An Assessment of the Military Survivor Benefit Plan

"The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) provides income security for the survivors of U.S. service members who perform in an authorized-duty status--whether active or inactive--and die in the line of duty, as well as for the survivors of retired members enrolled in SBP. This report responds to Congress's request for an assessment of SBP. The assessment includes information about SBP participation and available benefits, how SBP compares with similar plans in public organizations and private companies, and how large a contribution SBP makes to survivors' incomes. Congress also requested that the assessment consider the feasibility and advisability of having SBP provided by commercial sources. Overall, the authors find that SBP is well structured to serve the role of providing survivor benefits to service members and military retirees, and SBP benefits generally compare well to those of public and private plans. Using commercial sources to provide survivor benefits appears feasible; however, the advisability of shifting to commercial sources requires information not currently available about internal and external cost and quality of service under different approaches to outsourcing."--Publisher's description.