{ "id": "RL31663", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "RL", "number": "RL31663", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues", "retrieved": "2021-06-19T04:03:27.560438", "id": "RL31663_20_2021-05-20", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2021-05-20_RL31663_3698de6380a5cfc890d0bad5dc4d806a50651bb7.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL31663/20", "sha1": "3698de6380a5cfc890d0bad5dc4d806a50651bb7" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2021-05-20_RL31663_3698de6380a5cfc890d0bad5dc4d806a50651bb7.html" } ], "date": "2021-05-20", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "RL", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=RL31663", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 588462, "date": "2018-12-10", "retrieved": "2018-12-11T14:14:13.440897", "title": "Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues", "summary": "In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled that the former spouse of a military member or retiree could not be awarded any share of that member\u2019s/retiree\u2019s retired pay as a part of a divorce property settlement in a community property state. In response, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses\u2019 Protection Act (USFSPA) in 1982. Under the USFSPA, as amended, state courts can treat disposable military retired pay as divisible property in divorce cases. However, state laws may vary on these concepts. The USFSPA makes no assumption of such a division nor does it presume how much of a division should be made. In addition to possible receipt of retired pay, certain former spouses remain eligible to receive certain military benefits or privileges. Recent changes in other laws that affect the concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veteran disability pay may affect the amount of retired pay a former spouse receives. \nIn other situations, later career and financial decisions made by military retirees may affect the availability of their retired pay. For example, military retirees who take federal civilian jobs and then retire from those jobs can waive their military retired pay and credit their military time to their civilian careers. In so doing, they eliminate their military retired pay, and thereby any share that might have been awarded to the former spouse.\nSince its inception, the USFSPA has remained contentious. Opponents of the law feel that it is unfair to servicemembers and should be modified or repealed. Proponents argue that the law protects the former spouse within nationally accepted standards. Some of the most frequently cited issues include (1) definition of disposable retired pay, (2) effects from new laws concerning concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veteran disability compensation, (3) interactions with other federal retirement systems, (4) effects in cases of early separation of servicemembers, and (5) treatment of benefits upon remarriage of a former spouse. As with the original provisions of the USFSPA, these and other proposed changes have been the source of great debate.\nAlthough legislation making various changes to the USFSPA has been introduced in the past, none of this legislation has allowed for retroactive change to settled cases.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31663", "sha1": "693c343da90fd70eef4f55e2d35e44a84ea340bb", "filename": "files/20181210_RL31663_693c343da90fd70eef4f55e2d35e44a84ea340bb.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31663", "sha1": "b075986542f725f585bf34f830f450ce5375be78", "filename": "files/20181210_RL31663_b075986542f725f585bf34f830f450ce5375be78.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4872, "name": "Military Personnel, Compensation, & Health Care" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 585814, "date": "2017-11-30", "retrieved": "2018-10-02T15:31:22.758038", "title": "Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues", "summary": "In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled that the former spouse of a military member or retiree could not be awarded any share of that member\u2019s/retiree\u2019s retired pay as a part of a divorce property settlement in a community property state. In response, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses\u2019 Protection Act (USFSPA) in 1982. Under the USFSPA, state courts can treat disposable military retired pay as divisible property in divorce cases. However, state laws may vary on these concepts. The USFSPA makes no assumption of such a division nor does it presume how much of a division should be made. In addition to possible receipt of retired pay, certain former spouses would remain eligible to receive certain military benefits or privileges. The USFSPA has since been modified on a number of occasions.\nConfusion exists over the distinction of disposable versus total retired pay. The usage of the term \u201cdisposable retired pay\u201d may have implications in terms of taxes withheld and taxes paid. In addition, recent changes in other laws that affect the concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veteran disability pay may affect the amount of retired pay a former spouse receives. \nIn other situations, later career and financial decisions made by military retirees may affect the availability of their retired pay. For example, military retirees who take federal civilian jobs and then retire from those jobs can waive their military retired pay and credit their military time to their civilian careers. In so doing, they eliminate their military retired pay, and thereby any share that might have been awarded to the former spouse.