Congress Moving on Fix to Military Death Benefits

The vast majority of those receiving benefits from the Military Survivor Benefit Plan were satisfied with the recent assessment ordered by Congress that found the plan to be on par with, “those of public and private plans.”

64,000 surviving spouses, on the other hand, may not agree with the think tank Rand Corp.’s findings. They receive diminished or eliminated benefits because they also are eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is based on how their military spouse died – this includes death during active duty.

Colorado Republican Rep. Mike Coffman, chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, said Congress needs “to find a way to take care of these survivors by completely eliminating the penalty that reduces their benefits.”

See Tom Philpott, Military Update: Congress Moving on Fix to Military Benefits, The Gazette, May 5, 2018.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.) for bringing this article to my attention.