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April 23, 2023 - Stew Peters Show
57:41
Forgotten Heroes: The Struggle for Veteran Benefits for Spouses and Family Members
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Time Text
Thank you.
Thank you.
When the men and women who have chose to serve this country pass on to environmental issues, acts of God, or issues that have anything to do with their service, most people think that the ones that we leave or issues that have anything to do with their service, most people think that the ones that we leave behind are well And to be completely honest, I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure I'm not a thousand percent sure how any of it works or if any of that's true.
So today I've chosen to have our friend Tori on to talk to us about what it is that my family or any other veteran's family may be able to receive as far as survivor benefits go.
So stick with us.
Don't go away.
We start now Hey everybody and welcome here to the next installment of the Richard Leonard show As always, I want to thank you for being here.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate any of you that are watching, listening, or just have us on in the background and pick up a little bit here and there of what is talked about on the program.
Before we get started with Tori, of course, I know you're not going to mind me telling you about how this show is made possible like we do every week, and that is Cortez Wealth Management.
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He wants to help you.
Carlos is an America First fiduciary who just wants to have people who believe in the system I think one of the biggest misconceptions in our communities is when our veterans or soldiers pass away
That their families are very well taken care of.
After all, the motto of the VA is, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and orphan.
And in fact, those words are etched in to the concrete foundation of the VA building in Washington, D.C. So, without further ado, let's get Tori in here.
And hello, Ms.
Tori, how are you today?
Hello.
Thank you for coming back and having more conversation with us.
Let's dive in.
Just this month, I turned 41 years old.
Let's just say something happens to me, and I am a 90% service-connected veteran.
I'm medically retired from the United States Army.
What is the possibility of my family receiving any kind of benefit from my passing?
Should it happen now or in 30 years?
Is there a way to prepare them for that?
Yes and no.
One of the things that our military and our civilian community, population, whatever you want to refer to it as, our citizenry does not understand all the loopholes and legalities and If-then statements associated with a widow receiving benefits from either a veteran's death or
from active duty death.
In your case, because you are 90% okay, I am not the expert Let me just put that out there.
There may be a loophole.
There may not be.
There may be something that I'm incorrect on.
Please feel free to correct me in the comments.
However, it is my understanding that as a veteran, you either have to die of something that is service-connected, Or you have to be 100% permanent total disabled rating for 10 years for your spouse to receive any DIC widow's benefits.
DIC stands for what?
That is the dependency and indemnity compensation.
Okay.
Which, think of it like a pension.
Okay, so you've got, in the federal world, you've got a federal pension.
And say you've got someone who works for the post office for 10, 20 years now.
They retire, they start getting their pension.
When they die, their spouse receives 55% of whatever that pension was to help them through the rest of their life.
Because the assumption is a pension is not just for the employee, it is also for the family.
Okay.
All right.
Well, in the military, you've got the SBP, which is paid for every paycheck, which the SBP is the Survivor Benefit Plan, which is an insurance.
If someone who is active duty dies, they get SBP. They also get DIC. DIC is the Dependency Indemnity Compensation.
However...
Our compensation rate is only 43% instead of the 55% that all other federal employees receive.
That's problem number one.
Hold on a second.
So you're telling me that a veteran or member of the military who passes away and their spouse qualifies for any of these benefits, whatever they receive is 43% of what that service member was receiving,
but let's say my local If a letter handler passes away after 20 years of service in the post office, his or her spouse would get 50%?
55.
55%.
So the VA and military rates are a lot lower than civilian rates?
Yes.
Okay.
So you've got that.
That's one thing.
So in my case, because Jay died active duty, I received the SBP, which is an insurance that he paid into, that all active duty pay into.
Then I also received the DIC, which is the 43%.
And that's it for pretty much monthly.
What about some kind of, do you qualify for any kind of health care or anything like that?
Is that a possibility?
Okay, because he died active duty in October of 2018.
I technically get free TRICARE for life.
However, I have to pay, it's a tiny amount, and I'm really not complaining about paying a tiny amount, but I am complaining about paying a tiny amount.
It's only like $300 a year.
Okay.
Anybody who their soldier, sailor, airman, or marine passed away prior to 2018 receives full free, everything free.
So there was some legislation or some law or something that, okay.
