fi nancialforum Survivor Benefits F
Other Resources MOAA offers many publi- cations to help you devel- op a game plan. Download them at
www.moaa.org/ infoexchange (you must be a member and logged in) or call MOAA’s Mem- ber Service Center at (800) 234-MOAA (6622).
50 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2012
Arm your spouse with knowledge now to help ensure his or her fi nances and benefi ts will last after you are gone. By Lt. Col. Shane Ostrom, USAF-Ret., CFP®
From your days in uniform, when the boss gave you a task, any reason that task wasn’t accomplished as expected was met by, “No excuses!” There’s no excuse for leaving your spouse unprepared to cope with life after your death. There are servicemembers leaving behind helpless survivors. Some of the stories we hear at MOAA are astonishing. It makes me worry about the survivors we don’t hear from. How will your spouse survive when
you are gone? What will be his or her sources of income? Who will help your spouse? You might fi nd it hard to believe, but survivors have called MOAA trying to fi nd income. In many cases, the couple had plenty of income, but the survivor was left with a single Social Security check after the member’s death. There also are survivors who discover after their servicemembers die the Sur- vivor Benefi t Plan (SBP) won’t equal 55 percent of full retired pay. Rather, many fi nd SBP will be 55 percent of a fraction of military pay because the servicemem- ber covered only a small portion of the retirement check. First, your survivor will need several months’ worth of cash to pay the bills and live on after your death. It probably will be months before other sources of income start — the government runs on its own schedule. Second, have your retirement orders or DD Form 214 readily available.
Next, you should gather for your spouse
any documents and contact information for: all of the accounts you own (banks, invest- ment fi rms, insurance companies, etcetera); the programs you have with the VA (disability compensation, life insurance, your spouse’s potential eligibility for survivor’s benefi ts, and transferred education benefi ts); any bills, credit card balances, and out- standing loans you owe, including when payments are due and the names of the companies involved; lawyers, fi nancial and insurance advi- sors, the VA, and your military pay agent; Social Security and medical plans; the civilian personnel offi ce and pro- grams you are enrolled in, if you worked as a federal civilian; a Thrift Savings Account or another pension; and wills, powers of attorney, medical direc- tives, and burial details. You also should
discuss with your military retiree pay agent, such as the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, any issues concerning Arrears of Pay or SBP and contact the military ID card offi ce and update all requirements.
MO
— Lt. Col. Shane Ostrom, USAF-Ret., is a CFP® in MOAA’s Benefi ts Information and Fi- nancial Education Department. To speak with a fi nancial planner, contact USAA at (877) 913- 6622 or
www.usaa.com/moaa, or visit www
.moaa.org/fi nancialcenter for other resources.
PHOTO: SEAN SHANAHAN
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