Reply from Senator Boxer regarding the Department of Defense Survivor Benefit Plan

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Since 03-05-06

 

From: senator@boxer.senate.gov [mailto:senator@boxer.senate.gov]
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 11:11 AM
Subject: Responding to your message

 

Dear Mr. Santos:

 

    Thank you for contacting me regarding the Department of Defense Survivor Benefit Plan. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your comments.

 

    Department of Defense benefits for survivors of deceased members of the armed forces vary significantly. Immediate benefits, such as the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, provide the life insurance policy value in a lump-sum payment following the service member's death. In contrast, the Veterans Administration Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) are designed to provide a long-term source of income for military survivors.

 

    I believe that certain provisions of the SBP are unfair to older retirees and to survivors of active duty or retired members who die of service-connected causes. Currently, survivors lose a dollar in SBP benefits for every dollar of DIC paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs when the death is caused by military service. This practice, also known as the "widow's tax," is unacceptable because of the financial burden that it places on the spouses of our nation's brave service men and women.

 

    As you may know, Senator Bill Nelson authored a provision in the 2006 Defense Authorization Bill that aimed to correct those provisions of the Survivor Benefit Plan that unjustly affect our nation's military survivors. This provision, which I was proud to co-sponsor, passed the Senate but unfortunately was not included in the final version of the 2006 Defense Authorization Bill.

 

To address these inequities of the SBP program, I am co-sponsoring S. 185, the Military Retiree Survivor Benefit Equity Act which would end the deduction of DIC from the survivors SBP annuity.

 

    Again, thank you again for writing to me. Please know that as a strong supporter of our veterans and their families, I will work to strengthen the Survivor Benefit Plan and other veterans' benefits.

 


Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

Please visit my website at http://boxer.senate.gov