SBP for Spouses and DIC Benefits from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA)
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a monetary benefit offered by the VA to survivors of service members and retirees whose death results from a service-related injury or disease.
Prior to 2023, Spouse SBP annuitants, except for those who remarried after age 55 (or in other specific circumstances), could not receive full SBP and DIC payments at the same time. Their SBP payment was offset (reduced) by all or part of their DIC payment. This did not affect their DIC payment, only their SBP payment.
Beginning on February 1, 2023, surviving spouses will receive their full Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) payment from DFAS and their full Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payment from the VA. This is because February 1, 2023 will be the first SBP annuity payday after the SBP-DIC Offset is fully eliminated, which takes effect January 1, 2023.
Please note: DIC payments made directly to children, or to a guardian on behalf of children, do not affect SBP child annuity payments.
The SBP-DIC Offset Prior to 2023
As an example, in 2022, when DFAS was informed by the VA that a spouse annuitant was receiving DIC, the law required that DFAS deduct one-third of the amount of DIC received from the amount of SBP payable and pay the remaining amount of the SBP to the annuitant. This was called the SBP-DIC Offset.
*The reduction of the SBP-DIC Offset from the full amount of DIC to one-third of DIC was effective January 1, 2022.
On January 1, 2023, the offset was completely eliminated. Eligible surviving spouses now receive their full SBP payments AND their full DIC payments.
Please note the change in the law DOES NOT affect DIC payments, it only affects SBP payments when the surviving spouse is also receiving DIC. Please see our SBP-DIC news webpage for details and FAQs.
The Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA)
Prior to 2023, when a spouse was eligible to receive SBP and DIC, and the SBP payment was subject to the SBP-DIC Offset, the spouse also received the Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA).
The Special Survivors Indemnity Allowance (SSIA) will no longer be paid after the January 3, 2023 payment, because SSIA is only paid to spouses who have their SBP payment offset by DIC.
How Remarriage May Impact a Spouse SBP Annuity
Surviving spouses maintain their eligibility for SBP until death, as long as they do not remarry before the age of 55. If the annuitant remarries before age 55, annuity payments will stop.
However, if the marriage of an annuitant (who remarried before age 55) later ends for any reason, their eligibility for the annuity is reinstated, effective on the first day of the month the marriage ends. The annuity payments will be restarted, once DFAS has received and processed the notification and documents. See more information at: www.dfas.mil/managesbp
In addition, spouse annuitants who remarried after age 55 were entitled to receive full SBP and DIC benefits at the same time. This is the result of a 2009 court** decision. According to the ruling, DFAS was not required to offset DIC payments from a monthly SBP annuity if a spouse is entitled to both benefits and remarried after age 55.