Service members are getting an extra $100,000 in life insurance coverage as of March 1, 2023, while the Navy is offering more than $100,000 in surface warfare bonuses as the service contemplates new ways to boost retention within the community.
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“MILITARY TIMES” By Karen Jowers
“Troops Will Get An Extra $100,000 In Life Insurance Coverage March 1“
“Service members will automatically receive an extra $100,000 of life insurance coverage as of March 1, increasing the maximum Service members’ Group Life Insurance coverage amount to $500,000.
All service members will automatically get the increased coverage, including those who have previously reduced or declined their Service members’ Group Life Insurance, known as SGLI. The boost in coverage applies to all those eligible for SGLI, including active duty, Guard and reserve members.
Troops will pay a premium of $31 per month for $500,000 worth of coverage, a $6 increase, which will be deducted from their pay. The monthly SGLI premium is the same regardless of the service member’s age or other factors. Currently, troops pay $25 a month for $400,000 of life insurance coverage. The rate hasn’t changed; the cost is still 6 cents per $1,000 of insurance. SGLI coverage is offered in increments of $50,000.
Also on March 1, the maximum coverage for Veterans’ Group Life Insurance, or VGLI, is also increasing to $500,000, up $100,000 from the current $400,000. That is not automatic. Eligible veterans must request it.
The Department of Veterans Affairs will now be providing $1.45 trillion of life insurance coverage, making it the 12th largest group life insurer in the United States, said Daniel Keenaghan, executive director of the VA insurance service. The VA administers both the SGLI and VGLI insurance programs.
This is the first time the SGLI coverage amount has increased since 2005.
“This is going to help support our service members and veterans protect those who matter most,” Keenaghan said during a media roundtable. “As costs have increased, we are increasing our overall life insurance coverage correspondingly.”
All monthly SGLI premiums include $1 for TSGLI. Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection provides short-term financial support to help eligible service members recover from a severe injury such as loss of limb or a variety of other injuries. As before, SGLI also includes $10,000 of coverage for the service member’s dependent children at no extra cost. There is no change to the coverage amounts for the separate program called Family SGLI, which provides extra life insurance for spouses and children.
Service members leaving the military on or after March 1 who had the maximum SGLI coverage can purchase VGLI coverage up to $500,000. Veterans under age 60 who currently have $400,000 maximum VGLI coverage will be able to purchase additional coverage, in increments of $25,000, at specified anniversary dates.
Currently, 88% of service members have the maximum amount of SGLI coverage at $400,000, according to Keenaghan. That includes 95% of active duty service members and 73% of reservists.
Automatically including active, Guard and reserve members in the new coverage maximum allows everyone to get the insurance without medical underwriting, even if they previously reduced or declined coverage. If active duty service members want to decline or reduce their new coverage, they can do so starting March 1, using the SGLI Online Enrollment System. Reservists with part-time SGLI coverage who want to decline or reduce their coverage should use Form SGLV 8286 and provide it to their personnel office.
Troops must do this before the end of March in order to avoid paying the monthly premium of $31 for the coverage.”
“NAVY TIMES” By Diana Stancy Correll
“Navy Reveals Bonuses It’s Offering To Retain Surface Warfare Officers“
“The Navy is offering more than $100,000 in surface warfare bonuses as the service contemplates new ways to boost retention within the community.
Active duty officers could earn as much as $105,000 to become SWO department heads, while active duty lieutenant commander SWOs may earn up to $46,000 after signing on for another three years — the same amounts offered to officers last year, according to Navy data.
“SWO lieutenant junior grades will have the opportunity to commit to [a department head retention bonus] as early as their 3rd year of commissioned service (YCS-3) anniversary date if screened on their first look for DH,” according to new naval administrative messages. “The service obligation incurred by a DHRB will begin no earlier than the officer’s minimum service requirement.”
Those screened for department head on their first look are eligible for the $105,000 bonus, which will be issued in several increments, depending on when the agreement is signed.
For example, those with four years of commissioned service will receive an initial payment of $20,000, another payment of $10,000, followed by five $15,000 increments annually. However, those with six years of commissioned service will receive three $25,000 payments and two $15,000 payments.
“Total compensation is reduced if the DHRB contract is not signed prior to YCS-6 for first-look screeners, YCS-7 for second-look screeners, and YCS-8 for third-look screeners,” the NAVADMIN said.
Those eligible for the department head retention bonus must be active duty, and have already served at least one division officer tour or be assigned to a fleet-up or single longer tour billet. They also must agree to complete at least two afloat department head tours, or a single longer department head tour.
For lieutenant commanders with at least 11 years of service and no more than 12, the Navy is offering active duty SWOs $22,000 on the second anniversary of their promotion to that rank. An additional $12,000 will be issued on the third and fourth anniversaries as well. Reserve officers will receive the bonuses on that schedule, but will only receive $12,000 on the second anniversary of their lieutenant commander promotion, for a total of $36,000 to remain in the service.
Historically, SWOs depart their community at higher rates than their peers in the submarine and aviation communities, according to a Government Accountability Office report from 2021.
But Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, commander of Naval Surface Forces, said retention is improving within the SWO community and that the service is considering several options to continue that trend.
Retention among SWOs remains at approximately 34% to 35% among officers with three to eight years of service — up from a 30% percent retention rate roughly 20 years ago.
Kitchener said that bonuses facilitated retention initially, but that growth has stagnated as of late. As a result, the Navy is considering developing other options like self-selectivity, leadership development, and a culture of mentoring and coaching.
“We’ve been thinking about how do we put into place more self-selectivity at our sessions for SWO candidates,” Kitchener told reporters in January. “The other communities have their test they do and some other things, so we’re exploring some options on that, the idea being okay, this person, this is what a SWO does. This is what we think the capabilities are that you have to have in the mindset. And so you’re bringing people in that are really wedded to doing it.”
Kitchener’s goal is to reach a 35% or 36% SWO retention rate in 2023. Still, he acknowledged that the long-term impact of COVID-19 and the resulting lengthy deployments may lead to a decrease in SWO retention over the next couple of years.”
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