As a service member or retiree, you may be eligible to apply for certain insurance policies and benefit programs through the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. Surviving family members may also be eligible for benefits and are encouraged to speak with their casualty assistance officer to determine their benefit level.
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Veterans Affairs insurance policies
The Department of Veterans Affairs offers a variety of insurance policies for service members and veterans. With each of the following insurance programs, service members are automatically enrolled and covered at the maximum amount unless they decline coverage or select a reduced coverage.
- Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance. This is a low-cost term life insurance protection policy for members of the uniformed services, and the disbursement is not taxable. Coverage is paid through automatic deductions from the service member's pay. For more information on cost and coverage, check out the SGLI webpage.
- Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection. This provides for automatic coverage against traumatic injury that results in certain severe loss for those service members covered under the SGLI program. The non-taxable benefit amount can vary depending on the injury, and the cost of coverage can vary depending on current duty status. You can learn more specifics about costs and coverage amounts on the program's webpage.
- Family Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance. Spouses and dependent children of service members covered by the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance policy are automatically covered too. Service members choose the coverage amount for their spouse and pay a monthly premium but the program provides a set coverage for each dependent child at no cost. More information can be found on the Family Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance webpage.
- Veterans' Group Life Insurance. Once a service member separates from the military, the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance policy can convert into a Veterans' Group Life Insurance policy. Check out the Veterans' Group Life Insurance webpage for more details on premium rates and coverage amounts.
Department of Defense benefit programs
Service members are also automatically enrolled in the following programs but coverage amounts vary.
- The Uniformed Services Survivor Benefit Plan. This plan, administered by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, allows surviving family members to receive a portion of their retired service member's retirement pay. Every active-duty service member is automatically covered at no cost. Retirees pay a certain amount of their retired pay based on which category of beneficiary and base amount they select. However, it's important to note that income received from the Survivor Benefit Plan is taxable since it is an annuity. You can learn more on the Defense Finance and Accounting Service website.
- Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan. Similar to the Survivor Benefit Plan, this benefit plan is also an annuity, paid to eligible surviving spouses, and in some instances dependent children of deceased Reserve Component service members. Eligibility depends on the number of years the Reserve Component service member earned toward retirement pay, and enrollment in the plan. You can find more information on the Defense Finance and Accounting Service website.
- Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance. Surviving spouses who are beneficiaries of the Survivor Benefit Plan annuity and whose annuity is partially or fully offset by the Veterans Affairs Dependency and Indemnity Compensation may be eligible for an additional allowance through the military. This is automatically paid by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and does not require that surviving spouses apply for the allowance. Visit the Defense Finance and Accounting Service website to learn more.
Understanding how these insurance policies and benefit programs can help in a time of need is important — especially when it comes to your family.