment.

Consider making your SBP election 60 to 90 days before you retire. Elections that are not made by the date the member is placed on the retired list result in automatic SBP coverage.

Terminating coverage — As a plan participant, you have a one-year window to terminate SBP coverage between the second and third year following the date you began to receive retired pay.