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If you are the spouse of a Servicemember, your role is just as important as your spouse’s service to the country. The family, spouses, and loved ones of Servicemembers are critical in helping the Servicemember maintain a healthy work-life balance, give support in times of hardship, and overall well-being. Military spouses are a community unto themselves of people who support those who have committed to serve the country in the most profound way possible. Military spouses are considered a vital part of the military itself and play an important role in keeping Servicemembers ready to serve, healthy, and happy. For this reason, the country recognizes the role of military spouses and families by including them in many military benefits and resources. You have entitlement to education assistance, career support, some medical services, financial benefits, and much more as a military spouse. Depending on your spouse’s role in the military, you may have to pay a stipend or copayment for some of these services and specific military spouse benefits, or you may not. Read on to learn more.
Understanding Military Spouse Benefits
Your spouse’s career in the military will not be like other traditional jobs. There are many times in which you will spend time apart from your spouse, as they are honor bound to complete their duty, even when those responsibilities might conflict with their responsibilities to their families. Outside of regular deployment, Servicemembers often face shift work, unconventional hours, and temporary duty stations. Some training programs may necessitate work during significant holidays and life events, often preventing Servicemembers from attending their children’s births. This will have an impact on their feelings, the balance between duty and family, and military traditions and protocol are often incorporated into your family life. In recognition of the sacrifices that military families often make, the military seeks to make life easier and more fulfilling for the dependents of Servicemembers. Just as you play a central role in supporting your spouse through service times, the military also plans to support you.
So what military spouse benefits does the military provide for families and spouses? Many military spouses find that they can pursue a career that allows them to move with the military if necessary. Many spouses work on base in civilian roles or pursue jobs that allow them to work from home, thus making their own careers portable. The military supports spouses in pursuing training and licensing, degrees and certifications, in these fields, and many other occupations. Some of these occupations include teaching and childcare, event planning, engineering, nursing, and customer service. Military spouses also qualify for federal jobs and positions that allow them to move from base to base.
Other benefits include scholarship support and financial assistance to pay for college and other certifications. One of these programs is the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities Program.
Military spouses also qualify for healthcare, especially through the TRICARE system, which allows them to receive regular checkups, care, and other procedures in VA clinics and hospitals. Most of these TRICARE programs come with a copayment or annual stipend, but it is still considerably less than private insurance. The children of service members also qualify for certain education and healthcare programs. Many universities, including National University, the American Military universities, and civilian universities, offer Military Spouse Scholarships, which you can read more about at this link. Military spouse scholarships, such as the “My Career Advancement Account Scholarship Program”, or MyCAA, is a workforce development program that provides financial assistance to military spouses in workforce development programs, or in pursuing an associates degree, or licensure towards a particular field of employment or occupation.
With regards to family support and military spouse benefits, the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs provided by the military also offer many support services for military families. Some of these are:
- Branch-specific family readiness groups
- On-base military family support centers
- Childcare and daycare on base or reimbursement in civilian facilities are available.
- Access to libraries
- Access to recreation complexes
- There are vacation opportunities and resorts specifically designed for military personnel, such as Shades of Green at Disney World.
How to Access Military Spouse Benefits
There are many ways to access your Veterans Affairs spouse benefits, either in person or online. Most military installations have resource officers and agents who can sit down with you and explain these in person, so if you want a face-to-face consultation, check out your local installation’s MWR office. If you wish to access these resources online, check out the links below:
- MyCAA
- MWR
- Travel Benefits
- TRICARE VA healthcare
- Home and auto insurance coverage through USAA
- VA Home Loans
- Life insurance
- Tax benefits
- Education opportunities
- Career counseling
- Housing and basic allowance for housing
- Childcare support
- Benefits for widowed spouses
Your service member spouse or family member must register with the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) and list you as a dependent before you can begin accessing any military spouse benefits. Once completed, you receive a Uniform Services ID (USID) card, which is necessary to access most military spouse benefits. In order to have the card issued to you, you must first visit a Real Time Automated Personal Identification System (RAPIDS) office. You must have your marriage license, birth certificate, Social Security card, and current photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport, when you go to get your USID card. This link will help you find your nearest office.
Frequently Asked Questions About Military Spouse Benefits
In order to be eligible to access Military spouse benefits, you must be legally married to a Servicemember enrolled in the DEERS database with you listed as a dependent. You can access these benefits as soon as you are officially married. Enrolling you in the database might take up to a few days or a few weeks.
You are eligible if you are the spouse of an active-duty member of the armed forces, the spouse of the service member who is disabled due to a service-connected injury, or the spouse of a service member killed while on active duty. You will no longer be eligible for benefits if you remarry.
In order to be eligible to access Military spouse benefits, you must be legally married to a Servicemember enrolled in the DEERS database with you listed as a dependent. You can access these benefits as soon as you are officially married. Enrolling you in the database might take up to a few days or a few weeks.
You are eligible if you are the spouse of an active-duty member of the armed forces, the spouse of the service member who is disabled due to a service-connected injury, or the spouse of a service member killed while on active duty. You will no longer be eligible for benefits if you remarry.
Some military pay is exempt from taxation, and if you meet the requirements of the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, both spouses are subject to income and property tax in their home state, but SVP benefits to survivors are taxed based on survivor income. Payments to military members, such as their salary, are not subject to Social Security or Medicare taxes. To learn more about military benefits from taxes, click here.
Of course, there are many online resources for military spouses, but you should also look into resources in your local community. Your local VA office and clinic can help put you in contact with local support groups and resources, and social media groups for local service member families are a wonderful place to start. Libraries frequently keep local organization and group contact information, including military and civilian support groups like the Wounded Warrior Project. Military One Source also has lists of regional military support networks.
Much depends on the reason for the denial. The first step is to update your and your spouse’s DEERS information. You should ensure that you have a current USID card and that all information on your state-issued ID is also correct. If you are a new applicant and were denied benefits, you can visit your military installation’s resource office and speak in person with an agent. Once you ensure that your information is correct in the DEERS system and you have all the appropriate documentation proving that you are legally married to a Servicemember, filing an appeal or reapplying usually corrects the problem.
Veterans Affairs spouse benefits do allow for military family coverage under the TRICARE system. TRICARE provides comprehensive health coverage, prescription plans, and dental plans. Those who do not qualify for TRICARE but are the surviving spouse or child of a Veteran with disabilities or one who died in the line of duty are eligible for the Civilian Health and Medical Program with the Department of Veteran Affairs, which covers some health care services and supplies.