\nSince its inception, the USFSPA has remained contentious. Opponents of the law feel that it is unfair to servicemembers and should be modified or repealed. Proponents argue that the law protects the former spouse within nationally accepted standards. Some of the most frequently cited issues include (1) definition of disposable retired pay, (2) effects from new laws concerning concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veteran disability compensation, (3) interactions with other federal retirement systems, (4) effects in cases of early separation of servicemembers, and (5) treatment of benefits upon remarriage of a former spouse. As with the original provisions of the USFSPA, these and other proposed changes have been the source of great debate.\nAlthough legislation making various changes to the USFSPA has been introduced in the past, none of this legislation has allowed for retroactive change to settled cases.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31663", "sha1": "d1bf69c1637636eeeb130c8d64d21a35800220fc", "filename": "files/20171130_RL31663_d1bf69c1637636eeeb130c8d64d21a35800220fc.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31663", "sha1": "2a54544df29afa0b676caf46e6351efef0bf315c", "filename": "files/20171130_RL31663_2a54544df29afa0b676caf46e6351efef0bf315c.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4872, "name": "Military Personnel, Compensation, & Health Care" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 459393, "date": "2017-03-06", "retrieved": "2017-03-09T17:47:43.386709", "title": "Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues", "summary": "In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled that the former spouse of a military member or retiree could not be awarded any share of that member\u2019s/retiree\u2019s retired pay as a part of a divorce property settlement in a community property state. In response, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses\u2019 Protection Act (USFSPA) in 1982. Under the USFSPA, state courts can treat disposable military retired pay as divisible property in divorce cases. However, state laws may vary on these concepts. The USFSPA makes no assumption of such a division nor does it presume how much of a division should be made. In addition to possible receipt of retired pay, certain former spouses would remain eligible to receive certain military benefits or privileges. The USFSPA has since been modified on a number of occasions.\nConfusion exists over the distinction of disposable versus total retired pay. The usage of the term \u201cdisposable retired pay\u201d may have implications in terms of taxes withheld and taxes paid. In addition, recent changes in other laws that affect the concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veteran disability pay may affect the amount of retired pay a former spouse receives. \nIn other situations, later career and financial decisions made by military retirees may affect the availability of their retired pay. For example, military retirees who take federal civilian jobs and then retire from those jobs can waive their military retired pay and credit their military time to their civilian careers. In so doing, they eliminate their military retired pay, and thereby any share that might have been awarded to the former spouse.\nSince its inception, the USFSPA has remained contentious. Opponents of the law feel that it is unfair to servicemembers and should be modified or repealed. Proponents argue that the law protects the former spouse within nationally accepted standards. Some of the most frequently cited issues include (1) definition of disposable retired pay, (2) effects from new laws concerning concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veteran disability compensation, (3) interactions with other federal retirement systems, (4) effects in cases of early separation of servicemembers, (5) and treatment of benefits upon remarriage of a former spouse. As with the original provisions of the USFSPA, these and other proposed changes have been the source of great debate.\nAlthough legislation making various changes to the USFSPA has been introduced in the past, none of this legislation has allowed for retroactive change to settled cases.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31663", "sha1": "2324820c8b737c6a3072d25e8fac95695dfe907a", "filename": "files/20170306_RL31663_2324820c8b737c6a3072d25e8fac95695dfe907a.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31663", "sha1": "ec5f8e5fa963ab625c5f6739e8bfc0bdbb1dee82", "filename": "files/20170306_RL31663_ec5f8e5fa963ab625c5f6739e8bfc0bdbb1dee82.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4872, "name": "Military Personnel, Compensation, & Health Care" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 458041, "date": "2017-01-06", "retrieved": "2017-01-06T19:10:42.696122", "title": "Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues", "summary": "In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled that the former spouse of a military member or retiree could not be awarded any share of that member\u2019s/retiree\u2019s retired pay as a part of a divorce property settlement in a community property state. In response, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses\u2019 Protection Act (USFSPA) in 1982. Under the USFSPA, state courts can treat disposable military retired pay as divisible property in divorce cases. However, state laws may vary on these concepts. The USFSPA makes no assumption of such a division nor does it presume how much of a division should be made. In addition to possible receipt of retired pay, certain former spouses would remain eligible to receive certain military benefits or privileges. The USFSPA has since been modified on a number of occasions.