The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) provides eligible beneficiaries with a benefit called an annuity, a monthly payment for the beneficiary’s lifetime.  The amount of this benefit is typically 55 percent of the retiree’s retired pay at the cost of 6.5 percent of monthly retired pay.  SBP is paid by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a benefit paid monthly to eligible survivors through the VA. To qualify for this benefit, you must be the spouse, child, or dependent parent of a veteran who died while serving on active military duty or as a result of a service-connected disability or who had a disability rating of totally disabled for a certain length of time before death. Guardmembers and reservists who were activated for federal military service and later separated are considered veterans.

You can view your Retiree Account Statement (RAS) on myPay to see the type of SBP coverage you selected. Make sure that your family knows what the Survivor Benefit Plan is and what they will need to do to start payments:
Start SBP

After checking your RAS, if the SBP coverage shown no longer applies to your current life situation, please see our website for what steps to take:
Change SBP

We also have a new checklist to assist when a military retiree passes away. This is a very useful tool that we suggest adding to your important documents. Download the PDF here:
Report Death and When Military Retirees Dies Check List