THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 6, 1995 TAG: 9512050307
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MELISSA GUNDEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Is it true that if my husband passes away after he retires the retirement checks cease for me, whereas if we were divorced the checks would keep coming?
Retirement checks cease for the spouse or the ex-spouse unless the military member elected to sign up for the Survivor Benefit Plan, a low-cost annuity program available to all regular and reserve retirees. It's based on 55 percent of the member's retired pay. Enrollment technically begins before retirement. Ex-spouses are eligible for benefits at the same cost as spouses, too. For more information, you can call the Navy Finance Center in Cleveland, which can answer your questions about retirement pay and Survivior Benefit Plan annuities, at 1-800-321-1080.
Can you tell me if Newport News is building the Ronald Reagan?
Yes, the aircraft carrier is being built at Newport News Shipbuilding. Completion plans are expected in the year 2002.
I am in the reserves. Can I get an ID card for my daughter?
You probably can as long as she is under 21 and not married. You can also obtain one if she is 23 and is a full-time student and depends on you for more than half of her support. If she meets these guidelines, you can get the card from your unit's personnel official. You will probably need certain documents such as a birth certificate or a photocopy to prove eligibility. ID cards are also available to unmarried children whose physical or mental impairments cause them to depend on the military member for more than half their support.
I was wondering about the fleet submarines that used to be in Norfolk, specifically the USS Cubera (342).
The Cubera was transferred to Venezuela on Jan. 5, 1972. It was scrapped seven years later.
I need the address to the Servicemen's Group Life Insurance.
The address is 213 Washington Street, Newark, N.J. 07102-2999. The number is 1 (800) 419-1473.
CLARIFICATION: In my last column, I answered a question about the miscellaneous auxiliary Biddle (AG-114). Many of you called in and said I had the wrong decomissioning date. The original caller was interested in the destroyer Biddle, which was later reclassified as a miscellaneous auxiliary. However, I failed to put the ship's hull number next to it. Those of you who did call were correct - the guided-missile cruiser Biddle was decomissioned in 1993. Sorry for the confusion. by CNB