[Request for Advance Decision on Survivor Benefit Plan Deductions]

A retired naval officer requested the discontinuation of deductions from his retired pay for the cost of spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan. The basis for this request was that he had no eligible spouse beneficiary because his wife elected to receive military survivor benefits from her previous marriage, and she could only receive one annuity. GAO found that deductions from the officer's retired pay must continue because: (1) his wife was legally a potential beneficiary and, therefore, eligible for his surviving benefits; and (2) she would not be precluded by law from receiving an entitled annuity until that annuity had vested and she elected to continue receiving another benefit.