Request for an Annuity

An advance decision was requested concerning the propriety of commencing annuity payments for the widow of a retired Navy commander under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). The question was whether an individual who marries a retired Navy member and was married to him less than 1 year at the time he disappeared may be considered his widow for the purposes of receiving the annuity under the SBP. After his marriage, the commander submitted an SBP election to provide an annuity for his spouse in the event of his death. The merchant vessel boarded by the commander was never heard from again, and all persons aboard were subsequently considered missing and presumed dead. The circuit court of Hawaii entered an order establishing the commanders' date of death to be after the commander's first year of marriage. The petition for SBP was filed in that matter, and the court order was not contained in the file. However, informal discussions with the State Clerk's office indicated that the United States was not a party to the proceedings. In addition, it appeared that the date of death established by the court was based upon a single affidavit, submitted by an individual who knew the commander personally and who voiced his belief that the commander died on that date. However, a person who is married to a retired Navy member for less that 1 year prior to his disappearance may not be considered his widow under SBP even though a State court determined that the date of death was later than the 1 year from the date of marriage. This determination was made because the court's decision was not based upon a full presentation of the facts and because the United States was not a party to that action. The widow's claim was too doubtful to allow because there were no facts showing that the husband was alive after the disappearance of the ship on which he was sailing less that 10 months after the marriage. Accordingly, the claimant was not entitled to an SBP annuity.