119 STAT. 2046
PUBLIC LAW 109–80—SEPT. 30, 2005
38 USC 1967 note.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect as of September 1, 2005, and shall apply with respect to deaths occurring on or after that date.
38 USC 1967 note.
SEC. 4. SPOUSAL NOTIFICATIONS RELATING TO SERVICEMEMBERS’ GROUP LIFE INSURANCE PROGRAM.
Effective date.
Effective as of September 1, 2005, section 1967 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: ‘‘(f)(1) If a member who is married and who is eligible for insurance under this section makes an election under subsection (a)(2)(A) not to be insured under this subchapter, the Secretary concerned shall notify the member’s spouse, in writing, of that election. ‘‘(2) In the case of a member who is married and who is insured under this section and whose spouse is designated as a beneficiary of the member under this subchapter, whenever the member makes an election under subsection (a)(3)(B) for insurance of the member in an amount that is less than the maximum amount provided under subsection (a)(3)(A)(i), the Secretary concerned shall notify the member’s spouse, in writing, of that election— ‘‘(A) in the case of the first such election; and ‘‘(B) in the case of any subsequent such election if the effect of such election is to reduce the amount of insurance coverage of the member from that in effect immediately before such election. ‘‘(3) In the case of a member who is married and who is insured under this section, if the member makes a designation under section 1970(a) of this title of any person other than the spouse or a child of the member as the beneficiary of the member for any amount of insurance under this subchapter, the Secretary concerned shall notify the member’s spouse, in writing, that such a beneficiary designation has been made by the member, except that such a notification is not required if the spouse has previously received such a notification under this paragraph and if immediately before the new designation by the member under section 1970(a) of this title the spouse is not a designated beneficiary of the member for any amount of insurance under this subchapter. ‘‘(4) A notification required by this subsection is satisfied by a good faith effort to provide the required information to the spouse at the last address of the spouse in the records of the Secretary concerned. Failure to provide a notification required under this subsection in a timely manner does not affect the validity of any election specified in paragraph (1) or (2) or beneficiary designation specified in paragraph (3).’’. SEC. 5. INCREMENTS OF INSURANCE THAT MAY BE ELECTED.
(a) INCREASE IN INCREMENT AMOUNT.—Subsection (a)(3)(B) of section 1967 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘member or spouse’’ in the last sentence and inserting ‘‘member, be evenly divisible by $50,000 and, in the case of a member’s spouse,’’.
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