MOAA's top legislative goals for 2019 will be featured in an upcoming edition of Military Officer magazine, which is available to MOAA Life and Premium members. Here's a preview of one key issue; see the links below for the rest, including ways you can make your voice heard.

The Goal: End financial penalties for military survivors.

Background: Nearly 67,000 military survivors lose between $900 and $1,500 per month due to the widows tax. The widows tax is the amount of Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) payment offset by Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC).

MOAA's Stance: SBP and DIC are two different payments for two different reasons. The offset should be eliminated, and DIC should be improved to align with other federal survivor benefits. Additionally, survivors' and dependents' educational assistance benefits should be increased.

Actions: Ensure legislation is introduced in the 116th Congress to address survivor benefits. Educate legislators, staffers, and other stakeholders about the inequities. Mobilize MOAA members and The Military Coalition to engage and press for legislation to be included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

[TAKE ACTION: Visit MOAA's Legislative Action Center]

More key goals:

• Ensure any TRICARE reform sustains access to top-quality care.
• Prevent disproportional TRICARE fee increases
• Sustain military pay comparability with the private sector.
• Stop erosion of compensation and non-pay quality-of-life benefits.
• End concurrent receipt penalties for military retirees.
• Achieve equity of benefits for Guard and Reserve members with their active duty counterparts.
• Strengthen DoD-VA collaboration and services to support wounded warriors and an expanding population of women veterans.
• Ensure timely access to service-earned VA benefits.
• Protect military and veteran family support programs and policies.