| 结论 |
SBP Benefits Generally Compare Well to Those of Public and Private Plans and Are a Significant Component of Widows' Total Income- The financial status of military widows in terms of average income is broadly comparable to that of nonmilitary widows, especially for widows who receive Social Security.
- As with other widows who receive survivor benefits, these benefits are a key contributor to their financial status, contributing about half of total income, on average, for younger military widows who do not receive Social Security and about a third of total income for those who do.
- In 2016, nearly all annuitants were survivors of military retirees, and participation was 66 percent of all retirees and 78 percent of the 2016 cohort of retirees.
- The base amount covered by SBP has also been rising, reaching 98 percent for the 2016 retiree cohort. The Department of Defense (DoD) subsidizes SBP, allowing premiums paid by retirees to be lower than what would be required to cover the full SBP liability.
- Survivor benefits in private retirement plans are often available in defined benefit retirement plans. Because these plans are less common today than they were 30 years ago, workers rely on other means to provide for survivors, including life insurance, defined contribution plans, workers' compensation, and Social Security.
Commercial Sources Could Provide Survivor Benefits, but More Information Is Needed About Cost and Quality of Service Under Different Approaches to Outsourcing- Commercially available products do not have the features of SBP, but the commercial expertise behind the many existing commercial products could be applied to develop commercial SBP.
- There are costs of administration, contracting, and transition associated with commercialization to consider, as well as the requirement that commercial providers receive a competitive return on investment and yet hold capital to protect against the possibility of bankruptcy.
- If SBP is outsourced, DoD should continue its subsidy to SBP because of its importance in keeping premium rates low and enrollment high.
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