Whether or not you keep your military benefits will be determined by how long you were married, as well as a few other factors.

In most cases, spouses of service members lose their military benefits after a divorce. This means they are no longer entitled to base housing, a housing allowance, commissary privileges, post exchange privileges, and on-base medical care.

There are a couple situations where you can keep your spouse's military benefits, but there are very specific criteria involved.

The first situation is the 20/20/20 Rule, and if former spouses meet these criteria, the service member's former spouse is entitled to full military benefits. To qualify:

  • You must have been married for at least 20 years; and
  • The servicemember must have had at least 20 years of creditable service; and
  • There must have been at least a 20-year overlap between the marriage and the military service.

The second situation is called the 20/20/15 Rule, and if former spouses meet these criteria, the former spouse of the service member is entitled to one year of transitional medical benefits. Note that this does not include any other military benefits aside from medical coverage. To qualify:

  • You must have been married for at least 20 years; and
  • The servicemember must have had at least 20 years of creditable service; and
  • There must have been at least a 15-year overlap between the marriage and the military service.

Even if one spouse does not have a military pension, he/she may still have a Roth IRA or independent brokerage account that may need to be divided.  Talk to an attorney, so that you know which questions to ask.  

H. Van Smith
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Trusted Virginia Attorney Serving Richmond to Williamsburg