How to read the maps
Columns split one-time payments from monthly income. Rows split what arrives tax-free from what is taxed. The one-time, tax-free box is money to hold steady while you decide. The monthly boxes are your income plan. The taxed row is where planning can meaningfully change what you actually keep. Amounts marked to confirm depend on your family's specific record.
Map one: After a military death
Timing →Taxed ↓
One-timeA single payment
MonthlyOngoing income
Not taxed
Death Gratuity
$100,000
Paid by DoD within days, to the people named on the DD-93.
Life Insurance (SGLI)
Up to $500,000
Coverage is automatic at the maximum unless reduced; confirm the elected amount and beneficiary.
Burial and Memorial
Provided
Funeral, transportation, national cemetery plot, headstone, and flag at no cost.
Social Security Death Payment
$255
One-time; claim within two years.
Dependency and Indemnity CompensationFoundation
$1,699.36 base + $421.00 per child (2026)
Flat-rate, tax-free, from the VA. A transitional addition applies for the first two years with children under 18. Continues for life; see the remarriage rules in the guide.
Housing Allowance (BAH)
Continues 365 days
One full year, whether you stay or move.
Taxed
Final Pay and Unused Leave
To confirm
The last paycheck plus a leave payout, through DFAS.
Thrift Savings Plan
To confirm
Passes to the TSP beneficiary. Traditional money is taxed as withdrawn; Roth money is not. Where it lives next affects when you can access it.
Survivor Benefit PlanOften largest
55% of the retired pay base
Automatic and cost-free for an active-duty death; the amount depends on rank and years of service. Paid in full alongside DIC; the old offset is gone.
Social Security Survivor Benefits
To confirm
For the children, and for you while caring for a child under 16. Partly taxed depending on total income. Stacks on top of the military benefits.
Full explanations, current figures, and the decision points live in the military survivor guide.
Map two: after a federal civilian employee's death
Timing →Taxed ↓
One-timeA single payment
MonthlyOngoing income
Not taxed
Life Insurance (FEGLI)
To confirm
Basic coverage tied to salary plus any elected options, and often an added accidental-death benefit. Paid to the FEGLI beneficiary, generally tax-free.
FECA Death Gratuity
Up to $100,000
Only when the death was connected to service with the Armed Forces in a contingency operation. Related gratuities count toward the same total.
Social Security Death Payment
$255
One-time; claim within two years.
Workers' Compensation (FECA)Often largest
45–50% of pay + 15% per child, capped at 75%
When the death was in the performance of duty. Tax-free, cost-of-living adjusted, and frequently the family's main income. File Form CA-5 early.
Taxed
FERS Basic Employee Death Benefit
50% of salary + $43,800.53 (deaths after 12/1/2025)
Lump sum, 36 installments, or rollover to an IRA. The choice changes the tax result; decide with the tax picture in view.
Final Pay and Unused Leave
To confirm
Claimed through the employing agency on SF-1153.
Thrift Savings Plan
To confirm
Passes to the TSP beneficiary; traditional money taxed as withdrawn, Roth money not.
FERS Survivor Annuity
50% of the earned annuity
Only if the employee had at least ten years of creditable service. A separate children's annuity is usually offset by Social Security, often to zero.
Social Security Survivor Benefits
To confirm
For the children, and for you while caring for a child under 16. Partly taxed depending on total income.
Full explanations, the ten-year rule, and the health-coverage decision live in the federal civilian guide.
A note on money raised for you
If friends or your community raise money for your family, that money is generally treated as personal gifts, which means it is not taxed as income, and it does not reduce the benefits above, since none of them are based on your savings. Keep a simple record of the fundraiser and how the money is used, and if any of it came from an employer rather than from individuals, set that portion aside for your accountant to review, because employer-sourced payments can follow different rules.
