In this issue:
Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act Introduced 
Support TRICARE Coverage for Reserve Component “Gray Area” Retirees
SVAC Chairman and Ranking Member Urge VA to Speed-up AO Claims Process
New ID Card for Retirees


Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act Introduced 
Congressman John Garamendi (Calif.) has introduced the “Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act” (H.R.2214) at the FRA’s request. This bill allows for the retention of the full, final month’s retired pay by the surviving spouse (or other designated survivor) of a military retiree for the month in which the member was alive for at least 24 hours.

Surviving spouses who are unaware that the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) should be notified immediately upon the death of the military retiree, are surprised to learn of this requirement. Those who had joint bank accounts, in which retirement payments were made electronically, gave little if any thought that DFAS could swoop down and recoup any overpayments of retirement pay from such accounts. This action could easily clear the account of any funds remaining whether they were retirement payments or money from other sources. Instead of withdrawing the payment all at once the bill would allow a gradual repayment over 12 months and gives the Secretary of Defense the option to forgive the over payment. 

Members are strongly urged to use the FRA Action Center to weigh in on this issue.   



Support TRICARE Coverage for Reserve Component “Gray Area” Retirees
The FRA supports the “TRICARE Fairness for National Guard and Reserve Retirees Act” (S.829), introduced by Sens. Rob Portman (Ohio) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and the House companion bill (H.R.1997), introduced by Reps. Bill Johnson (Ohio) and Dean Phillips (Minn.) that would ensure these “gray area” retirees who qualify for retirement pay before age 60 are eligible for the TRICARE retiree benefit. Under current law, gray area retirees who want TRICARE coverage must purchase TRICARE Retired Reserve (TRR), which is an expensive premium-based plan, even if they are receiving retired pay. 

Currently, Reserve Component retirees younger than age 60 are not eligible for the TRICARE retiree benefit even if they are receiving retirement pay. This legislation addresses this inequity in Reserve Component compensation by extending the TRICARE retiree health care benefit to Reserve Component retirees who are receiving early retirement pay. Reserve Component members, who have earned early retirement pay through deployment credits, should receive the full retirement package, including health care coverage. 

Members can use the FRA Action Center to weigh in on this issue.


SVAC Chairman and Ranking Member Urge VA to Speed-up AO Claims Process
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC) Chairman Jon Tester (Mont.) and Ranking Member Jerry Moran (Kan.) have dispatched a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough to implement provisions under the “Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act” (H.R.299-P.L. 116-23), which will quickly provide long-overdue benefits and care to veterans suffering from Agent Orange exposure.

The FRA is thankful that the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act added new presumptive conditions due to exposure to Agent Orange herbicide, such as bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and Parkinsonism. The FRA is thankful to SVAC Chairman Jon Tester for his leadership on this issue. It has been estimated that this expansion will benefit 34,000 suffering veterans. The association also supports efforts to include hypertension in the list of presumption ailments. 

The underlying law specifically affects Blue Water Navy Veterans who served offshore of Vietnam between Jan. 6, 1962, and May 7, 1975. The Act signed into law June 25, 2019, also applies to veterans who served in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between Jan. 1, 1967, and Aug. 31, 1971. These veterans can apply for disability compensation and other benefits if they have since developed certain conditions that are presumed to be related to exposure to herbicides such as Agent Orange. Veterans no longer need to prove that they were exposed to herbicides. 

The letter was generated after a SVAC hearing on the human consequences of war as it pertains to military toxic exposures. At that hearing a veteran living with three of the qualifying service-connected conditions, including Type 2 Diabetes and Ischemic Heart Disease, had to wait 14 months for the VA to take action on his claim.

The FRA will continue to monitor the claims backlog at the VA. A copy of the letter is available online .  


New ID Card for Retirees
The Department of Defense is abandoning the flimsy laminated paper-based ID cards for military retirees and dependents in favor of an all-new card system called the Next Generation Uniform Services Identification Card. This represent the first ID update for retirees since 1993, and will be more durable while more closely resembling the Common Access Cards, or CACs, used by active-duty troops and DoD civilians. These new ID cards are already in circulation. The military began issuing them to retirees, reservists and dependent military family members on July 31, 2020 at a few ID card facilities. “The new USID cards are enhanced with an updated design and security features to deter counterfeiting and fraud,” said Michael Sorrento, director of the Defense Manpower Data Center. All DoD USID card facilities were supposed to be set to offer the IDs by December 2020, according to the DoD release. The complete transition to new USID cards is targeted for Jan. 2026.

This transition does not affect current card expiration dates and does not change the populations who are eligible to get the current USID cards. More than 200,000 new cards have been issued as of Feb. 28, 2021. 

For more information on this topic go online . 

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