The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), an optional annuity available to retiring military service members designed to benefit their surviving family members, is only payable to natural persons.
The inability to designate payment to a Special Needs Trust (SNT) means that payments to disabled family members jeopardize the continuation of services subject to income means testing.
This forces retiring military service members to make a terrible choice: deny family members an earned benefit or risk cutting off the most vulnerable family members from life-sustaining services.
We petition the Executive Branch to work with the Legislative Branch to amend Title 10 U.S. Code § 1450 (a) (4) so that an SBP annuity may be paid into an SNT, and make the amendment retroactive for previous selections.