Glossary: programs and agencies
| Short form | Full name | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| CAO | Casualty Assistance Officer | The person the military assigns to guide your family and file most claims with you. Your first call. |
| DoD / DFAS | Department of Defense / Defense Finance and Accounting Service | DFAS is the pay office: it issues the death gratuity, the Survivor Benefit Plan annuity, and final military pay. |
| VA | Department of Veterans Affairs | Pays DIC, education benefits, and burial benefits; also stands behind SGLI. |
| SGLI | Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance | Military life insurance, up to $500,000, paid tax-free to the named beneficiary. |
| DIC | Dependency and Indemnity Compensation | The flat-rate, tax-free monthly benefit from the VA. The foundation of a military survivor's income. |
| SBP | Survivor Benefit Plan | The taxable monthly annuity from DFAS, 55 percent of the retired pay base. Paid in full alongside DIC. |
| TRICARE | Military health program | Coverage continues: three years at active-duty family rates for a spouse, then retiree rates; children stay at active-duty family status until they age out. |
| BAH | Basic Allowance for Housing | The housing allowance, which continues for 365 days after an active-duty death. |
| Fry / DEA | Fry Scholarship / Dependents' Educational Assistance | The two VA education programs for survivors. A spouse eligible for both chooses one, permanently. |
| OPM | Office of Personnel Management | The federal civilian retirement agency: it pays the FERS death benefit and survivor annuities and manages FEHB continuation. |
| FERS | Federal Employees Retirement System | The civilian retirement system. Source of the Basic Employee Death Benefit and the survivor annuity. |
| BEDB | Basic Employee Death Benefit | The FERS lump-sum benefit: half the salary plus a COLA-adjusted flat amount. Taxable, with a payout election to make. |
| FECA | Federal Employees' Compensation Act | Federal workers' compensation. When the death was duty-related, its monthly tax-free benefit is often the largest of all. |
| FEGLI | Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance | The federal civilian life insurance program, administered by MetLife. Claimed on Form FE-6. |
| FEHB | Federal Employees Health Benefits | Federal civilian health coverage. Survivors can often continue it; once dropped, it is hard to get back. |
| TSP | Thrift Savings Plan | The federal retirement savings plan, like a 401(k). It passes to the beneficiary on file with the TSP itself. |
| TAPS | Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors | A national nonprofit offering peer support and guidance to military survivors at no cost. taps.org. |
Glossary: Social Security terms
| Term | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Survivor benefit | Monthly Social Security paid on the deceased's earnings record: to each eligible child, and to you while caring for a child under 16, generally 75 percent of the deceased's full benefit each. |
| Family maximum | A cap on the total paid on one person's record, roughly 150 to 180 percent of the full benefit. When the family is at the cap, adding a benefit for you may not increase the household total, which is why you ask for the numbers both ways. |
| Earnings limit | Before your full retirement age, your own benefit is reduced if you work: in 2026, $1 withheld per $2 earned above $24,480. The children's benefits are not reduced by your earnings. |
| Lump-sum death payment | The one-time $255 payment, claimed within two years of the death. |
The forms you will see
| Form | What it does | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| DD-93 | Record of Emergency Data: names who receives the military death gratuity | Already on file; your CAO pulls it |
| SGLV-8283 | Claims the SGLI life insurance | Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance |
| VA 21P-534a | Applies for DIC after an active-duty death | Department of Veterans Affairs, with your CAO's help |
| SF-1174 | Claims final military pay and unused leave | DFAS |
| DD-1300 | Report of Casualty: the official record many claims require | Prepared by the service; keep copies |
| SF 3104 / 3104B | Applies for FERS death benefits and elects how the BEDB is paid | Office of Personnel Management |
| FE-6 | Claims FEGLI life insurance | Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (MetLife) |
| CA-5 | Claims FECA workers' compensation death benefits | Department of Labor, OWCP; file within three years |
| TSP-17 | Reports a TSP participant's death and starts the claim | Thrift Savings Plan |
| SF-1153 | Claims a federal civilian employee's unpaid pay and leave | The employing agency |
How Rose Financial can help
The map shows what exists.
The map shows what exists.
A plan decides how it supports your life.
Once each benefit has a number tied to it, the real questions begin: which income covers which expense, where the lump sums should go, and what will your taxes look like now? These take serious planning to get right. We’re happy to talk you through it, and the first conversation is free of cost and obligation.
Book a ConversationSources
The figures on this page are documented item by item, with links to the official primary sources, in the two guide articles this map summarizes: the military survivor guide and the federal civilian guide. All amounts were verified against those sources in July 2026. DIC rates, the Social Security earnings limit, and the BEDB flat amount adjust annually; confirm current figures with the VA, SSA, and OPM before relying on them.