\nConfusion exists over the distinction of disposable versus total retired pay. The usage of the term \u201cdisposable retired pay\u201d may have implications in terms of taxes withheld and taxes paid. In addition, recent changes in other laws that affect the concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veteran disability pay may affect the amount of retired pay a former spouse receives. \nIn other situations, later career and financial decisions made by military retirees may affect the availability of their retired pay. For example, military retirees who take federal civilian jobs and then retire from those jobs can waive their military retired pay and credit their military time to their civilian careers. In so doing, they eliminate their military retired pay, and thereby any share that might have been awarded to the former spouse.\nSince its inception, the USFSPA has remained contentious. Opponents of the law feel that it is unfair to servicemembers and should be modified or repealed. Proponents argue that the law protects the former spouse within nationally accepted standards. Some of the most frequently cited issues include (1) definition of disposable retired pay, (2) effects from new laws concerning concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veteran disability compensation, (3) interactions with other federal retirement systems, (4) effects in cases of early separation of service members, (5) and treatment of benefits upon remarriage of a former spouse. As with the original provisions of the USFSPA, these and other proposed changes have been the source of great debate.\nAlthough legislation making various changes to the USFSPA has been introduced in the past, none of this legislation has allowed for retroactive change to settled cases.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31663", "sha1": "bbe5f7819b90119ef040975c90186f57b7946797", "filename": "files/20170106_RL31663_bbe5f7819b90119ef040975c90186f57b7946797.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31663", "sha1": "f9c4e193d44056c4204be5eab76565e75c02e708", "filename": "files/20170106_RL31663_f9c4e193d44056c4204be5eab76565e75c02e708.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4872, "name": "Military Personnel, Compensation, & Health Care" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 454310, "date": "2016-07-18", "retrieved": "2016-09-09T19:10:59.328689", "title": "Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues", "summary": "In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled that the former spouse of a military member or retiree could not be awarded any share of that member\u2019s/retiree\u2019s retired pay as a part of a divorce property settlement in a community property state. In response, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses\u2019 Protection Act (USFSPA) in 1982. Under the USFSPA, state courts can treat disposable military retired pay as divisible property in divorce cases. However, state laws may vary on these concepts. The USFSPA makes no assumption of such a division nor does it presume how much of a division should be made. In addition to possible receipt of retired pay, certain former spouses would remain eligible to receive certain military benefits or privileges. The USFSPA has since been modified on a number of occasions.\nConfusion exists over the distinction of disposable versus total retired pay. The usage of the term \u201cdisposable retired pay\u201d may have implications in terms of taxes withheld and taxes paid. In addition, recent changes in other laws that affect the concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veteran disability pay may affect the amount of retired pay a former spouse receives. \nIn other situations, later career and financial decisions made by military retirees may affect the availability of their retired pay. For example, military retirees who take federal civilian jobs and then retire from those jobs can waive their military retired pay and credit their military time to their civilian careers. In so doing, they eliminate their military retired pay, and thereby any share that might have been awarded to the former spouse.\nSince its inception, the USFSPA has remained contentious. Opponents of the law feel that it is unfair to servicemembers and should be modified or repealed. Proponents argue that the law protects the former spouse within nationally accepted standards. Some of the most frequently cited issues include (1) definition of disposable retired pay, (2) effects from new laws concerning concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veteran disability compensation, (3) interactions with other federal retirement systems, (4) effects in cases of early separation of servicemembers, (5) and treatment of benefits upon remarriage of a former spouse. As with the original provisions of the USFSPA, these and other proposed changes have been the source of great debate.\nAlthough legislation making various changes to the USFSPA has been introduced in the past, none of this legislation has allowed for retroactive change to settled cases.