Yes.
To be honest, where I am physically located, TRICARE, there's two doctors within 50 miles of me that accept TRICARE. So, yeah.
Well, and you know, I think nationwide, that's an issue.
Finding providers, even dental providers that accept any kind of government, especially military or veterans insurance, is tough because Well, maybe that's a whole other show.
But what I'm trying to say is I feel your pain.
I understand what you're saying.
And I think that most people out there who have TRICARE who are not currently serving anymore or spouses or whatever can completely understand that too because it is a pain.
It is an asshole.
Yeah, it's kind of challenging.
Now, there is a military installation within 50 miles of me, but I can't go to it.
And why is that?
For service members only.
Oh, okay.
They will not do medical care for any dependents, retirees, or surviving spouses.
So, which technically I'm still considered a dependent, but I'm the dependent of a deceased service member.
There's also the VA. I have been told that I might qualify for VA, but I have, to be honest, I have been so busy I haven't even looked into that yet.
So, I think that part of the issue is that there's a lot of benefits and there's a lot of things that Just kind of get all wonky and discombobulated, right?
And the system doesn't seem to make it any easier on people that are in your situation or people that are in my situation as a retired service member because throughout the careers of these service members, they're like, oh, well, my wife is sick, my kids are sick.
Well, I'll just send them to the TMC. They'll get some care.
They'll go home, go back to school, go back to work, whatever.
And then you exit the service, and God forbid you pass away early or from something that you're not expecting.
I mean, we're all going to pass away at some point, but to have these sudden deaths and things, and now your family's just left to figure it out.
I can understand the frustration, and I've got to say, knowing my wife the way I do, she probably would just go, well, screw it, I'll just go anywhere and I'll pay the bill.
And negotiate and blah, blah, blah, and do whatever.
But...
No, you're going to make sure she has my contact information.
And we will raise hell and do what we can.
Oh, she would love that.
She's good at raising hell, I'll tell you.
Babe, I hope you don't watch this one.
But I love you.
Okay, so let's go on.
Okay.
Do you want the list of what an active duty non-combat Gold Star receives?
Yes.
Well, I think that Gold Star families or spouses or however it's broken down, I think that's a very important thing to talk about.
So yes, let's do that.
Okay, so first let me get into, you've got the traditional combat gold star.
That is, you receive a pin that has this beautiful purple background and a gold star in the middle of it.
It is, that is the traditional combat gold star pin.
That is I hate to say honor, but that is considered the highest honor amongst widows.
Okay.
Now, then you've got what is called the next of kinpen, which is what I received because Jay did not die in combat.
Jay was Title 10 Activated National Guard assigned to the Army when he died of toxic exposure-related stomach cancer that was complicated by military medical malpractice and neglect.
That's a whole other show.
Yes.
Once I get my official...
Slaim from the deity.
We'll go into that one later.
But because of that, I get it's a Uh-oh, I think Tori's having technical difficulties.
Oh, there you are.
Okay, so because of that...
Because of that, I have the little...
It's a next-of-kin pen.
Okay.
It's pure gold without the purple background.
That is reserved for anyone that dies while active duty, but not in combat.
Okay.
And that is a huge designator in benefits and tax benefits and all kinds of things.
Wow, really?
I had no idea.
I've seen the two different pins as of late or recently.
I've ran into some Gold Star families.
I wasn't quite sure what the difference was, and I always felt like, well, I Maybe it's okay to ask.
Maybe it's not okay to ask.
So I never did ask.
So I'm really glad that we're having this conversation.
So there's the combat and I guess we'll just say the non-combat pins.
What is the difference as far as survivor benefits goes for you versus somebody else?
When it comes to the US military and the DOD, In many ways, they are treated almost exactly the same.
You still get the military death gratuity.
You get most, if not all, of the funeral covered.
In Jay's case, it didn't cover at all, but that was because he wanted to be buried next to his dad instead of at a veterans cemetery.
Okay.
So, I had to cough up payment for that.
That came out of the death gratuity.
Because he is buried at a private cemetery instead of the VA cemetery, I will not receive the spouse funeral.
Oh boy.
We're lagging.
We're lagging, folks.
So, I think what's important to remember is that until Tori comes back.
Oh, there you are.
