Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If the military retiree passes does the spouse get to keep access to the exchange and healthcare benefits or does that all go away?
Been married 32yrs, retired military 5 years we live next to a base and use that healthcare as our primary provider.
If you compare it to insurance I'm the primary and my wife is listed as a dependent for her care. If I die first she will continue to be eligible and will actually become the primary.
Currently for medical care on base I pay about $47/mo to be Tricare Prime this gets me care similar to that received on active duty. If I'm seen on base, no copay, if referred to outside provider I usually have a copay.
SBP (Survivor Benefit Plan) my wife is eligible to receive 55% of my retirement pay (if I die first)
In order for my wife to receive 55% of my retired pay I have to pay every month similar to a life insurance policy. It's a certain percentage/fraction out of my monthly retirement pay about $250/month.
Exchange and Commissary benefit continues past my death as well.
My daughter receives this health care as well until she is 18 or 23 if she stays in college. Per the OCA (Obama care) I can keep her on my Tricare until she is 26 but the premium will (I think) be about $300/month.
We live way far outside of the radius of any Active Duty base, this region [New England] has a Tri-care underwriter called 'Martins Point'. They liaison with every hospital in New England. They pay providers the same as Tricare pays, but since they are regional, they pay faster than the state medicare underwriters pay. So we seem to be ranked much 'higher' among the local doctor offices. There seems to be a preference to handling us compared to most other people here with other coverages.
We have an Air National Guard base about 25 minutes away, with a Commissary and Exchange. My wife started working for DECA [the commissary] when I retired, and last year she qualified for their pension.
We settled in a low-income region, our household income is significantly higher than the community average.
Life as a retiree can be fantastic, for both the servicemember and the spouse.
When my husband passed (retired military) I spent hours on the phone (with DFAS) in order to get his 1099 for tax filing. Apparently when a retiree passes they perform an audit and will not issue the 1099 until completed. After 7 months I found a hotline for DFAS complaints and was able to resolve the issue. Due to DFAS it held up my arrears allocation from the VA. Highly recommend keeping a copy of monthly pay info which indicates taxes paid to date. Unfortunately my husband handled his on line (mypay) and when his death was reported they locked the account.
Since he passed due to service related illness I contacted the VA Benefit Coordinator and he was able to file the papers and act as power of attorney.
You will need a new ID card as your status changes.
I have access to bases (commissary, exchanges, etc.) and healthcare through Tricare for Life.
My complaint with the retiree system for the spouse is the ID card. While the retiree gets a permanent retiree card, the spouse has to keep renewing every four years and will not receive a permanent retiree card until age 75 no matter how long the marriage! This is what I find ridiculous, that the arbitrary age is set to 75! We live at least an hour and half from a base and it's a huge nuisance to have to make the trip to renew the ID card, age 65 would be fine, when you start Medicare benefits, NOT 75! I'd sure like to to who came up with that asinine idea!
I had to ask my wife. I have had Tricare for Life for 10 years. It has worked out very well...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
