United States 115th Congress Status: Died 1 D cosponsors

S 339 — Military Widow's Tax Elimination Act of 2017

Last action — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. Died in session

This bill died with 115th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Military Widow's Tax Elimination Act of 2017 This bill repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or who would be entitled to such pay, except for being under 60 years of age. The Department of Defense is prohibited from recouping certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. The bill requires (current law authorizes) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. The Secretary concerned shall restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to the surviving child or children of a member.

Bill Text

Sections of law this bill changes

1 section in 1 law

From the bill's own amending language, matched to the official United States Code (current through Public Law 119-124).

Annuities based on retired or retainer pay · 10 U.S.C. ch. 73 1 section
  • § 1448 Application of Plan Amends

    10 U.S.C. § 1448 — at 1448(d)

    The law today

    (a) General Rules for Participation in the Plan.— (1) Name of plan; eligible participants.— The program established by this subchapter shall be known as the Survivor Benefit Plan. The following persons are eligible to participate in the Plan: (A) Persons entitled to retired pay. (B) Persons who would be eligible for reserve-component retired pay but for the fact that they are under 60 years of age. (2) Participants in the plan.— The Plan applies to the following persons, who shall be participants in the Plan: (A) Standard annuity participants.— A person who is eligible to participate in the Plan under paragraph (1)(A) and who is married or has a dependent child when he becomes entitled to retired pay, unless he elects (with his spouse’s concurrence, if required under paragraph (3)) not to participate in the Plan before the first day for which he is eligible for that pay. (B) Reserve-component annuity participants.— A person who (i) is eligible to participate in the Plan under paragraph (1)(B), and (ii) is married or has a dependent child when he is notified under section 12731(d) of this title that he has completed the years of service required for eligibility for reserve-component retired pay, unless the person elects (with his spouse’s concurrence, if required under paragraph (3)) not to participate in the Plan before the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date on which he receives that notification. A person who elects under subparagraph (B) not to participate in the Plan remains eligible, upon reaching 60 years of age and otherwise becoming entitled to retired pay, to participate in the Plan in accordance with eligibility under paragraph (1)(A). (3) Elections.— (A) Spousal consent for certain elections respecting standard annuity.— A married person who is eligible to provide a standard annuity may not without the concurrence of the person’s spouse elect— (i) not to participate in the Plan; (ii) to provide an annuity for the person’s spouse at less than the maximum level; or (iii) to provide an annuity for a dependent child but not for the person’s spouse. (B) Spousal consent for certain elections respecting reserve-component annuity.— A married person who is eligible to provide a reserve-component annuity may not without the concurrence of the person’s spouse elect— (i) not to participate in the Plan; (ii) to designate under subsection (e)(2) the effective date for commencement of annuity payments under the Plan in the event that the member dies before becoming 60 years of age to be the 60th anniversary of the member’s birth (rather than the day after the date of the member’s death); (iii) to provide an annuity for the person’s spouse at less than the maximum level; or (iv) to provide an annuity for a dependent child but not for the person’s spouse. (C) Exception when spouse unavailable.— A person may make an election described in subparagraph (A) or (B) without the concurrence of the person’s spouse if the person establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary concerned— (i) that the spouse’s whereabouts cannot be determined; or (ii) that, due to exceptional circumstances, requiring the person to seek the spouse’s consent would otherwise be inappropriate. (D) Construction with former spouse election provisions.— This paragraph does not affect any right or obligation to elect to provide an annuity for a former spouse (or for a former spouse and dependent child) under subsection (b)(2). (E) Notice to spouse of election to provide former spouse annuity.— If a married person who is eligible to provide a standard annuity elects to provide an annuity for a former spouse (or for a former spouse and dependent child) under subsection (b)(2), that person’s spouse shall be notified of that election. (4) Irrevocability of elections.— (A) Standard annuity.— An election under paragraph (2)(A) is irrevocable if not revoked before the date on which the person first becomes entitled to retired pay. (B) Reserve-component annuity...

    7 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

Also cites: 10 U.S.C. § 1450

How this bill changes current law

11 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill eliminates the requirement to reduce survivor annuities under the Survivor Benefit Plan by the amount of veterans' dependency and indemnity compensation.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 1450

    (c)

    This removes the requirement for offsetting survivor annuities with dependency and indemnity compensation.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 1451

    paragraph (2)

    This eliminates a provision regarding certain adjustments to survivor annuities.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 1450

    (e)

    This removes the section on refunds from retired pay or CRSC in relation to reductions.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 1450

    (k)

    This eliminates a provision related to the administrative processes for survivor benefits.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 1450

    (m)

    This removes a redundant provision concerning benefits eligibility.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 1451(g)(1)

    subparagraph (C)

    This takes away specific limitations on payments or benefits related to survivor annuities.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 1452

    subsection (g)

    This removes another section affecting financial interactions with the survivor benefits.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 1455

    , 1450(k)(2),

    This takes out references to the repealed provisions in other parts of the law.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 1448(d)

    ``Except as provided in paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary concerned'' → ``The Secretary concerned''

    This clarifies the Secretary's authority over dependent children annuity eligibility.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 1448(d)(2)

    ``Dependent children.--'' and all that follows through ``In the case of a member described in paragraph (1),'' → ``Dependent children annuity when no eligible surviving spouse.--In the case of a member described in paragraph (1)''

    This modifies the conditions for dependent children to receive annuities when there is no eligible surviving spouse.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 1448(d)(2)

    subparagraph (B)

    This removes the provision that allowed for transferring payments to children under certain conditions.

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 546 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (546)

546 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

taxation veterans
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 339 do?
Military Widow's Tax Elimination Act of 2017 This bill repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or who would be entitled to such pay, except for being under 60 years of age. The Department of Defense is prohibited from recouping certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. The bill requires (current law authorizes) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. The Secretary concerned shall restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to the surviving child or children of a member.
Who sponsors S 339?
S 339 is sponsored by Nelson, Bill (Democratic).
What is the current status of S 339?
This bill died with 115th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track S 339?
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