Okay, so you will not receive the spouse what?
I will not receive the spouse funeral benefits.
Okay.
Which, normally, if your spouse and your soldier, sailor, airman, or marine died active duty, you have the right to be buried with them at a VA cemetery.
Okay.
But you don't get that if you choose not to use a VA cemetery.
So, does that mean that the government, the VA, or the DOD will not...
I mean, well, they didn't cover Jay's burial, so they're not going to cover yours either when the time comes for you to be laid next to him.
Exactly.
Okay.
All right.
So I've already prepaid mine.
I already got mine taken care of.
Yeah.
Now, there are...
I don't...
I get free medical, but not really.
I still have to pay a yearly fee.
I do not get free dental, free vision, free life insurance.
I do have the ability to utilize the VA home loan.
Well, that's huge.
Now, they won't pay off my home.
Say I had a mortgage out, they give me the ability to assume the mortgage and make the payments as if I were the deceased spouse.
Okay.
What about for refinancing?
They will allow me to use the VA home loan for that also.
Okay.
I appreciate that one.
I haven't had to use it yet, but eventually that might be...
I'm glad to have the option open.
Absolutely.
I do receive survivor benefit plan because Jay paid into it while he was active duty.
I received the VA's DIC, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.
That's the 43% point.
I still receive commissary access, but unless you're close to a base or a post, that's not helpful.
And for folks that don't know, the commissary is like the grocery store or the Walmart, if you will, that is on just about every...
U.S. military base.
Yes.
And you are not charged the traditional tax.
You are charged a percentage fee for using the service.
So that's one of those commissary things most people don't realize.
They're like, it's tax-free!
Yeah, but you're still paying a percentage on items Which is essentially a tax.
And the commissary prices out here are close, are actually more than the local economy.
So it's, I don't ever go there.
Eggs are expensive everywhere for Pete's sake.
Actually, they were running $1.50 more at the commissary than they were at the local grocery store.
Holy cow.
Yeah.
Yikes.
If the time comes and I need full medical care, like a hospice type situation, or assisted living, since I am in Texas and since Jay died active duty,
if I'm over 65 and I have a doctor's note saying that I need skilled nursing care 24 hours a day, I could technically, if space is available, go to one of the local veterans homes.
Well, let me ask you, Tori, how do you feel about that?
I am very thankful that the opportunity, that the option is there.
I don't know if it's something I would ever need.
I don't know if it's something...
I don't know if space will be available at that point.
Right.
Let me explain why I ask you that.
Because what I've run into a lot...
There's a person very close to me, for example, that was a buddy of mine, a very good friend of mine that I served with.
Him and his wife, they weren't having bad issues where they were going to split up, but they decided they needed some counseling together.
And he goes to the VA. In fact, I think he sees the same mental health care provider that I do.
And they recommended, well, why don't you bring your wife in, and she can start seeing this therapist a few times, and then we'll do group counseling together.
And this is not to try to insinuate, Tori, that you need any mental health care, but what I'm trying to get at is...
We do!
But what I'm trying to get at is that I believe that spouses have a hard time using services at the VA because sometimes they feel like it's out of place.
It's not meant for them to be there.
And that they're taking up time, that valuable time that other veterans could be sitting in that chair or like in the case you're describing, using that bed for In a VA home and so I always am interested to hear people's perspectives on that that aren't veterans and when it comes to using veteran services because I believe that when Jay was alive there's
nothing that would have stopped you from taking care of him.
Just like Just about every soldier that I've ever known, sailor, marine, airman, there's not a whole lot that's going to stop them from doing the job in which they've chosen to do.
And so, in my opinion, that makes their service no less than anybody else's.
Just because you weren't in a spot where bullets were flying and mortars were coming in and you didn't see a bunch of combat doesn't mean that your service is less than anybody else's.
And so for you, Tori, I don't think that...
It's my opinion that if it's available to you and you're comfortable going, you absolutely should take advantage of it because There was nothing that was going to stop you from taking care of your husband.
He needed the care.
You loved him dearly and do love him dearly still, I'm sure.
What I'm trying to get at is family served too.
It's not just Jay that served.
You served, right?
You had to support him through his training, through deployments, through active duty stints, and then getting sick and, you know, cleaning up messes maybe from being sick or putting him in a wheelchair and pushing him, feeding him, whatever it is.
