Overview of the Survivor Benefit Plan

The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)

The SBP is one of the most overlooked areas of military divorce. One reason for this is that it's quite complex and there are plenty of confusing sections that you may not be aware of. A good Colorado Springs military divorce attorney however will be able to guide you through the ins and outs of this section of the law. In fact, one of the ways to find out whether or not your attorney is capable of representing you, is to determine whether or not he or she will take the SBP into consideration.

How it works

It's important to realize that military pay stops after the death of the retired service member. In such a scenario, the spouse may have no income to fall back on. To provide for this, all military members are automatically enrolled at the time of their retirement for an insurance scheme called the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). This scheme will keep deducting a small amount from the retired pay of the service member while they are alive. In return, when he or she dies, the surviving spouse will receive 55% of the base amount covered.

The base amount can vary from $300 to the full retired pay amount which is the maximum. Unless otherwise specified, all SBP schemes automatically use the maximum coverage. In case a service member chooses to change the SBP coverage to something less, the written consent of the spouse is necessary.

The premiums are very small - 6.5% of the base amount. In terms of pure financial reasonableness, the SBP ranks at the very top of all other schemes because it is offered at a special discounted price by the government.

SBP is subject to a lot of laws and provisions because so many circumstances need to be taken into account. Remarriage and the allottment of SBP to a new spouse as well as the death of the covered spouse are just two examples. In addition, there are many different types of SBP. Child coverage, former spouse coverage, or a combintation of the two are also available.

Consulting a Colorado Springs Divorce Attorney

It is due to the very complexity of SBP, that you must hire a competent attorney to handle your military divorce. Our Clawson & Clawson lawyers are well versed in the difficulties of the SBP and will make sure that you don't make a drastic mistake as happens all too often. Contact us for a free initial consultation and find out how you can use your SBP as a bargaining tool in your divorce.