Washington, DC (October 08, 2004) - Congressman Jeff Miller (R-Fl-01) today announced the conference report on H.R. 4200, the 2005 National Defense Authorization Act, includes his amendment which will eliminate the “Widows’ Tax” on surviving spouses of military retirees.
The Jeff Miller language phases out the reduction in benefits in the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). The amendment responds to the inequity that is experienced by the vast majority of military survivors, who face a reduction from 55% to 35% in their SBP annuities at age 62. The Miller amendment, similar to HR 548, will restore payments to surviving spouses over the next 31/2 years.
“This benefit to military spouses isn’t what Congress intended or what enrollees were promised. The program isn’t providing the level of protection military survivors need and deserve,” Miller said. “Military survivors lose one-third of their Survivor Benefit Plan annuities at age 62. It isn’t the plan Congress intended.”
Retirees who were asked to sign up for the program in the 1970s and early 1980s weren’t informed of the drop in benefits after age 62. As the result, large numbers of retirees and survivors feel betrayed by having been asked to sign an irrevocable contract to pay lifetime SBP premiums without being told what annuity level they were actually buying.
"This is restoration of fairness and equity, 32 years in the making for the surviving spouses of America's greatest generation," stated Miller. "This giant leap forward sends a clear message to the career servicemen and women who provide our national defense today: we are a grateful nation and this Congress is making good on its promises to our armed forces. This battle has been hard fought, and its victory is shared by so many whose efforts have been tireless and unrelenting. I am indebted to my colleagues who have stood by me to realize this victory."
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