Director's Message - June 2021

Greetings from Cleveland, and welcome to the second issue of our new Survivor SBP Newsletter. This newsletter focuses on news of special interest to survivors. 

Most of the information in this newsletter applies to surviving beneficiaries of military retirees and to SBP annuitants who had service members pass away while on active duty/in the line of duty. However, in each issue, we include special information for those annuitants who lost a loved one in the line of duty. If you are an Active Duty or Line of Duty survivor, please see the special articles in the Spotlight with specific information for you. 

The biggest news this year is the January 1, 2021 start of the SBP-DIC Offset Phased Elimination. In this issue, we explain what will happen in 2022 and 2023, and how the upcoming phases may affect SBP and/or SSIA payments for SBP spouse annuitants who receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from the VA. 

We are excited about our newest initiative: status notifications to keep you in the loop as forms or documents you submit move through the annuity pay processing cycles. Please see the article in this issue for the good news.  

This spring we made changes to simplify the eligibility verification requirements for annuitants. The verification requirements are outlined in the article in this issue, as well as the news about the easier process. 

We also have an article called “Did You Know?” with tips and tidbits of interest to survivors. This will be a recurring feature in the newsletter.  

Last year we made sweeping changes to simplify the School Certification process. One of the changes reduced it to annual requirement instead of every semester. So, it’s School Certification season! Please check out the article for important information for student SBP annuitants.

We also have an article on using myPay and the new two-factor authentication. 

In addition, if your loved one was an Army Soldier, please see the information from our partners at the Army Survivor Outreach Services about “The Survivor Link,” their brand-new newsletter for Army Survivors. 

We will continue to share news of interest to survivors in our quarterly DFAS Retiree Newsletter, and twice a year we will also provide this focused newsletter especially for you. We hope this newsletter, along with our other communications tools, will help to clarify your annuity benefits.

Please share this information with your community of survivors.  

Remember, our website puts a lot of helpful information at your fingertips. Check it out: www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary. Look for “Survivors and Beneficiaries” in the menu for links of special interest to survivors. 

We honor the service and sacrifices made by you, your family, and your loved one. We are proud to serve those who have served, and we wish you and your family a safe and happy summer.
 

Page updated June 9, 2021