Readers of Tom Philpott's Military Update column sound off.

GI Bill Transferability Tied To Four More Years' Service

I can hardly believe what I have read about the new Post-9/11 GI Bill. Will the Army actually allow me to transfer benefits to my kids?

In January 2002 I volunteer for duty in southwest Asia. The Army being the Army sent me to Fort Knox, Ky. I was mobilized to Fort Knox for 36 months. I was fortunate to help with the effort of mobilizing nearly 10,000 soldiers for duty all over the world.

I just can't believe that the Army would actually make me eligible for this benefit. I have two children in college now and it would be a great help. I make too much money for real "need aid" for the kids, but $35,000 in tuition per year is not chump change.

Do I just need to still be in my Army Reserve Troop Program Unit (TPU) on Aug. 1, 2009, to qualify?  I have over seven years of active duty and more than 29 years of service.  However, unless promoted, my mandatory removal date is May 2012.

KEVIN L.
Rock Island, Ill.

 

To qualify for transferability under the new GI Bill, on or after August 1 next year, you must have served six years on active duty or in the drilling reserve and agree to serve an additional four years.

However, the Department of Defense, which is responsible for implementing the transferability feature, still is expected to allow transferability for members barred from serving those added four years by service or statutory rules such as high-year tenure.

If you meet all requirements for transferability, your spouse would be able to use new GI Bill benefits immediately.  Your children would have to wait until the additional four-year commitment actually is served. – Tom Philpott.

Returned Home

Great story on the return of Mart Troy.  It shows what American servicemen and women are all about.

 R. DANZ
Via e-mail

 

My uncle, D. Packard, was shot down over France in 1944.  He was 20 years old and crashed near the town of Angy.  His remains were returned and buried in Prescott National Cemetery on Oct. 22 this year. Gone 64 years but finally returned home.

As his nephew, and a retired Air Force senior master sergeant who served three tours in Vietnam as an in-flight radar technician aboard EC-121 aircraft, I was on hand to see the final chapter of 2nd Lt. Ray D. Packard.

RON PACKARD
Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

I would like to comment on the military Survivor Benefit Plan as it has applied to me.  I retired from the Air Force in May 1973 and enrolled in SBP.  In 1990 my wife passed away.  I remarried two years later and obtained SBP for my second wife.

I worked for the Department of Defense from 1978 to 1997 and, when eligible for civil service retirement, combined my 20 military years with my DoD time.  Again I elected SBP coverage to continue.

Because I no longer receive a retirement check from the Air Force, I am not eligible to benefit from the SBP paid-up rule, the change in law that eliminates the need to continue SBP premiums after 30 years. But I now have been paying SBP premiums for more than 33 years.

Are there any plans to amend the law for retirees in my situation?

EDWARD SAGATIS
Technical Sergeant, USAF-Ret.
 

Retirees in your situation don't gain from the military SBP paid-up rule but you do see the value of survivor annuities improved by combining your years of federal service.

Federal civilian retirees have up to eight options in electing a survivor annuity plan through the older Civil Service Retirement System or the newer Federal Employees Retirement System. But they continue to pay for survivor annuity coverage throughout retirement. There is no "paid up" rule.

Lt. Col. Les A. Melnyk, a DoD press officer familiar with federal civilian retirement issues, noted that the average age at retirement for a federal civilian is 60 and that, based on life expectancy, most annuitants will not receive annuities beyond 30 years.

"An employee who combines his or her military service with civilian service increases the amount of their CSRS or FERS annuity and thus increases their survivor annuity benefit," Melnyk said. – T.P.

 

TRICARE V. Medicare Drug Plan

My late husband was retired military and I will be 65 in two years. Though I know I will have to enroll in Medicare Part B to continue using TRICARE after age 65, I'm not sure whether I have to take Medicare Part D, the prescription benefit, or if I can just use TRICARE prescription benefits.

Any information would be appreciated.

P. L. TERRY
Via e-mail
 

For nearly all TRICARE beneficiaries who also are eligible for Medicare there is no added value in buying Medicare prescription drug coverage.  The exception may be for a small number of TRICARE users with limited income or assets who qualify for Medicare's extra help with the cost of Medicare Part D.  Generally, however, TRICARE pharmacy coverage is better than Part D.

Find more information at: www.tricare.osd.mil/medicarepartd/

 -- T.P. 

Letters may be edited for clarity or length.  Write to Military Forum, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA  20120-1111, send e-mail to militaryforum@aol.com or visit www.militaryupdate.com.