New SBP bills introduced in House

[darrels joy]

New SBP bills introduced in House



Rep. Henry Brown (R-SC) and Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) have reintroduced their bills that would, respectively, end the SBP/DIC offset and move up the effective date of 30-year, paid-up Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) coverage.

That's according to an announcement by officials of the Military Officers Association of America. The announcement reported that Representative Brown and 23 other original cosponsors on Feb. 16 introduced HR 808, which would end the dollar-for-dollar deduction of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (paid by the VA when the member's death is due to service-caused conditions) from the survivor's military SBP annuity.

The next day, Representative Saxton introduced his bill (number not yet available), which would change the effective date of 30-year, paid-up SBP from Oct 1, 2008 to Oct 1, 2005. Congress authorized paid-up SBP coverage in 1998 for any member who attains age 70 and has paid at least 30 years of SBP premiums. But the effective date was delayed for 10 years to save money, said MOAA officials

In the Senate, Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ) have combined the SBP/DIC and paid-up SBP initiatives into a single bill, S. 185. ...(Air Force Retiree News 18 Feb. 2005 )