Report of Existence Requirements for Military Retirees and Survivors Annuitants

An advance decision was requested as to whether the report of existence requirement for military retirees and survivor annuitants whose checks are mailed to a foreign address and delivered through foreign postal channels may be changed from a monthly to a semiannual basis. The purpose of requiring retired members and annuitants to complete reports of existence is to prevent the military agency from continuing payments to deceased individuals. However, several military retirees living overseas have undergone hardships because of delays in receiving their retirement pay. No problems were reported with the "month behind" reporting procedure regarding the return of checks for the month of death, and the importance of immediately reporting the death of a military retiree or annuitant has been widely publicized. The proposed change would reduce the administrative costs involved in making the payments while continuing to provide protection to the Government. Accordingly, GAO had no objection to the proposed change.