Survivors Programs Committee Goals
2023 TMC Survivor Programs Committee Goals
Recognizing the sacrifices Survivors have endured, this committee works to improve and protect existing survivor benefits issued by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and to eliminate benefit inequities.
TMC will continue to work with Congress to use broad and inclusive language in all legislation while defining Gold Star Families as those whose loved one "Died while serving or from a service-connected injury or illness"
Improve Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC).
Retain survivor benefits upon remarriage
Authorize survivors of retirees to draw full month's retired pay for the month in which retirees die. (Joint goal with Retired Affairs Committee)
Improve the Death Gratuity
Premium free TRICARE coverage of young adult dependents up to age 26 to align TRICARE with commercial plans (Joint goal with the Health Care and Personnel Committees)
Extend coverage for eligible children of veterans’ families until age 26 under CHAMPVA.
(Joint goal with Health Care and Veteran Committees)
Expand Fry Scholarship eligibility to all surviving spouses and children regardless of duty status and era of service.
Increase Service members’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) and Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) to maintain pace with inflation and tie the insurance benefit to an index that keeps pace with inflation for the future.
Increase VA Survivors’ Death Pension linking death pension benefits to the federal poverty level determined each year by the Department of Health & Human Services.
Maintain integrity of Military Lending Act protections and seek to expand coverage to all uniformed services and their families, the reserve component and their families, veterans, and survivors.
Ensure that the VA takes a closer look at death certificates when the cause of death is COVID-19 to ensure the deceased veteran does not have an underlying service-connected health condition that could have been exacerbated by COVID-19.
Recognizing the sacrifices Survivors have endured, this committee works to improve and protect existing survivor benefits issued by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and to eliminate benefit inequities.
TMC will continue to work with Congress to use broad and inclusive language in all legislation while defining Gold Star Families as those whose loved one "Died while serving or from a service-connected injury or illness"
Improve Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC).
- Establish DIC equity with other federal survivor benefits. Currently, 2023 DIC is set at $1,562.73 monthly (approximately 40% of a 100% disabled retiree’s compensation). Survivors of federal civilian workers have their annuity set at 55% of their Disabled Retiree’s Compensation. TMC supports raising DIC payments to 55% of VA Disability Compensation for a 100% disabled veteran. Moreover, when compensation is increased the law should ensure that DIC eligible survivors under the old system receive an equal increase.
- Increase DIC payable to survivors of catastrophically disabled veterans to match other Federal survivor benefit plans. Catastrophically disabled veterans, whose spouses serve as primary care givers, receive additional allowances due to the severity of their service-connected multiple disabilities. These spouses perform full-time duty which precludes them from working towards a retirement or Social Security benefits in their own right. When the veteran dies, the surviving spouse's income is reduced to the same Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payment that other surviving spouses of veterans receive, whose death was service connected. The percentage of replacement income can be as little as 15%. The income replacement of other federal survivor benefit plans is close to 50% of the benefit upon which they are based. Congress should provide for survivors of catastrophically disabled veterans on a similar basis.
Retain survivor benefits upon remarriage
- Remove the arbitrary age of 55 as a requirement for surviving spouses to retain benefits after remarrying.
- Allow remarried surviving spouses to maintain access to education benefits under the Fry Scholarship and Dependents Education Assistance (DEA).
- Allow remarried surviving spouses to retain Commissary and Exchange benefits.
- Allow surviving spouses to keep both the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and Dependents Indemnity Compensation (DIC) after remarriage at any age.
- Update the definition of surviving spouse in 38 USC § 101 Paragraph 3 by removing the “hold yourself out to be married” clause and term “opposite sex.”
- Seek legislation to reinstate TRICARE benefits for remarried survivors when the second marriage ends. (Joint goal with Health Care Committee)
- Ensure surviving spouses’ access to electronic medical records and referrals for their children.
Authorize survivors of retirees to draw full month's retired pay for the month in which retirees die. (Joint goal with Retired Affairs Committee)
Improve the Death Gratuity
- Change the name of the Death Gratuity to more accurately reflect intent and sensitivity.
- Secure a minimum of 50% of the Death Gratuity for Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) eligible spouses.
- The longstanding purpose of the death gratuity has been to provide immediate cash payment to assist eligible survivors of deceased members of the Armed Forces to meet their financial needs and obligations during the period immediately following a service member's death when the paycheck stops and before other survivor benefits become available.
- Eligible family members often incur substantial out-of-pocket funeral expenses since the government can only reimburse a travel voucher and cannot authorize a travel advance.
Premium free TRICARE coverage of young adult dependents up to age 26 to align TRICARE with commercial plans (Joint goal with the Health Care and Personnel Committees)
Extend coverage for eligible children of veterans’ families until age 26 under CHAMPVA.
(Joint goal with Health Care and Veteran Committees)
Expand Fry Scholarship eligibility to all surviving spouses and children regardless of duty status and era of service.
Increase Service members’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) and Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) to maintain pace with inflation and tie the insurance benefit to an index that keeps pace with inflation for the future.
Increase VA Survivors’ Death Pension linking death pension benefits to the federal poverty level determined each year by the Department of Health & Human Services.
Maintain integrity of Military Lending Act protections and seek to expand coverage to all uniformed services and their families, the reserve component and their families, veterans, and survivors.
Ensure that the VA takes a closer look at death certificates when the cause of death is COVID-19 to ensure the deceased veteran does not have an underlying service-connected health condition that could have been exacerbated by COVID-19.