What is RCSBP?
The Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) enables members who served in Reserve Components, and qualify for retired pay, to leave their spouse and/or dependent children with an ongoing monthly benefit called an annuity. You can choose a benefit for:
- Spouse Only
- Spouse and Child(ren)
- Child(ren) Only
- Natural Interest Person
- Former Spouse
- Former Spouse and Child(ren)
Spouse and Former Spouse annuitants can receive monthly Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) payments for life as long as they do not remarry before age 55.
Child annuitants can receive monthly SBP payments until they turn 18, as long as they do not marry or join the military. Child annuitants can extend their eligibility until age 22 if they are enrolled in school full time. There are special rules for incapacitated child annuitants.
The amount of the monthly SBP payment is 55% of your SBP base amount. The SBP base amount is either based on your gross retired pay or a lower amount you can choose with spousal concurrence.
Is RCSBP the Same as SBP?
RCSBP is similar to the SBP that covers regular armed services retirees. However, there are several differences in eligibility, coverage and cost that reflect the unique nature of Reserve and Guard service.
Who is Eligible for RCSBP?
RCSBP is available to Reserve Component members listed below:
• The Army National Guard of the United States
• The Army Reserve
• The Navy Reserve
• The Marine Corps Reserve
• The Air National Guard of the United States
• The Air Force Reserve
When Can I Sign up for RCSBP?
Reserve Component (RC) members must make an election for RCSBP when they complete the equivalent of 20 years of service and receive their Notice of Eligibility (NOE) Letter (also known as the 20-year letter). When your NOE is issued, you have 90 days to choose an option using the DD Form 2656-5 regarding RCSBP.
If your election is not received within 90 days, the law requires you to be automatically enrolled in Option C (see below). Therefore, it is very important to make an election as soon as you receive the NOE.
What are the RCSBP Options?
Three options are available to Reserve Component members:
Option A – You may decline to make an election until age 60 (or earlier if eligible for reduced age retirement). You will remain eligible to elect SBP coverage at the age you qualify for a Reserve Component non-regular retirement. No annuity will be payable to your beneficiaries if you die before non-regular retirement. Spousal concurrence is required and must be notarized.
Option B – You may defer the annuity. This election provides coverage for your selected beneficiary, but if you die before age 60, SBP annuity payments do not start until the date you would have been 60 years old. If you choose Option B, at retirement the RCSBP election becomes your SBP election, and you will pay both RCSBP premiums for coverage already received and SBP premiums for current coverage. Spousal concurrence is required and must be notarized.
Option C – You may elect for an immediate annuity. This allows for an RCSBP or SBP annuity to begin immediately after your death, whether you die before or after non-regular retirement. At non-regular retirement, the RCSBP election becomes your SBP election, and you will pay both RCSBP premiums for coverage already received and SBP premiums for current coverage.
What if you don’t have an eligible beneficiary when your NOE is issued?
If you do not have an eligible beneficiary when your NOE is issued, you do not need to make an election. However, should you get married after the NOE is issued, you have ONE YEAR from the date of marriage to make an election. If you do not make an election within one year, your coverage will default to declined. This election is irrevocable, and the only way to change it is through an SBP Open Season authorized by Congress. Please note that there is no schedule or obligation for Congress to enact an SBP Open Season. This is done at their discretion.
What if I gain a child after NOE?
If you selected Option A, no action is needed. You will still have the option to cover your spouse and/or child when you complete your retired pay application. If you selected Option B or C, there are several scenarios, and each have different options and requirements.
First, if you already have child coverage, provide your Branch of Service with a copy of the birth certificate or Final Decree of Adoption to prove a new youngest child. You cannot change coverage.
If you have eligible children but chose not to elect Child RCSBP or SBP, you cannot add Child SBP at this time. For instances like this, please be sure to consider all possibilities when making an election when your NOE is issued. If you did not previously have eligible children, you have ONE YEAR from the child’s date of birth or the date of adoption to add them to your Child RCSBP or SBP coverage. After one year, you can no longer add children to your Child RCSBP or SBP coverage.
What if I get divorced after I elected RCSBP or SBP coverage at NOE?
A court may award former spouse RCSBP or SBP coverage if you divorce. Former spouse RCSBP or SBP coverage may also be part of a written agreement not incorporated into a divorce, or you may voluntarily elect former spouse coverage. By law, you have one year from the date of the divorce to request conversion to former spouse RCSBP coverage. Submit a former spouse SBP request on DD Form 2656-1 (SBP Election Statement for Former Spouse Coverage) with the divorce decree and any subsequent court orders. If neither you nor your former spouse act within one year of the first court order awarding RCSBP or SBP, the election will default to suspended spouse coverage and cannot be changed to former spouse coverage by law.
Paying for RCSBP or SBP Coverage
The Survivor Benefit Plan cost depends on the level of coverage you choose. SBP coverage is supplied at no cost while you are in active service. During your retirement, however, a monthly deduction is taken from your pay to pay for your SBP coverage. This can be no more than 6.5 percent of your gross retired pay.
If you elect full coverage, the cost of SBP coverage will be based on your full gross pay. For example, if you receive $1,000 of retired pay each month, and elect full SBP coverage, your monthly cost to cover your spouse under the plan will be $65 each month.
You can also elect a lower level of SBP coverage. For example, if you receive $1,000 of retired pay each month, you can elect to have your coverage based only on $700 of your pay. In this case, we would calculate 6.5 percent of $700, and the monthly cost to cover a spouse under SBP would be $45.50.
There is, however, a minimum level of coverage required and that the amount is unique to each retiree. The base amounts increase with the Cost of Living Adjustments with both full and reduced coverage. If you submit an invalid election at retirement, or none at all, one will be started automatically. The cost of such coverage will be based on gross retired pay and is equal to the cost of a Spouse Only election.
For RCSBP, members pay the standard SBP cost, plus an additional Reserve Component (RC) cost, through deductions from retired pay. This RC cost is often referred to as the “RCSBP add-on cost.” The Office of the Department of Defense Actuary provides the tables used to calculate RCSBP premiums. The add-on premium depends on three things: type of beneficiary you elect, annuity type you elect: immediate or deferred, and the age difference between you and your spouse or former spouse. The RCSBP premium increases with retired pay cost-of-living adjustments.
Page Update May 2, 2025