The USFSPA is a law Congress enacted in 1982 to provide benefits to certain former spouses of military members. It allows state courts to divide disposable military retired pay as marital property upon divorce under certain circumstances. Disposable military retired pay is a soldier’s monthly retired pay minus qualified deductions.
The USFSPA, does not establish a right to any specific amount of retirement pay that a former spouse may be awarded in a divorce settlement. The decision whether to award retirement pay is solely in the discretion of the state court and the amount awarded will vary.
What benefits are available under the USFSPA?
The other benefits available depend on the former spouse's "category".
A spouse that passes the 20/20/20 test (the military member has completed at least 20 years of creditable service; the spouse has been married to the military member for at least 20 years at date of final decree of divorce; and the period of marriage overlaps the period of creditable service by at least 20 years) can receive commissary and PX privileges and full medical benefits. These benefits will be suspended if the spouse remarries; however, they will be revived if the subsequent marriage is terminated.
A 20/20/15 spouse (at least 15 years of overlap between the marriage and the creditable service) may be entitled to full military medical benefits for a one-year period after which the spouse may purchase a DoD-negotiated conversion health policy. These benefits will be suspended if the spouse remarries and will not be revived unless the subsequent marriage is annulled.
Former spouses of military members or retirees may have additional benefits under the Survivor’s Benefit Plan (SBP), certain separation incentive programs, and in certain domestic abuse situations.
For more information, see one or more of these:
MAJ Bradley’s Calling for a Truce on the Military Divorce Battlefield: A Proposal to Amend the USFSPA (PDF Format) article in the June Military Law Review is worth the read for a review of the FSPA’s history, positions and suggestions for changing the FSPA, and proposed changes to the FSPA, “including an explanation of each problem, proposed changes, and factors that Congress must consider before enacting each revision.”
Take-1, Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (Common Questions & Answers); Legal Eagle: Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (Common Questions & Answers). North Carolina Legal Assistance for Military Personnel:
Former Spouse's Military Benefits Under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act chart.
Useful information on this issue can be found on the Defense Finance and Accounting Service Website at http://www.dfas.mil/money/garnish/
Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act Resources:
http://www.dfas.mil/money/garnish/index.htm, DFAS Fact Sheet/Q&As, Application for Former Spouse Payments from Retired Pay
http://www.odcsper.army.mil/default.asp?pageid=16f, scroll down for FSPA information
http://www.odcsper.army.mil/Directorates/retire/former_spouses_protection_act/Default.asp, Retirement Services Office FSPA information
http://www.americanretirees.com/others.htm, a “What others say” page with links to other comments on the FSPA. From The American Retirees Association, http://www.americanretirees.com/index.htm, founded in 1984 for the exclusive purpose of addressing inequities in the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA), Public Law 97-252 (Title 10 USC 1408).