Posted on May 21, 2020
Why, as a survivor spouse, am I not eligible for Death Gratuity as younger survivors?
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He passed from Mil Con reasons. Day he dies DOD cut my pension by 45%, No death gratuity or any other help at all. Too old to work,retraining wont help, spouse day (that's a laugh)!?
Spouse
Issues
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 7
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Margaret, Please just stop a moment and B R E A T H E....when you have time and are ready, reach out to me in a message and I will try to assist you. I am an Accredited Claims Agent through the VA. You would know the term Service Officer. I perform the same duties but am independent from any organization.
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This is a question only a member of the VA could answer. I am not sure why your pension would be cut by 45%.
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SGM Steve Wettstein
SSG (Join to see) It's because the max amount for SBP is 55% of retired pay. She also thought retirees are entitled to the military $100,00 death gratuity.
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PO1 Margaret M.
SGM Steve Wettstein - Actually, I know retirees are not eligible for the gratuity. The point is I feel it should be awarded to retirees who passed from Mil Con reasons the same as for active duty personnel. No matter how long it takes for them to die or how much they have to suffer before they do, whether it happened in an instant or long term, the death facts should not discriminate. for or against either. Apparently there is a 120 day cut off now after leaving military to receive the death gratuity, how awful would it be for the spouse if it took 121 days? Please kindly correct me if I am mistaken. Thank you.
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Only currently serving members are eligible for the death gratuity. That is a military benefit not a VA benefit. Retirees are expected to purchaseife insurance to cover their spouse's expenses in case of death.
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PO1 Margaret M.
Interesting info that the benefit is from DOD and not VA, I was unaware of that. As for the civilian insurance, he could not get life insurance due to his condition. The only option we had was to pay the maximum SBP. He had had cancer for years but the VA Dr's, at various, facilities both while in the military and after retired, refused to admit that diagnosis, some of the assessments ran from being "Allergic to tropical flowers, lack of exercise to aid breathing, adult asthma, COPD, etc etc, even when the black spot was found on an X-Ray he was told it was very small and nothing to worry about that it would shrink. 6 weeks after the required insurance exam he was dead from 4th stage lung cancer. There is much more to this story and I certainly wouldn't expect anyone to read it.
If anyone can offer info as to whether retired military used to receive /or never received death gratuity I would appreciate it. Thank you.
If anyone can offer info as to whether retired military used to receive /or never received death gratuity I would appreciate it. Thank you.
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Your question is very vague. Are you a 20-yr veteran who retired and was drawing your own pension and for some reason unrelated when your non-military spouse died they cut your own earned pension? Or are you a spouse of a military retiree (you didn’t do 20 years, they did) and their pension stopped or was cut post after passing- which is absolutely normal. If the spouse paid for SBP then the surviving wife would get around half of what the living retiree was getting. If they did not pay for SBP then the money generally stops. It was for the retiree, not the spouse. Or are you taking some sort of VA entitlements that did not come with a 20-year pension?
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PO1 Margaret M.
I was first wondering why I am not entitled to the death gratuity of $100,000 tax free as are the younger spouse survivors. My husband was a retiree, I am a 16 yr vet . We paid into the SBP because he couldn't get insurance anyway after his initial insurance ran out. I am entitled to DIC but as we all know it was promised as a special "cash" pension not just half of my 55% check tax free,(any amount tax free from gov does not apply to any low income benefits in my state, Wa St). If the gov had kept their promise at least we would have had 100% pension. So as it is now us old folk are not entitled to any of the benefits such as death gratuity, dental medical- "decent" that I had insurance for but could not keep it up on the 45% cut ,no immediate aid with existent bills at time of death. No help with housing/rent/mortgage. I know the DIC/SBP separation is scheduled for 2021 at 1/3 amount, 2/3 in, 022 and the entire amount in 2023.Besides, my opinion, that this new law is totally unfair to EVERY spouse survivor, there will be no retro restitution and/or interest/allowance for cost of living existing now for any survivor spouse from the past,some have been waiting for decades, I have been waiting for 15 yrs. It may sound selfish or even small talk to some but there are at least 65,000 of us 99.9% women who are still waiting from as far back as the Vietnam era. I was told by a White House rep that we cannot have any raise in pay due to the fact that the Rand report said we were already receiving the same amount and benefits as civilians. Unfortunately we were not included in the Rand report. I was told by VA that it would cost circa $8 billion to pay what they owe us,now if that dosen't want to make you scream.." But it's our money to start with"!!! They also added that it was a promise made between the VA and DOD the DOD pays for SBP (which we paid for ourselves), and VA is supposed to pay for DIC so to actually be paid both an agreement would have to be by both. If you look into into the nitty gritty details you would actually see the widows actually have always paid for our own DIC with our SBP. One more thing I think it was circa 2000 that a"catch-all " SSIA was suggested by the house committee. I'm not sure what it was supposed to catch but it began as $50 per month and now a DECADE later I believe it is way up to $325!. Anyway, as far as I see VA/DOD have more excuses to not do the right thing than Tyson has feathers. So far I have not heard of one excuse for the reason we are not entitled to Death Gratuity, they just aren't answering. P.S. If Nancy Pelosi prefers to give donations to illegals and art galleries she can feel free to donate to the 65,000 of us who supported our husbands through thin and thinner when it was far from fashionable to be an honorable American to do so.
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SSgt Jim Gilmore
Indeed, the question is vague and more detailed information is needed to offer better answers.
