[Determination of SBP Offset Amount]

The Army Finance Center requested an advance decision regarding the calculation of the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity for the widow of a retired Air Force officer. The Army advised that it was currently offsetting the widow's SBP annuity by the portion of the railroad survivor annuity she also received that constituted the decedent's social security benefits. GAO held that the applicable laws and regulations required the offset of the widow's SBP annuity by the social security benefits she received. Accordingly, the Army could offset the SBP annuity by the amount of the widow's received social security benefits.