So your service, in my opinion, is no less than many other people's service.
And so I know that this was a very long, drawn-out question, but I want you to just stew on it because we have about three seconds left in the segment.
So when we come back, if you could answer it, I think that that'd be a good part of the conversation.
So stick with us, folks.
Don't go away.
We'll be right back.
Hey folks, thanks for joining us here.
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Hey folks, welcome back here to the second segment of the show.
Before we took a break and I dominated the last two minutes on my soapbox, I was asking Tori about how she felt about using VA services.
If she thinks that there is not a problem, but Tori, would you be uncomfortable?
Do you think it's necessary?
Are you okay with it?
What are your feelings on you as the surviving spouse of a veteran slash service member?
And using VA services?
It really depends on, one, the service itself.
And two, I think that the veteran should always come first.
It is the Veterans Administration.
It needs to be the veteran first.
Now, after that, it should be the children should be taken care of, and then it should be the spouses.
Okay.
Now, once a child reaches a certain age and they are considered an adult, then now they need to move out of the way and let then the spouse take the next step up.
Well, and that's an interesting perspective because I don't believe that there's any or many services at all that the VA provides for our children.
So that is an interesting perspective and I don't disagree with you.
But again, I think that our families They serve too.
And so when the time comes for, you know, those of us who have served and we pass away and our spouses or our families need some assistance, I believe that it's appropriate.
So...
It's interesting.
And so I would like to ask somebody, if I ever get the opportunity, why they don't offer any services to our children.
I mean, the ones that I do know of are, excuse me, you know, like my kids can use up what's left of my GI Bill if I move it over to them at the proper time during my service.
So some of the education stuff is really nice.
But...
I guess that's a checks in the mail, work in progress type thing.
I'd much rather they focus on getting the healthcare and everything correct for the veteran first.
Then we can start working on getting the kids taken care of.
But let's...
There are so many oopses and falls through the cracks and qualifies for this but doesn't qualify for this but qualifies for this but doesn't qualify for this one over here.
Weird rules and regulations and stuff associated with the VA to begin with.
I would much rather they focus on getting all of that straightened out, get all of that ironed out, then we can start working on the generational effects.
Yes.
Yeah, well, and I think that at some point we're going to need to find a way to get some people in there that have that mindset.
But I agree that the VA has many bridges that it needs to repair and cross before we get to these things.
So before we got off into the weeds about that, did we kind of finish on the differences between the combat and non-combat Gold Star families?
And what's next?
Somewhat.
As a non-traditional gold star, as a next of kin gold star, I do not receive or neither do standard gold stars.
We do not receive space aid travel of any type anymore.
That was something that we qualified for in the past, but we don't anymore.
We still qualify for the online tax preparation through Military OneSource.
And we qualify for some educational benefits.
I'm using my Fry Scholarship, which is up to 36 months of educational benefits that is administered like the GI Bill.
Okay, alright.
Now, where we get into the weeds of...
Uh-oh, we're having technical difficulties again.
Folks, I appreciate you sticking with us.
There's something going on in the studio here.
Alright, there's Tori again.
So where we get off into the weeds is what?
Where we get off into the weeds between the Combat Gold Star and the Next of 10 are things like the different charities, the discounts, and state-based benefits.
In the state of Texas, had Jay died in combat, I would get tax relief on my real estate.
Oh.
But because he died stateside and it was illness, I don't get that.
Yeah, and so that's an interesting benefit because like here in Minnesota, of course, it's not a survivor benefit because I'm still alive, but we get a pretty, I'm not going to say handsome or attractive, but we get a pretty nice property tax break.
Also.
And I believe that the state of Minnesota, if it's not federal, but it can't be because, you know, property is managed by the county.
I believe that the state of Minnesota passes that benefit on to my wife if I pass before she does.
And so there's a couple little things that I know of that are going to be advantageous to my family.
What's next?
What else do we got?
Then it gets down into discounts and charities.
Discounts, I can no longer, it sounds silly, but I can no longer claim military discounts at most places because I didn't serve.
My husband did.
Yeah.
But Lowe's, Home Depot, all of the retailers that there for a long time were offering discounts to military members.
You may or may not get it.
