{ "id": "R45325", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "R", "number": "R45325", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Military Survivor Benefit Plan: Background and Issues for Congress", "retrieved": "2021-07-24T04:03:22.163672", "id": "R45325_6_2021-06-29", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2021-06-29_R45325_23e9d51f98bea9240675d9705ae08f1156a8da2c.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45325/6", "sha1": "23e9d51f98bea9240675d9705ae08f1156a8da2c" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2021-06-29_R45325_23e9d51f98bea9240675d9705ae08f1156a8da2c.html" } ], "date": "2021-06-29", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R45325", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 613720, "date": "2020-01-15", "retrieved": "2020-01-15T23:05:51.212408", "title": "Military Survivor Benefit Plan: Background and Issues for Congress", "summary": "The Department of Defense\u2019s Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), enacted in 1972, provides cash benefits in the form of a lifetime annuity to a surviving spouse or other eligible recipient(s) of a retiree or deceased member of the uniformed services. The original intent of the SBP (and its antecedents) was to \u201censure that the surviving dependents of military personnel who die in retirement or after becoming eligible for retirement will continue to have a reasonable level of income.\u201d Coverage was later expanded to those who die while on active service. Under the SBP, a military retiree can elect to have a portion of his or her monthly retired pay withheld in order to provide a monthly survivor benefit to a designated beneficiary. The cost of this protection is shared by the retiree (in the form of reductions from monthly military retired pay after retirement), the government, and sometimes the beneficiary (under certain types of coverage).\nNearly every Congress since 1972 has, in some way, modified the SBP provisions. These modifications have affected eligibility, the size of the benefit, and the interactions of the benefit with other federal benefits, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and Social Security. In nearly every instance, these changes have made the SBP more generous. The program\u2019s eligibility requirements and enrollment processes are complex, and modifications over time have added to the complexity. \nThe SBP is administered by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), which provides annuities to approximately a quarter of a million survivors of military servicemembers and retirees. SBP participation and costs have grown over time as Congress has made changes to increase the generosity of the program. In FY2018, survivor pay expenditures totaled $3.7 billion. SBP coverage is provided at no cost for active duty servicemembers. Those who die on active duty are generally assumed to have retired with full disability and elected full SBP coverage on the day they die. Military retirees\u2019 monthly SBP premiums are generally deducted from the retiree\u2019s monthly annuity payment. Because the premiums do not cover the full liability, part of the benefit cost is borne by the government.\nThe amount of the annuity is a percentage of the base retired pay a member is eligible to receive, with a maximum of 55% of the base amount of retired pay and a minimum of $300. Coverage provisions and benefit calculation vary depending on the status of the member (i.e., active duty retiree, reserve retiree, or deceased on active duty), the member\u2019s dependents (i.e., spouse and/or children), and certain elections that the member makes at the time of retirement. \nThere are limits on changing or discontinuing coverage once a member is enrolled in SBP. Those who do not have eligible beneficiaries at the time of retirement, but later marry or have children may enroll within a year of eligibility based on a qualifying event (i.e., marriage or birth of a child). Congress has, on occasion authorized open seasons for certain members to make changes to their enrollment in parallel with other enacted changes to the benefit.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45325", "sha1": "559040ac2615d3cdeafea8ed99392d2b82060af5", "filename": "files/20200115_R45325_559040ac2615d3cdeafea8ed99392d2b82060af5.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45325", "sha1": "16b84338a333f83501cc644329937f1858fdceba", "filename": "files/20200115_R45325_16b84338a333f83501cc644329937f1858fdceba.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 585877, "date": "2018-10-01", "retrieved": "2018-10-04T13:52:34.242230", "title": "Military Survivor Benefit Plan: Background and Issues for Congress", "summary": "The Department of Defense\u2019s Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), enacted in 1972, provides cash benefits in the form of a lifetime annuity to a surviving spouse or other eligible recipient(s) of a retiree or deceased member of the uniformed services. The original intent of the SBP (and its antecedents) was to \u201censure that the surviving dependents of military personnel who die in retirement or after becoming eligible for retirement will continue to have a reasonable level of income.\u201d Coverage was later expanded to those who die while on active service. Under the SBP, a military retiree can elect to have a portion of his or her monthly retired pay withheld in order to provide a monthly survivor benefit to a designated beneficiary. The cost of this protection is shared by the retiree (in the form of reductions from monthly military retired pay after retirement), the government, and sometimes the beneficiary (under certain types of coverage).\nNearly every Congress since 1972 has, in some way, modified the SBP provisions. These modifications have affected eligibility, the size of the benefit, and the interactions of the benefit with other federal benefits, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). In nearly every instance, these changes have made the SBP more generous. The program\u2019s eligibility requirements and enrollment processes are complex, and modifications over time have added to the complexity. \nThe SBP is a $3.7 billion program, administered by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), which provides annuities to approximately a quarter of a million survivors of military servicemembers and retirees. SBP participation and costs have grown over time as Congress has made changes to increase the generosity of the program. SBP coverage is provided at no cost for active servicemembers. Those who die on active duty are generally assumed to have retired with full disability and elected full SBP coverage on the day they die. Military retirees\u2019 monthly SBP premiums are generally deducted from the retiree\u2019s monthly annuity payment. Because the premiums do not cover the full liability, part of the benefit cost is borne by the government.\nThe amount of the annuity is a percentage of the base retired pay a member is eligible to receive, with a maximum of 55% of the base amount of retired pay and a minimum of $300. Coverage provisions and benefit calculation vary depending on the status of the member (i.e., active duty retiree, reserve retiree, or deceased on active duty), the member\u2019s dependents (i.e., spouse and/or children), and certain elections that the member makes at the time of retirement. \nThere are limits on changing or discontinuing coverage once a member is enrolled in SBP. Those who do not have eligible beneficiaries at the time of retirement, but later marry or have children may enroll within a year of eligibility based on a qualifying event (i.e., marriage or birth of a child). Congress has, on occasion authorized open seasons for certain members to make changes to their enrollment in parallel with other enacted changes to the benefit.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45325", "sha1": "2b34142763750298edc8f88574c0bbf5de904c35", "filename": "files/20181001_R45325_2b34142763750298edc8f88574c0bbf5de904c35.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45325", "sha1": "ed101e352505c62b267873445095c579e693d44d", "filename": "files/20181001_R45325_ed101e352505c62b267873445095c579e693d44d.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Domestic Social Policy", "National Defense" ] }