Posted on May 26, 2016
Four Military Retirement Pay Surprises for Spouses
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We were just discussing the problems with employment for spouses of Military members.
This isn't very good news for the spouses.
If you've reached the end of your service member's military career, you're probably really excited. No more TDYs, military moves, long training separations or sudden deployments for you.
Instead, you're looking forward to enjoying all of those benefits, like continued health care and retirement pay, that you've spent 20 years earning. Life is about to get very good.
But military retirement pay and the benefits that come along with it can be complicated and confusing -- and sometimes full of little-talked about surprises.
This isn't very good news for the spouses.
If you've reached the end of your service member's military career, you're probably really excited. No more TDYs, military moves, long training separations or sudden deployments for you.
Instead, you're looking forward to enjoying all of those benefits, like continued health care and retirement pay, that you've spent 20 years earning. Life is about to get very good.
But military retirement pay and the benefits that come along with it can be complicated and confusing -- and sometimes full of little-talked about surprises.
Four Military Retirement Pay Surprises for Spouses
Posted from military.com
Retirement
Military Pay
Spouses
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 4
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No surprises at all unless the Retiring soldier happened to slip into a coma during ACAP. The SBP form is one of those rare Forms that the Spouse MUST sign. Take SBP or not, sign here.
There are no shockers or surprises anywhere in this Article. It's a nice heads up for people looking towards a Military pension.
One obvious thing they did miss in the article is VA Disability. My wife and I discussed this on many occasions. Should I croak before her, my VA check expires along with me. As an E-8 with a 50% VA Rating I get about 1k a month just from the VA. I die, it stops. That's not counting my Pension that pretty much goes to about half of what I now receive (SBP) when I stop breathing. Good news is she's promised Tricare for life as a surviving spouse.
With my reckless abandon lifestyle, chances are I'll bite the dust before her and she's got a pretty serious financial lifestyle change. On the bright side, my Bar Tab will stop getting bigger when I die so she won't have that expense anymore. Pretty much makes my VA check a wash...
There are no shockers or surprises anywhere in this Article. It's a nice heads up for people looking towards a Military pension.
One obvious thing they did miss in the article is VA Disability. My wife and I discussed this on many occasions. Should I croak before her, my VA check expires along with me. As an E-8 with a 50% VA Rating I get about 1k a month just from the VA. I die, it stops. That's not counting my Pension that pretty much goes to about half of what I now receive (SBP) when I stop breathing. Good news is she's promised Tricare for life as a surviving spouse.
With my reckless abandon lifestyle, chances are I'll bite the dust before her and she's got a pretty serious financial lifestyle change. On the bright side, my Bar Tab will stop getting bigger when I die so she won't have that expense anymore. Pretty much makes my VA check a wash...
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MSG Pat Colby
CSM Charles Hayden - My local Tavern runs a bar tab for me. I tip for every pitcher of beer but the cost of it goes on my Tab. My wife pays it off every month.
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SGT (Join to see)
Thank you SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL, and you have a safe and good Memorial weekend.
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I notice one surprise that wasn't mentioned. If thr service member dies from a service connected cause, making the spouse eligable for DIC, and thr spouse files for DIC, for each dollar received in DIC, one dollar is taken away from the SBP, you know, the benefit that was paid for from each monthly retirement check.
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