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31663", "sha1": "9f6851036e81d5faadcf1488a0d4e621d325abac", "filename": "files/20160718_RL31663_9f6851036e81d5faadcf1488a0d4e621d325abac.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31663", "sha1": "79212c1aa6be6488d5b46bdc9156fa222670fce9", "filename": "files/20160718_RL31663_79212c1aa6be6488d5b46bdc9156fa222670fce9.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 377415, "date": "2011-01-12", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T22:10:53.420017", "title": "Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues", "summary": "In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled that the former spouse of a military member or retiree could not be awarded any share of that member\u2019s/retiree\u2019s retired pay as a part of a divorce property settlement in a community property state. In response, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses\u2019 Protection Act (USFSPA) in 1982. Under the USFSPA, state courts can treat disposable military retired pay as divisible property in divorce cases. In addition, certain former spouses would remain eligible to receive certain military benefits or privileges. The USFSPA has since been modified on a number of occasions.\nThe USFSPA allows for \u2018disposable\u2019 military retired pay to be divided as part of a divorce settlement. The law makes no assumption of such a division nor does it presume how much of a division should be made. However, state laws may vary on these concepts. In addition, the USFSPA allows for certain military benefits to be awarded to qualifying former spouse. These include health care benefits and commissary/exchange privileges.\nConfusion exists over the distinction of \u2018disposable\u2019 versus \u2018total\u2019 retired pay. The use of disposable retired pay may have implications in terms of taxes withheld and taxes paid. In addition, recent changes in other laws that affect military retired pay may inadvertently affect the amount of retired pay a former spouse receives. For example, diability pay is not divisible under the USFSPA. Recent changes that allow certain military retires to receive both disability pay and military retired pay (until recently, these were offsetting), increase the amount a retire may receive and may also increase the former spouse\u2019s share in cases where the division was made on a percentage basis.\nIn other situations, later career and financial decisions made my military retirees may affect the availability of their retired pay. For example, military retirees who take federal civilian jobs and then retire from those jobs can waive their military retired pay and credit their military time to their civilian careers. In so doing, they eliminate their retired pay, and thereby any share that might have been awarded to the former spouse.\nSince its inception, the USFSPA has remained contentious. Opponents of the law feel that it is unfair and should be modified or repealed. Proponents argue that the law protects the former spouse within nationally accepted standards and that protection should be improved in some details. These proposed modifications include (1) expanding the eligibility for commissary and exchange benefits for former spouses, (2) providing survivor benefits for certain former spouses, (3) terminating direct payments to a former spouse upon remarriage, (4) limiting judicial jurisdiction during the reopening of a settled divorce, and (5) further redefinition of \u201cdisposable\u201d retired pay. As with the original provisions of the USFSPA, these and other proposed changes have been the source of great debate.\nOn October 12, 2004, a Federal Judge dismissed a case challenging the USFSPA. \nAlthough legislation making various changes to the USFSPA has been introduced in the past, none of this legislation has allowed for retroactive change to settled cases.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31663", "sha1": "1b7e3bc2103f5d77cbb2e4d7d8f8c43c64758c11", "filename": "files/20110112_RL31663_1b7e3bc2103f5d77cbb2e4d7d8f8c43c64758c11.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31663", "sha1": "553502ba7c1aa8a09f792a98c68a70eba2bf29cd", "filename": "files/20110112_RL31663_553502ba7c1aa8a09f792a98c68a70eba2bf29cd.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc808725/", "id": "RL31663_2007Jan23", "date": "2007-01-23", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20070123_RL31663_5ee3fb69f0a8d8ed12d8385cbb6b32206997688a.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20070123_RL31663_5ee3fb69f0a8d8ed12d8385cbb6b32206997688a.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs8210/", "id": "RL31663_2004Dec09", "date": "2004-12-09", "retrieved": "2006-02-24T12:31:43", "title": "Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues", "summary": "This report discusses the Uniformed Services Former Spouses\u2019 Protection Act (USFSPA), which treats military personnel former spouses eligibility to receive certain military benefits or privileges.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20041209_RL31663_6146f92bfa13d187ac07455d82164407837a3581.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20041209_RL31663_6146f92bfa13d187ac07455d82164407837a3581.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Veterans", "name": "Veterans" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Military pensions", "name": "Military pensions" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA)", "name": "Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA)" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Health Policy", "National Defense" ] }