This Factsheet outlines the rules regarding the military Survivor Benefit Plan and divorce. It is not intended to be all inclusive.
1. The Survivor Benefit Plan is a plan whereby a portion of a military retiree's pay is paid to a named beneficiary. Without this plan, all retired pay would stop at the death of the retiree. The plan, which is partially funded by the government, is paid for by monthly deductions from the retired pay of the member. The amount of the premium is dependent upon the percentage of the retired pay that will be paid to the beneficiary. The maximum amount of coverage is for 55% of the member's gross retired pay.
2. The decision to elect in or out of the coverage is made at the time of retirement, and is generally irrevocable.
3. A spouse loses eligibility as an SBP beneficiary upon divorce.
4. The Department of Defense Authorization Act of 1984 amended the SBP provisions to authorize coverage for certain former spouses.
5. There is no provision in the SBP which makes former spouse coverage an automatic benefit. The only means by which the divorced spouse may receive a survivorship annuity is if "former spouse coverage" is elected.
6. A court order cannot, by itself, be used to institute coverage. A signed election request must be submitted by the service member, or, in some cases, the former spouse, before coverage can be established.
7. Former spouse coverage may be based either upon a voluntary action by the member or by reason of a court order.
8. If the coverage is voluntary, the member must apply for the change of status (from spouse to former spouse) within one year of the date of the divorce.
9. The Defense Authorization Act of 1984 amended the Act to add protection for the former spouse in cases where a court ordered that coverage be established.
10. When coverage is ordered by a court, and the member then fails or refuses to make the required election, that member shall be deemed to have made such an election if the service finance center receives a written request from the former spouse asking that the election be made.
11. If the former spouse remarries before the age of 55, coverage is suspended. If the subsequent marriage is terminated by death or divorce, coverage is resumed. As long as the former spouse is alive, the member may not name a current spouse as a beneficiary unless the former spouse waives the benefit in writing.
VERY IMPORTANT!
12. When the coverage is incident to a court order, the member must make his request "within one year after the date of the decree of divorce, dissolution or annulment."
13. If the coverage is being requested by the former spouse, it must be made "within one year of the date of the court order or filing thereof."
14. If these deadlines are not met, it will be almost impossible to ever provide coverage for the former spouse. There are many couples who erroneously believe the former spouse is covered because the member never terminated the coverage and premiums are still being deducted because the service is unaware that the couple are divorced.
Note: Slightly different rules apply for members of the reserve forces and national guard.
[The statutory authority for the contents of this summary is 10 U.S.C. §§ 1448 and 1450.]
