[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14865-14866]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE MILITARY SURVIVOR BENEFITS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 12, 2003

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 
548, the Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2003. This bill 
aims to ensure the well-being of our veterans, an issue of crucial 
importance to me.
  Many veterans in my congressional district expressed to me their 
concerns regarding the treatment of elderly military survivors. Several 
veterans wrote letters to me stating their worry that ``unlike other 
federal survivor programs, the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) 
annuity is reduced at age 62 from 55 percent to as little as 35 percent 
of SBP-covered retired pay.''
  Many older retirees and survivors were not informed of the age-62 
reduction when they signed up for SBP in the 1970s, and are shocked to 
learn their survivor's annuity will be far less than expected. The 
government provides federal civilian survivors a substantially higher 
share of retired pay for life, with no benefit reduction at any age.
  For some, the sharp annuity drop at age 62 offsets the amount of the 
survivor's Social Security benefit attributable to the member's 
uniformed service. For those who have become retirement eligible since 
1985, it is a reduction from 55 percent to 35 percent of SBP-covered 
retirement pay.
  In order to respond to these valid concerns, I strongly support H.R. 
548. This bill increases the minimum Survivor Benefit Plan basic 
annuity for surviving spouses age 62 and older, and provides for a one-
year open season under that plan. The bill seeks to balance equity and 
cost considerations by phasing out the age-62 benefit reduction over 
five years.
  The Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2003 is an 
important piece of legislation that addresses the needs of our Nation's 
veterans and their families. This bill will certainly improve the lives 
of our country's veterans by giving them the benefits that they 
deserve.

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