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1 1 (February 13, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govcagj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Resarh Servi kM- FY2020 NDAA Analysis: Elimination of Benefits Offset for Surviving Spouses and Related Legal Issues Updated February 13, 2020 Efforts to eliminate a benefits offset that affects surviving spouses-widows and widowers of deceased military servicemembers-gained momentum in the I 6th Congress. Bills to accomplish this had been introduced for several years, and garnered significant bipartisan support in this Congress. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY2020 NDAA) ultimately included a gradual phase-out of the offset, resulting in full elimination by 2023. This Sidebar first explains the legal background of the benefits offset, which involves two military benefits: the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), a taxable annuity paid by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to survivors of active duty or retired servicemembers, and Dependent Indemnity Compensation (DIC), a non-taxable benefit paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to survivors of servicemembers who died in the line of duty or had a service-connected injury or disease. This Sidebar then analyzes the FY2020 NDAA's phase-out, including how it differs from other recent offset- elimination proposals. The Survivor Benefit Plan Generally, military retired pay ends with the death of the retiree. In 1972, Congress passed the SBP as a successor to previous programs, all of which gave servicemembers the means to provide continuing financial support for their dependents after the servicemembers' deaths. With the SBP, servicemembers receive reduced retirement benefits during their lifetimes in exchange for a guarantee that their spouses (or surviving dependent children) will continue to receive-in the form of an annuity-a portion of those retirement benefits afterward. Participation in the SBP is generally automatic; servicemembers who are married or have a child when they become eligible for retirement pay also become SBP participants unless they opt out. The standard (and maximum) monthly SBP benefit is equal to 55 percent of the base amount of the servicemember's monthly retirement pay. A surviving spouse's SBP eligibility terminates upon his or her death or Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10316 GRS Leg Sidebar Prepaed for Membeivs and Cornm ittees o4 Co q _gress --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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