# What This Bill Does

This bill gives military retirees and former service members a second chance to sign up for life insurance protection for their families. Specifically, it allows people who previously turned down the Survivor Benefit Plan—a program that provides monthly payments to a spouse or children after a military member dies—to enroll during a special window of time from when the bill passes until January 1, 2023.

The key group affected here is military retirees who said "no thanks" to this survivor protection when they first had the chance, but now want to change their minds. Maybe they didn't understand the program back then, or their circumstances have changed and they now want to make sure their family is taken care of. This bill essentially says: "You get one more opportunity to sign up." The enrollment process is straightforward—they just need to submit a written request to their military branch before the deadline.

Here's the catch: if someone wants to enroll now, they have to pay back what they would have paid if they'd signed up originally. This includes the premiums they would have had deducted from their retirement pay all those years, plus interest on that money, plus potentially an additional amount to make sure the military retirement fund stays financially healthy. So while the opportunity is free to pursue, actually enrolling will cost money—sometimes a substantial lump sum, depending on how many years have passed since they first retired.

The bill also includes protections to ensure these decisions are truly voluntary and can't be forced by a court order or required by a spouse, giving retirees complete control over whether to participate in this survivor protection program.

The Post-Widows Tax Repeal SBP Open Enrollment for Service-Disabled Veterans Act

Waltz, Michael

The Post-Widows Tax Repeal SBP Open Enrollment for Service-Disabled Veterans Act This bill establishes an open enrollment period for the Survivor Benefit Plan for a member or former member of the uniformed services who, on the day before the first day of the enrollment period, discontinued participation in the Survivor Benefit Plan (due to spousal eligibility for dependency and indemnity compensation), and is entitled to retired pay, or would be entitled to retired pay but for the fact the individual is under 60 years of age.