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Military Retiree and Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Annuitants – Resources

A military retiree is any service member or former service member who served on active duty, or as a member of the reserves or guard for the required period of time to receive military retirement pay. There are a number of factors that determine a service member's eligibility for military retired pay. It is important to note that not every military veteran is a military retiree. Only those service members who have retired from their Branch of Service and are eligible for and receiving retired pay are considered military retirees.
This includes service members who were placed on the Temporary Disability Retirement List (TDRL) or the Permanent Disability Retired List (PDRL) and receive retired pay from the Department of Defense. One special group of retired service members who are considered military retirees but who are not yet receiving retired pay is the Gray Area Retirees who are retired from their Branch of Service but are not eligible to receive their military retired pay until age 60 or until their special retired pay date if they have a reduced age retired pay date.
Types of retirement include: Regular, Reserve, Temporary Disability Retirement List (TDRL), Permanent Disability Retirement List (PDRL), and Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA).
Retired and Annuitant (R&A) Pay is part of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), an agency under the Department of Defense (DoD). We are a payment agency. R&A Pay establishes, maintains and pays military retirees and their eligible surviving spouses and other family members.
This section provides military retirees with commonly requested resources, helpful tools, and the ability to request documentation and submit forms to DFAS for processing.
- Use the handy askDFAS online upload tool to submit your forms to DFAS for processing.
- Visit our Form Library to get a form. Form Wizards, helpful guides, checklists, or how-to videos available for many forms on this page.
- The following helpful form wizards take the “form” out of the form—available for (right click and choose "Save As" to save the form to your computer):
Submit other questions to DFAS for additional assistance.
- Retiree Newsletter – Download the most current retiree newsletter for important information about retired military pay.
- Gray Area Retirees – Here you will find information for military reserve and guard Gray Area Retirees.
- Get this helpful guide to our tools and resources for military retirees.

The Department of Defense (DoD) Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) provides an ongoing monthly annuity payment to military spouses or children when a military member dies while on active duty, on inactive duty, or after retirement (if the retiree chooses to purchase coverage).
SBP provides eligible beneficiaries with a monthly payment known as an annuity. The recipient of an SBP annuity is referred to as the annuitant.
This section provides SBP annuitants with commonly requested resources, helpful tools, and the ability to request documentation and submit forms to DFAS for processing.
Complete required certifications to maintain entitlement to an SBP annuity.
- Use the handy askDFAS tool to submit your forms to DFAS for processing.
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Visit our Form Library to find all forms. Form Wizards, helpful guides, checklists, or how-to videos available for many forms on this page.
- The following helpful Form Wizards take the “form” out of the form—available for:
Submit other questions to DFAS for additional assistance.
Latest News
Special Focus Webpages for:
SBP Annuitant Customer Guide
Branch of Service Only askDFAS Submissions
Customer Debts and Deductions
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Submit questions on a debt, or court ordered deductions like child/spousal support, former spouse, or bankruptcy.
Additional Resources


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Page updated January 10, 2022