Most of the time you won't get it because now they're doing ID me to verify that you were military.
Well, I wasn't military so I don't qualify anymore.
Yeah, and you know what I found, Tori?
I'm sorry to interrupt you again, but I found that there's a lot of places that also don't offer things anymore to retired military members.
For example, when I was still serving and I went somewhere on vacation, we always fly Delta because we have the perks thing or whatever.
But they used to, you know, oh, you're in the military, we'll check your bag for free.
They no longer do that when you're retired.
So I think that it's not just, you know, just like the Home Depots and things like that.
There's, I think, across a lot of different industries, they're kind of just cutting it out.
Yeah, American Airlines used to do that, Delta used to do that, but they don't for Windows at all.
Yeah.
Sorry, I apologize.
Now, when you start talking about the different charities...
Charities is going to be a good one.
Well, it's a good one and it's a bad one.
There are commercials, and don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the program, and I appreciate what they have done for the military community.
But they present this air of all gold stars.
Well, technically I'm considered a gold star, but I'm not a gold star.
And who is this again?
They are a national charity that offer mortgage-free homes.
And what's the name of it?
I didn't want to throw them under the bus.
Oh, okay.
Well, you don't have to.
You don't have to.
It's okay.
Because I completely agree with what they're doing.
However, it's only for gold stars that have children at home.
Okay.
Or it's only, up until recently, it was only for KIA, Killed in Action or Combat Death.
They weren't even, when Jay died, I had someone come to me with a list of 10 charities and say, here, call them.
They'll get you a new house in Texas when you decide to move home.
I called every one of them and every one of them told me to go pound sand because Jay didn't die in combat.
Interesting.
Or the one that has the national commercials that make the entire civilian population think that all gold stars automatically get a house.
They told me because I didn't have children at home anymore.
That my children had aged out.
Well, and I think that a lot of people are kind of onto that game, right, where you see something, you see an advertisement, and usually if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true.
Except when it comes to our military.
Because we have had so many charities pop up saying, we're going to take care of the widows and the orphans or the surviving spouses.
So many Of the civilian population go, oh, well, they're taken care of.
I actually had someone come up to me in a grocery store, recognize that I was a widow because I almost always wear a gold star banner necklace, and went, oh, you're a gold star.
How do you like the house?
No kidding.
What?
Huh.
And see, that's those issues of innocent ignorance, I think.
You know, people, like I said, they see these things on TV, they make that association, and then, like you said, Tori, they go, well, I saw it on TV, or I saw it on Facebook.
It's got to be true, so when they see you and ask you those questions, it's like a very, very...
In your face example of innocent ignorance and how it plays a part in everything that we do.
But part of the reason why I wanted to bring this up was because of that ignorance.
There are so many that automatically assume because Jay died active duty...
That I've had everything handed to me on a silver clatter.
Nope.
I have not gotten a free car.
I have not gotten a free house.
I have not gotten...
I paid for my house.
I did not get all the bells and whistles.
And I'm not saying I should.
I'm just saying...
Don't assume that because our spouses died active duty that we have it made now.
Yeah, and so that's a very good point because I think that something that's good to put out about this whole conversation we're having is that this is not an hour-long show about what we should get, what our spouses should get, what our families should get, but the idea that it's portrayed that way And clearly, from your example in the store, that's how the general American public takes it.
And so, you know, what I will give these organizations credit for is having good marketing teams, right?
Because they make people believe that, you know, because Tory Seal's husband unfortunately passed away due to his military service, she's got it made in the shade.
Well, no.
The truth is that these spouses and these children, they still got to work.
They still got to go to school.
They still have to get up every day and fend for themselves just like everybody else.
I don't think that it's too much to ask or to expect that there's a little bit of something as a thank you for your service.
Because as we discussed at the end of the first segment, our families do serve too.
But this is not an hour long bitch session of Tori and Richard telling the people what we should be getting or what my family should be getting when I die.
So, I just want to put that out there, because we're bound to have people in the comments who go, well, quit whining, you get more than I get, that type of crap.
But, whatever, like we were talking about, innocent ignorance is a problem for a lot of folks.
I would much rather have my husband.
Absolutely.
I mean, just point blank.
I would rather be living on the...
As a homeless person?
