Recent Feedback
My husband's ex-wife is entitled to elect SBP coverage per their MSA. Per the MSA she is required to pay for it (off the top of her portion of his reitirement). If she elects to take it and chooses spouse (former spouse) and child coverage... what happens if she dies since after year two you are required to pay for SBP forever?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: California
SBP Payments are not required is the "covered" spouse is no longer alive.It does not matter whether you are divorced or not. SBP payments are only required for as long as the covered person is alive. It is the same thing for children; you sign up for SBP for children, but once the last child is no longer eligible for SBP coverage (i.e, no longer a minor) then you no longer have to pay for SBP child.Similarly, if a married retiree signs up for SBP and the spouse dies, then the SBP stops.If a married retiree divorces and the spouse gets SBP, it is SBP for the retired member; but the former spouse should not be able to "assign" the SBP to that former spouses new spouse, nor to any children who are not dependents/children of the retiree.Additionally, there is a 30 years of paying SBP and age 70 or above end to SBP payments.
Experience: CAPT, JAGC, USN (Retired); Former Military Judge; Specializing in Security Clearance Adjudications
To clarify... even if she elects spouse and child coverage. If she dies then he no longer has to pay for SBP? Because she elected spouse and child coverage he does not have to continue to pay for the SBP?
When SBP is selected, it is Survivor Benefit Plan for the Spouse (or former Spouse) and children of the service member.To make it easier I will use husband & wife. If the husband is the service member and SBP is selected for Spouse (i.e., wife) and children, then it is covering the wife and children of the husband/service member.If the wife then re-marries, she is not permitted to select her new husband as the "survivor" nor any new children that she and the new husband may have. She is only permitted to select (and, apparently pay for) spouse coverage for herself and any children that she and the service member husband had.The "spouse" election that the wife is making should be limited to her, herself, and no other person. The government established SBP to pay for "dependents" of service members, not dependents of dependents of service members. Does that answer your question?There are two elections you have mentioned: 1) for the ex-wife; and 2) for children of the Marriage between the ex-wife and the service member. I have focused on the ex-wife, because that is the more expensive of the coverages. The expense for SBP for a child is pretty small; partly because the government knows that, in most instances, it is only going to be for a short period of time; whereas the expenses for a spouse are higher - because the likelihood of a spouse receiving SBP is likely to longer.