The Survivor Benefit Plan: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

Abstract

Investing for one's future is a concern for the majority of military retirees. Service members have more choices than their civilian counterparts when planning for retirement. One alternative available to military members is the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), which allows retirees to provide for their family's welfare in the event of their untimely death. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the cost effectiveness of SBP in comparison to other insurance or investment options. This paper provides an overview of SBP and possible alternatives. Additionally, a mathematical model has been constructed that conducts a cost-benefit analysis of SBP and alternatives to determine the most beneficial course of action for future retirees. Our major conclusion is that SBP is the most attractive available option only if the military member expects to live for a sufficiently long period and also expects his (or her) spouse to outlive him by a significant amount. However, this result is sensitive to rate of inflation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA475889

Entities

People

  • Scott E. Beatty
  • Theo King

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Business Administration
  • Civilian Personnel
  • Cost Benefit Analysis
  • Costs
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Veterans Affairs
  • Insurance
  • Investments
  • Mathematical Models
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Personnel
  • Models
  • Money
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Public Policy
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Readers

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