Senator Boxer:  Important Information for Veterans    

Tuesday, September 6, 2005  

The Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced two programs both having to do with survivors of military members.  I want to share this information to you and hope you will feel free to pass it on to anyone you think could benefit from it.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched new website to assist surviving spouses of military members who died either on active duty or after serving their country.   The site is available at http://www.vba.va.gov/survivors and has links for both survivors of military members who died during active duty and those who died later and also includes helpful links to other governments sites that may be of assistance.  You can also find a link to a “Frequently Asked Questions” section that gives answers to many common questions.

The Department of Defense also recently announced that many military retirees who opted out of some or all their Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) coverage will have another opportunity to elect coverage during a one-year open enrollment period that will run from Oct. 1, 2005 through Sept. 30, 2006.

If you would like more information about this opportunity or if you would like to check your eligibility, you should contact the office managing the SBP for your Service.  The necessary paperwork to make this change is DD Form 2656-9, "Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) Open Enrollment Election." The form is available electronically at www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/infomgt/forms/eforms/dd2656-9.pdf

Sincerely,