The Question
My ex-husband died at 60 yrs old. He was in the Army and never drew his retirement. He had over 20 yrs enlisted most of that time he was in the Army Reserves. We were married 25 yrs and divorced 3 yrs. Am I eligible to draw his military retirement? If so, do I have to wait till 65 to draw it? Thanks for any insight you can give me.
Luci,
I’m sorry to hear that your ex-spouse passed away. Gray Area Retirees are members who served in the Guard or Reserve, are qualified for retired pay, and have retired from their service (stopped drilling) but are not yet at the age where they can start receiving retired pay. Gray-area Survivor Benefit Plan benefits can be tricky as there are several different options your ex-spouse could have selected so it will be difficult for me to tell you definitively.
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) has information on its webpage regarding claiming SBP when someone has died. https://www.dfas.mil/RetiredMilitary/survivors/Grey-Area-Reservist-Survivor-Starting-your-SBP
For more information on applying for an RCSBP annuity, please contact the DFAS Customer Care Center at 800-321-1080 or 317-212-0551.
Mike Hunsberger
Mike Hunsberger, ChFC®, CFP®, CCFC
Owner, Next Mission Financial Planning, LLC
Web www.nextmissionfinancialplanning.com
Email info@nextmissionfinancialplanning.com
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