I couldn't agree more.
And I gotta tell you that it's not just surviving family members that feel that way.
But, you know, I don't For myself, right?
I get VA disability.
I get benefits from the Department of Defense for my service.
But I'll tell you what, I would much rather be able to sleep through the night.
I would much rather not have to...
Walk around in pain many, many days out of the month.
I would much rather be in a lot different position with my mental health and with my physical health than I'm in now.
And not to say that I didn't have or don't have control of it, because I do and I did, but there are aspects of the things that I chose to do with my life by serving in the military that are going to be a hindrance to me for the rest of my life.
And I would much rather not have those just much like Tori, you'd rather have Jay sitting right next to you having the three of us having this conversation.
Oh yeah.
He would at least be able to bring me back in and tell me to behave myself.
Or not, maybe he lets you just go.
Oh no, he was my Jiminy Cricket.
Now, once he got the diagnosis that he was stage 4 terminal, he let go of the reins a little bit and when I went to DC he went, have fun honey!
When I went to the burn pit congressional hearing up there while he was still alive, it was, have some storm in the castle, honey!
Well, because at times that stuff is needed.
Somebody, at some point, needs to start making a ruckus and talking about the hard things.
You know, I mean, on this show, I think that we talk about some tough stuff.
You know, I mean, the eight episodes I did with Robin Stitt about the caregiver program, that was tough.
You know, and I gotta say, There was more than one time after doing the show with her that I was having conversations with my wife and I was like, man, this is a prime example of what compassion fatigue feels like.
And I can't even imagine because she lives this shit every day.
And she's strong as hell.
And I'll tell all of you guys, I told Robin offline, you are one of the most bravest, courageous women I've met in a long time.
Because there's nobody else in that community that's getting in front of 40,000 to 80,000 people a week, spilling her guts about how she's being screwed over by a program that could be doing very, very great things.
Name and names and yeah, wow.
Yeah, absolutely.
She's a monster.
And I mean that in the best way, Robin.
You're not like a nasty monster.
You're just a powerful monster.
So, I think that it's important that we recognize that these things exist and that they are changing.
The times, they are changing.
Tori, what else do we got?
That was pretty much it.
Just...
Have some compassion.
Have some thoughts.
Don't assume because you're dealing with a surviving spouse.
And I do mean a surviving spouse because we have a number of male surviving spouses for female veterans, female service members.
Show some compassion.
We're not asking to get away with stuff.
We're just looking...
Part of it is we're looking to make sure that we get similar benefits to what the post office gives or other federal entities.
Because we know we're not going to get the same pay That those federal employees and federal entities receive as a service member.
Well, and maybe...
Maybe rightfully so, to a certain extent.
But I think that extending the olive branch a little bit and providing some carryover benefits and services is absolutely appropriate.
And so, just for clarity, we got about 4 minutes and 30 seconds left in the segment.
The moral of the story, of all the information that we talked about today is, and I'm going to put it in infantryman terms, so it may not sound as eloquent as Torrey put it, and correct me if I'm wrong.
But just because you served, number one, just because you served in the military doesn't entitle you or your family to lifelong health benefits or services.
We all know that there's VA disability, so if there's something that happens to you during your service that's connected to your service, any injury condition, Whether it be mental health, physical health, whatever health, those benefits are there for you.
But just because we served, it does not give our families free reign to take in all the benefits that maybe we had while we were still serving.
And so, Tori, if you could give one piece of advice to somebody out there that's a survivor, whether it be, well, it would be just a spouse at this point, and how to go about finding the information about what they qualify for if they don't know, where do we find that?
Okay, for a lot of the VA-based benefits, like the DIC, Dependent Indemnity Compensation, go to your county VA. They have the information.
Tell them that you are interested in looking to find out if you qualify for DIC. If they don't know what that is, contact me through Veteran Warriors and we will make sure that they get an education.
Okay.
And as always, the link for Veteran Warriors will be down in the description of this show.
Is there any other avenues that you think people could go for education?
Like is there, other than veteran warriors and the county veteran service offices, like is there, does the DOD or the VA put the information out well enough for folks to understand if they're thinking, well maybe I get VA stuff and they just put in va.gov and put in survivor or something?
