Estimate the benefits provided to the surviving family members of a service member in the event of the service member's death by viewing Survivor Benefits Reports and performing "what-if" exercises to see how your Survivor Benefits might change. Estimates include lump sum amounts and show how the annuity changes over time as the spouse and child(ren) age, providing estimates for estate planning.
Access to the Survivor Benefits calculator requires a CAC or DS Logon. This allows a service member's personnel data to populate the calculator fields for a personalized estimate of financial and educational benefits.
Sign up for a DS Logon here.
The return home from combat can often leave servicemembers feeling out of place with the most important people in their lives - their families.
"In deployment, Soldiers grow accustomed to a new lifestyle and a new 'family' - those buddies that bond together to defend each other," said Maj. Ken Williams, 14th Military Police Brigade chaplain. "This lifestyle change is prolonged and becomes familiar, i.e., the new normal."
The families also change while the Soldier is deployed.
"The family is a system," Williams said. "When one family member is absent, the whole system changes. All members of the family adapt to a new 'normal' way of life."
When the servicemember returns, the family may feel uncomfortable with each other, and the servicemember may withdraw from the family.