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Military divorces can be more complicated than other types of divorces because of the various rules involved, but unlike civilian divorces, military divorces may have benefits for divorced spouses.
Here is an overview of what is a divorced military spouse entitled to.
Table of Contents
Survivor Benefit Plan
The survivor benefit plan (SBP) is sponsored by the Department of Defense.
It provides former or current spouses of military members with more than 55% salary of the member’s retired pay.
This ensures the continuation of retirement payments that otherwise typically stop upon the veteran’s death.
Former spouses of military members can be entitled to receive benefits, but if their rights are not explicitly cited in the divorce judgment, they can be exempt from receiving them.
This is most common in cases where the retiree excluded their former spouse from these benefits.
Survivor Benefit Plan is often confused with the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) which also offers coverage for military members.
However, certain factors, such as remarriage or missing the deadline to apply, can impact your rights to SBP coverage,
so it is best to consult with a Phoenix Military Divorce Attorney.
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Healthcare Benefits
Divorced military spouses can receive healthcare benefits depending on their divorce situation.
For example, there is a 20/20/20 rule which entails that if the divorced military couple was married for 20 years and the military member served for 20 years, given that these years overlap, the former spouse can obtain healthcare benefits.
These benefits can include access to military installations and the Tricare healthcare benefit program, which can provide indefinite health coverage if the former spouse of the military member does not remarry after the divorce.
There is also the 20/20/15 rule which can provide the former spouse of a service member at least one year of Tricare medical or transitional medicine given that they were married to the service member for 20 years and the military member served for 20 years, where 15 of these years overlapped.
The CHCBP (continued health care benefits program) provides the eligible former spouses of service members with at least three years of Tricare medical.
Thrift Savings Plan
If the military member served around 20 years in the military or more, they can qualify for the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which provides military members with a pension.
This pension is considered marital property under state laws and is divided between spouses upon divorce.
Most states allow former military spouses to receive a portion of the military member’s pension.
Typically the former spouses of military members can only obtain TSP if they were married to the servicemember for at least ten years, given that this timeframe overlaps with the time the member served in the military.
Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits
The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides funding for educating military members, their children, or their spouse.
These benefits typically include a book stipend, housing allowance, and tuition.
During the divorce, the court may not order any distribution of these benefits.
However, if the military member agrees to share this benefit with the former spouse or the ex-spouse is a beneficiary after the divorce, they may obtain the GI Bill benefits.
Since the GI Bill is one of the most valuable military benefits, former spouses can put monetary penalties in their settlement agreements if the servicemember fails to comply with the final court ruling regarding the division of GI Bill benefits.
