Military Divorce: A Look at the Military Retiree Population

A Dep’t of Defense (DOD) statistical report on the military retirement system provides a good look at the composition of the military retiree population.  There are slightly more than 2 million military retirees.  Texas leads the nation with the largest military retiree population of 197,880, or nearly 1 of every 10 retirees.   The next three States with the largest military retiree populations are Florida (190,145), California (161,972) and Virginia (153,216).

The San Antonio region figures prominently.  Of all military retirees in Texas, nearly 1 of ever 5 lives in the greater San Antonio region (i.e. 782XX zip code).  It comes as no surprise to those in the San Antonio region that 81% of military retirees in Texas are either Army or Air Force.

Despite our best intentions, divorce sometimes happens.  The size of Texas’ and San Antonio’s military retiree population makes military divorce a big issue for our region.  When divorce occurs, it is important to find a qualified military divorce attorney who can guide you through the key issues in military divorce, whether you are the retired servicemember or spouse.  Failure to do so can be costly, particularly for the soon-to-be former spouse.  Over the retired servicemember’s lifetime, military retired pay can be worth millions.  Important benefits can be lost if, for example, a court’s award of Former Spouse Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) is not timely filed with DFAS.  Other traps and pitfalls linger as well.  

Author Jim Cramp is the founder and principal attorney at the Cramp Law Firm.  Jim retired from the U.S. Air Force in the grade of colonel after having served 29 1/2 years active duty.  The Cramp Law Firm provides a spectrum of family-related legal services in the greater San Antonio Region.

Note:  The DOD Statistical Report on the Military Retirement System–FY2013 (republished July 2014) can be accessed by clicking here.