Benefit Fact Sheet
Military pay, including active duty pay and allowances and retired pay, stops upon a service member’s death. The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) is a program through which the Department of Defense provides monthly, cost-of-living-adjusted income to eligible survivors of service members who die on Active Duty in the line of duty, including Reserve Airmen and National Guard Airmen who die on Federal Active Duty in the line of duty and Retired Service members who choose to continue participating in the program after they retire.
Service members who retire due to a service-connected disability incurred while on active duty, whether Regular or Reserve, may participate in SBP.
Reserve and National Guard Airmen may participate in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) when they complete 20 years of qualifying service for non-regular retirement.
The following table illustrates which program applies to whom, depending on one's duty status and retirement eligibility:
|
Service member Status |
Survivor Benefit Plan Eligible For |
|
Regular Air Force and Space Force on active duty |
SBP. Benefits calculated as if retired with 100% disability. Death must be in the Line of Duty unless retirement-eligible. If retirement eligible and found not in the Line of Duty, benefits based on years of active service. SBP coverage provided at no cost and beneficiaries determined by law. |
|
Regular Air Force and Space Force retired |
SBP, if they enroll upon retirement. Line of Duty determination not applicable. If coverage elected must choose SBP beneficiary category and pay part of the coverage cost. |
|
Reserve and National Guard Airmen in non-drilling status with less than 20 years of service who die in a non-duty status |
No SBP or RCSBP |
|
Reserve and National Guard Airmen on Inactive Duty for Training |
RCSBP. Benefits calculated as if retired with 100% disability. Death must be in the Line of Duty. If retirement eligible and found not in the Line of Duty, benefits based on what retired pay would have been calculated as a non-regular retirement. Coverage provided at no cost if found in the LOD and beneficiaries determined by law. |
|
Reserve and National Guard Airmen on Federal Active Duty, regardless of years of service |
SBP. Benefits calculated as if retired with 100% disability. Death must be in the Line of Duty. If retirement eligible and found not in the Line of Duty, benefits based on years of active service. SBP coverage provided at no cost and beneficiaries determined by law. If retirement eligibility based on 20 creditable years toward non-regular retirement and found not in the LOD, RCSBP coverage applied with beneficiaries determined by law. |
|
Reserve and National Guard Airmen in non-drilling status with at least 20 years of service |
RCSBP. Only if they enrolled with Option B or Option C when they received 20-Year Letter; or received the 20 year letter, are within the 90 day period, but have not made an RCSBP election; or should have received a 20 year letter. Death does not need to be in the Line of Duty. |
|
Reserve and National Guard Airmen at age 60 who had enrolled in RCSBP with Options B or C |
At age 60 RCSBP for non-regular Retired Airmen becomes SBP. Line of Duty determination not applicable. Must pay RCSBP premiums at non-regular retirement. |
|
Reserve and National Guard Airmen at age 60 who had not enrolled in RCSBP (elected Option A) |
SBP. Only if they enroll in SBP upon receipt of retired pay. Line of Duty determination not applicable. Must pay SBP premiums if SBP coverage elected. |
|
Reserve and National Guard Airmen over age 60 who had not enrolled in either RCSBP or SBP |
No SBP or RCSBP. Retired pay stops at the death of the service member. |
SBP premiums are deducted from retired pay and since April of 2018, DFAS will deduct SBP premiums from Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) when retired pay is not sufficient to cover the full amount of the premiums. This deduction is due to a change in the law which requires DFAS to deduct SBP premiums from CRSC. Click here for more information.
Survivors of National Guard Airmen with less than 20 years of service who die while performing State Active Duty are not eligible to receive benefits under the federal SBP program. Their survivors may be eligible to receive survivor benefits from their state's civilian employee retirement system or another program administered for them by their state.
Survivors of National Guard Airmen who have completed 20 years of service may be eligible to receive benefits under RCSBP if they enrolled in the program when they received their 20-year Letter even if they were serving on State Active Duty at time of death. See the "AIR NATIONAL GUARD: RETIRED" fact sheet in this series for more information about RCSBP.
For more information, please contact Air Force Retiree Services at 800-525-0102 or visit the web page at:
https://www.retirees.af.mil/Library/SBP/
To obtain a detailed estimate of your survivor benefits, including SBP payments to eligible dependents, visit the MyAirForceBenefits Survivor Calculator (CAC or DS Logon account needed):
https://www.myairforcebenefits.us.af.mil/Benefit-Calculators/Survivor-Benefits
To obtain a detailed estimate of your retired pay and SBP premium costs visit the MyAirForceBenefits Retirement Calculator (CAC or DS Logon account needed:
https://www.myairforcebenefits.us.af.mil/Benefit-Calculators/Retirement
Office of the Secretary of Defense, Military Compensation SBP website:
https://militarypay.defense.gov/Benefits/Survivor-Benefit-Program/
Air Force Casualty:
https://www.afpc.af.mil/Airman-and-Family/Casualty-Operations/
DFAS "Manage your SBP Annuity" website:
https://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary/survivors/manage.html
DFAS “SBP-DIC Offset Phased Elimination News”:
https://www.dfas.mil/RetiredMilitary/survivors/SBP-DIC-News/