 Military Survivor Benefits update – H.R.1911 | Gold Star and Military Survivors Act:

When Sgt. 1st Class Ofren Arrechaga was killed in Afghanistan in 2011, his wife Seana vowed to follow the plan the couple had for their family: She would remain a stay-at-home mom to raise their son, now 11. She continues to do that, thanks to the compensation and health benefits provided to widows and widowers of service members who die in the line of duty. Seana Arrechaga was 22 when her soldier died, and she continues to grieve. She doesn’t date. But not simply out of respect for Ofren. She doesn’t see the point, she says, because dating could lead to marriage. And if she remarries before she turns 55, she would lose thousands of dollars a month because of a law that would stop her annuity payments when she tied the knot. “A lot of people assume that we are well taken care of,” said Arrechaga of Gold Star spouses. “And we are, to a point. But to not be able to remarry, to lose benefits, seems unfair.”

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