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MAJ (Join to see)
PO1 Margaret M. the $100,000 lump sum death gratuity is only for surving spouse when the service member died while on active duty as far as I know. The other stuff is very complicated and will probably take an act of Congress to understand or fix it as you allude to. I’d start with Veteran benefits agencies and SSI offices to see anything that can help you too.
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PO1 Margaret M.
SSgt Jim Gilmore - I did try again and I do get on a tangent most of the time when I feel so many seem to be kicked to the curb again as in the past. I appreciate you reading my vent and I will try to be clearer next time if there is one. Bye for now
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Because he didn't sign you up for the Survivors Benefit Plan...
https://militarypay.defense.gov/Benefits/Survivor-Benefit-Program/Overview/
https://militarypay.defense.gov/Benefits/Survivor-Benefit-Program/Overview/
Survivor Benefit Program Overview
Military Pay and Benefits Website sponsored by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
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LTC Jason Mackay
Her post says the DoD pension amount was cut by 45%, which means she’s getting 55%....which is SBP. Otherwise it stops.
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There is a small VA death gratuity. https://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/claims-special-burial.asp
The DoD retirement sounds like he elected to have the Survivor Benefit Plan , otherwise, the retirement ends when he passes.
The other death gratuity for AD is tied to SGLI and VGLI, which as a retiree are way too expensive to carry. It’s term coverage that ends when you ETS/Retire unless you elect to convert it to VGLI, which is really just a gap bridger until you get a policy. It’s insanely expensive right as one would really “need it”.
The DoD retirement sounds like he elected to have the Survivor Benefit Plan , otherwise, the retirement ends when he passes.
The other death gratuity for AD is tied to SGLI and VGLI, which as a retiree are way too expensive to carry. It’s term coverage that ends when you ETS/Retire unless you elect to convert it to VGLI, which is really just a gap bridger until you get a policy. It’s insanely expensive right as one would really “need it”.
Apply for and manage the VA benefits and services you’ve earned as a Veteran, Servicemember, or family member—like health care, disability, education, and more.
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PO1 Margaret M.
LTC Jason Mackay - Dear Mr Mackay, Thank you for the info. I do receive DIC which actually isn't a cash money amount. There is no more benefit for a survivor spouse from DIC than the fact that 1/2 of your widows check will be given to you tax free, that's why we call it "The Widows Tax". So the word Compensation in DIC means exactly that, there is no extra money involved. Thank you
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LTC Jason Mackay
PO1 Margaret M. not trying to be rude but what exactly is DIC then? It’s compensation, do they pay you in smiley faces or drachmas?
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PO1 Margaret M.
LTC Jason Mackay - No no funny money, no unfunny money either. The DIC was supposed to be a special monetary pension for spouse survivors. No survivor every received any of this "Special Pension".The DOF pays half a spouses death pension and VA pays the other half. The VA pays you their share to you tax free. So actually a survivor pays their own DIC from the SBP they had paid into. This is the actual description of DIC "Half of the survivors REGULAR pension they paid for is paid for by the VA TAX free." There ins NO extra money at all given to the spouse please don't believe that. We were supposed to get ACTUAL money but we have never seen a dime and there are over 70,000 Vietnam era survivors still waiting for back pay some waiting since 1980's. As for half the widows pension being tax free my state Wa does not recognize it at all, they have me pay all my taxes the same as anyone else so I am not entitled to any break on power,property tax or anything else. I make an average of $30,000 per year.
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PO1 Margaret M.
LTC Jason Mackay - The Tax free payment is a part of the pension you already get. You make it sound like we get some extra money. I would like all survivors to know that DIC is NOT extra money at all
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I understand your frustration. Benefits available to survivors of certain circumstances and date of death differ widely. I believe you are talking about the death gratuity for active duty deaths post 9/11. Pre 9/11 the death gratuity for active duty deaths was much lower. For Vietnam widows it was $10,000. In 1984 it was $35,000 (the year my husband was killed on active duty). There are 65,000 widow/widowers receiving SBP that will benefit by the removal of SBP/DIC offset. However, there are around 375,000 widow/widowers that receive DIC that would benefit by an increase it the DIC. Every generation has an improved benefit and specific rules/dates of who receives those benefits.
I thank you for the many years of service and sacrifice you and your husband made for this country. I talk to many widows that could really benefit by increases in benefits and others that have received a very generous amount. I talk to post 9/11 widows that were not the named beneficiary and did not get the $100,000 - sometimes the parents receive it as the paperwork was not updated. Some sad stories out there.
How to help everyone - I wish there was a way to give all of the surviving spouses what they need financially and to give them the recognition they deserve.
Hope you have a blessed Memorial Day and know that we at Gold Star Wives share your loss and are with you in spirit. Nancy Menagh
I thank you for the many years of service and sacrifice you and your husband made for this country. I talk to many widows that could really benefit by increases in benefits and others that have received a very generous amount. I talk to post 9/11 widows that were not the named beneficiary and did not get the $100,000 - sometimes the parents receive it as the paperwork was not updated. Some sad stories out there.
How to help everyone - I wish there was a way to give all of the surviving spouses what they need financially and to give them the recognition they deserve.
Hope you have a blessed Memorial Day and know that we at Gold Star Wives share your loss and are with you in spirit. Nancy Menagh
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PO1 Margaret M.
My DIC is only half of my reg pension tax free no extra money at all in fact spouses of my era actually pay for their own DIC with SBP
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