U.S. to boost death payouts to families

[Neil D]

[:"blue"] While I think that this is a good idea, I question the amount. Especially when concidering our current debt problems. Instead of increasing the payout 10 times, why not just 3 times the amount? Oh, well....I am a scrooge...[/]

February 1, 2005

BY ROBERT BURNS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush plans to propose a dramatic increase to $250,000 in government payments to families of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and in future combat zones.

The plan to increase the tax-free so-called death gratuity, now $12,420, to $100,000 and provide an extra $150,000 in life insurance payouts will be part of the 2006 budget proposal submitted to Congress next week, David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in an interview last week. Chu is to unveil the full proposal in congressional testimony today.

Veterans groups and many in Congress have been pushing for such an increase in the death gratuity.

Under the proposal, the $250,000 coverage offered to all service members at a subsidized rate under the Servicemen's Group Life Insurance program would be raised to $400,000, and for troops in a combat zone the government would pay the premiums on the extra $150,000 coverage.

Chu said the extra life-insurance coverage and the higher death gratuity would be retroactive to Oct. 7, 2001, the date the United States launched its invasion of Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who is sponsoring a bill encompassing Bush's proposal, says the first-year cost of the increased benefits would be $459 million.

death payout

[Dr. Shane]

Bush just can't please some people. Now matter what he does it just isn't right.

[bevin]

This is an interesting situation.

How should a society decide what is the right level of insurance to carry on a soldier?

When I decide how much I should carry, I settled on enough to

pay for

• the mortgage on the house
• my kids to go through college
• my wife to get a career under way

That comes out at around $250K + $75K*3 + $30K = $500K

Now the soldier's do get a mixture of (a) gov purchased insurance, plus ( their own purchased insurance. It does seem the new proposal is in the right ball-park, and I was surprised at how far below that the current payments are.

/Bevin