Military Personnel: Survivor Benefits for Servicemembers and Federal, State, and City Government Employees

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 noted that it was the sense of the Congress that "the sacrifices made by the members of the Armed Forces are significant and are worthy of meaningful expressions of gratitude by the United States, especially in cases of sacrifice through loss of life." In addition to offering expressions of gratitude, the government offers a variety of benefits, including Social Security benefits, to survivors of servicemembers who die while on active duty. GAO was asked to address two questions: (1) To what extent are the survivor benefits provided to servicemembers different from those provided to federal, state, and city government employees in general and (2) To what extent do federal, state, and city governments supplement their general survivor benefits for employees in high-risk occupations?