A provision of the National Defense Authorization Act Fiscal Year 2008, Public Law 110-181, established the SSIA for surviving spouses who are the beneficiary of the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity, and their
SBP annuity is partially or fully offset by their
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The provision that established SSIA also applies to the surviving spouses of members who died on active duty whose SBP annuity is partially or fully offset by their DIC. The SSIA starts at $50 per month for fiscal year 2009 and then increases each fiscal year by $10 until the SSIA is $100 for fiscal years following 2013. SSIA will not be paid for months prior to October 2008 and will terminate February 2016.
Surviving spouses whose SBP annuity is suspended due to remarriage prior to age 55 are not eligible for SSIA for the period their SBP annuity is suspended. If the marriage ends and the surviving spouse regains eligibility for SBP and DIC, they will also regain eligibility for SSIA. The SBP annuity for children is not offset by DIC. Therefore, child SBP beneficiaries are not authorized SSIA.
Surviving spouses whose SBP annuity is fully or partially offset by DIC are not required to apply for SSIA. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service – Cleveland (DFAS-CL) will automatically pay SSIA to surviving spouses whose SBP accounts show a DIC offset of their spouse SBP annuity for months starting in October 2008. Letters will be sent to all surviving spouses who qualify to receive this benefit. Surviving spouses not in receipt of this letter who believe they are entitled and have never applied for the SBP annuity benefit will not have an account to identify them as the SBP beneficiary eligible for payment of SSIA. These surviving spouses need to contact their Service representative for assistance with establishing their SBP annuity account. Account information and check address can be updated by contacting DFAS-CL at 1-800-321-1080 or contacting your military Service representative for assistance.