Actually, if you do a Google search or a search on the VA or the DOD websites for survivor, a lot of times you can get a ton of information.
Also, if you are a military surviving spouse, Of any era, of any reason, of any cause, there is an organization called TAPS. T-A-P-S. Taps.org is their website.
They are absolutely phenomenal.
They have a call center that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Sometimes as a surviving spouse, you just got to hear another voice and they will be there.
I have called on Christmas Eve and they were there.
Wow, Christmas Eve.
That's pretty awesome that they're there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
There ain't a whole lot of places, folks, that you can call 365 days a year and get somebody on the phone.
Now, and in case anybody needs the number, it is 800-959-TAPS, T-A-P-S. So, 1-800-8...
What was it?
1-800...
800-959.
TAPS. T-A-P-S. So we will put that also in the description because maybe I'll confuse people.
But, you know, I think that this is a good conversation.
It's a good base of information for people who may be in this situation.
Or for those of you watching who are veterans or in the service, this is something you better plan for.
And if your family is eligible for stuff, make sure that they're going to get it.
It's not something you do when you're a month away, when you get the bad news and you only got a couple weeks or whatever the case may be.
Plan it now.
And so start here.
Start with TAP. Start with the VA or the DOD websites.
Or start with Veteran Warriors and get a hold of Tori.
Because not only is she awesome to talk to, but she's supportive and she'll tell you a lot of the truth.
No BS in this camp, I'll tell you that.
Stick with us, folks.
We'll be right back.
Hey folks, welcome here to the last segment of the show.
We've got a few minutes left.
It seems to be effective to have the last few minutes as a call to action.
So, Tori, you've got about 4 minutes and 30 seconds to let us know how we can support anything survivor benefit related.
Okay, I would like to do a call to action for all of your listeners to contact their senators and congressmen and ask that they support the Caring for Survivors Act of 2023.
The House resolution number is 1083.
The Senate number is 414.
What that bill does is it brings it from the 43% that the military receives of the pension up to 55%, which is equal to what the other federal employees receive.
Okay.
And so, folks, I think what's important here to remember is that Every week we talk about contacting our elected officials for whatever the topic is.
And these bills in both the House and Senate, it's the only way, effectively, to make this change.
And so it may seem like a broken record at times that we say, hey, contact your congressman or congresswoman and your senators and tell them about HR 1234, but it really is the only effective way to invoke the change in which would help out this group of people that are either suffering from something or could use the benefit better or whatever the case may be.
So just realize that it doesn't matter if it affects you directly.
It doesn't matter if it affects a multitude of people in your own community, your surrounding community, direct community.
But it helps a community of people that, I mean, these benefits and all these things were meant for a reason.
They were all designed for a reason.
And so, I believe that this one is important because, you know, I believe that Tori should be able to reap the same benefits as your local letter carrier's spouse should receive.
We talked earlier in the show about how our families serve too.
And so doing a little bit to extend that hand of thank you and gratitude as a nation to the men and women who have directly supported and taken care of the men and women who have served this country and provided us with this blanket of freedom that we like to talk about at times, but sometimes only when it's convenient for us.
Right?
So, extending these benefits to these folks, I think, is important.
And they would be forever grateful.
And like we talked about earlier in the show, this was not an hour-long bitch session of Richard and Tori talking about, you know, survivors don't get this and they should get that and we should get better discounts and we should get better this and that.
That's not it at all.
But to provide some context to show you that the way that the programs were designed and were working at one point are changing.
You know, with inflation and cost of living and all these things, everybody still has to go on, right?
Everybody still has to make a living.
They still have to provide for their families and be a contributing member of society, right?
And so, extending some benefits to the select few, and keep in mind that the percentage of our population that decides to wear a uniform is very small.
And so, extending some extra gratitude to them and their families, because I'll tell you what, when and if this thing passes, I don't know how people believe, but those folks who have passed on are grateful, and they're watching.
And so I think that it's worth the support.
So please remember to contact your elected officials, talk about these things, and also don't forget to get down into the description and get to Veteran Warriors for anything, for any information that you may need about any of these topics that we talk about.
I want to thank you again, as always, for joining us.
Tori, thank you very much for your time.
We hope to have you back for some amazing chats about many other topics soon.
And you guys have a good night, and we'll see you soon.
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