If you receive Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) and have the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), you will see a change in your net pay and statements starting in April of 2018. Beginning with the SBP premiums due in April of 2018, DFAS will start deducting SBP premiums from CRSC when retired pay is not sufficient to cover the full amount of the premiums. This new deduction is due to a change in the law which requires DFAS to deduct SBP premiums from CRSC. This change affects retirees who receive CRSC and currently pay SBP premiums via direct remittance. Retirees who currently have SBP premiums deducted from their Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) pay will not be affected. This change will benefit retirees and their survivors by preventing a debt when a retiree forgets to pay the SBP premiums directly. When SBP premiums are not paid during a retiree’s lifetime, it creates a debt which must be repaid from the SBP annuity a survivor receives. DFAS will begin deducting SBP premiums from the April CRSC entitlement (paid on May 1) for SBP premiums due in the month of April for all retirees with CRSC who are currently sending in their premium payments (through direct remittance). Retirees can also request to voluntarily have their SBP premiums deducted from CSRC prior to the April SBP premium. More detailed information about the required deduction of SBP premiums from CRSC (that will begin with the April 2018 CRSC entitlement paid on May 1) will be posted on our website and included in the Retiree newsletters in the coming months. If you want to have your SBP premium deducted from your CRSC before the April SBP premium, please call the DFAS Customer Care Center at 1-800-321-1080 and tell them you want to start having your SBP premium deducted from your CRSC pay. You will need to provide your full name, social security number, and a phone number where you can be reached during the day. You may also send a signed and dated letter to DFAS that has all of this information (including a phone number where you can be reached during the day). Please note that the SBP premium deduction will be part of the garnishments total on your CRSC statement. Also, until April, you will continue to receive an SBP premium bill, which will show the CRSC SBP premium deduction as a “prior payment received” once the deduction is processed. For more information, contact Sandra at the Veterans Service Office at 602 Strong Ave on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 3pm, or call 365-3612.
Veteran’s Corner 1-31-18
