Military Careers, Retirement - Air Force Times

Survivor benefits

Reservists who receive notification they have reached the 20-year mark (or 15-year mark if offered early retirement)must decide whether to enroll in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan. This is an annuity program that parallels the Survivor Benefit Plan offered to active-duty retirees, although there are differences.

Without the survivor plan, retirement checks stop when the military retiree dies. This can leave a surviving spouse with a major economic shortfall.

The surviving spouse and children may be eligible for VA education benefits.

Base amount. When retirees sign up for the Survivor Benefit Plan, they select a dollar amount of their retirement pay as the foundation of the benefit. The base amount must be between $300 and the full amount of monthly retired pay.

COLA. Premiums and annuities to survivors increase slightly every year, following the same guidelines used for retired pay COLAs.

Cost. The cost of survivor benefits is paid through a deduction from retired pay starting at age 60. Costs depend on, among other factors, coverage and actuarials based on the reservist’s age and that of the beneficiary when the retiree signs up. Costs also vary according to when the reservist entered the service. Those who entered on or after March 1, 1990, are subject to a different cost formula than those who entered before that date.

Enrollment. Enrollment is not automatic. A reservist has 90 days after receiving notification of eligibility to enroll in the survivor plan.

A reservist has three options for enrollment:

• Option A. Decline coverage initially. If the reservist dies before reaching age 60, the spouse receives no benefit. Once a reservist is eligible to receive retired pay, that member automatically will be enrolled in the plan unless the member and spouse decline it in writing.

• Option B. Enroll in the plan with the option that if the reservist dies before age 60, benefits will start on what would have been his 60th birthday. If the reservist dies after his 60th birthday, benefits start the next day.

• Option C. Enroll in the plan with the option that benefits start on the day after the reservist’s death, regardless of age.

Benefits under this program may be offset by other old-age benefits. Most widows or widowers receiving benefits see payments reduced when they reach age 62 and are eligible to receive the Social Security surviving spouses benefit. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2005 established a phase-out of the offset. The phase-out increases the amount of the annuity, as a percentage of retirement pay, to 45 percent in April 2006, 50 percent in 2007 and 55 percent in 2008.

Since Jan. 1, 2001, service members have been automatically enrolled in Option C at the maximum amount, unless they elect to get reduced coverage. Service members may need the agreement of their spouses when its required.

VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. This monthly benefit is payable to certain qualifying dependents of a veteran who dies from a disease or injury while on active duty or active duty for training, an injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty while on inactive duty for training, or a service-connected disability that causes or contributes to death.

DIC is payable in some cases if the veteran was 100 percent disabled due to service-connected disability at the time of death even if a service-connected condition did not cause the death.

Contact: See www.ssa.gov, or write to the Social Security Administration, Office of Public Inquiries, 6401 Security Blvd., Room 4-C-5 Annex, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401.