Changes coming in June for retirees who pay SBP monthly premiums directly

By DFAS Cleveland    May 2025

Some retirees need to pay monthly Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) or Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) premiums directly instead of having them deducted from pay because their Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation pay offsets their retired pay. We call that direct remittance.

Most of these payments are handled by the U.S. Department of Treasury Centralized Receivables Service (CRS). When CRS receives the payment from the retiree, they report it to DFAS Retired and Annuitant (R&A) Pay to ensure the retiree’s account is credited.

What You Need to Know

In June of this year, R&A Pay will begin issuing all monthly direct remittance SBP premium billing statements and collecting all SBP premium direct remittance payments instead of using the Treasury’s CRS.

This means retirees will need to either: (1) make their payments to a different mailing address or (2) change their electronic payments if they have them set up to pay to CRS directly or (3) use Pay.gov at https://www.pay.gov/public/home to pay DFAS.

In March, DFAS mailed a letter explaining the changes to all retirees who will be affected. The letter will be followed by an emailed SmartDoc to the retirees who have a valid email address in myPay. Changes like this are one of the reasons it’s important for retirees to keep their mailing address and email address updated with DFAS.

What You Need to Do

It’s important that DFAS has your current mailing address so you receive the billing statement with new payment instructions. If your address has changed, DFAS has several convenient options for updating the mailing address on your retired pay account.

  1. Use our askDFAS online tool to update your address: find out more on our Quick Tools webpage at https://www.dfas.mil/raquicktools.
  1. Send a completed and signed DD Form 2866 to request we update your mailing address.
    1. Upload your signed form as a PDF using our askDFAS online upload tool. Find out more: https://www.dfas.mil/retonlinetools.
    2. Or, mail your form to:

      Defense Finance and Accounting Service

      U.S. Military Retired Pay

      8899 E 56th Street

      Indianapolis, IN 46249-1200

  1. Change your address using myPay: https://mypay.dfas.mil.
  1. Call our Customer Care Center during normal business hours to update your address: (800) 321-1080.

If your mailing address on file with DFAS is current, watch for the updated bill to arrive via postal mail in June 2025 or take action now to change your payment method!

You can make the change to one of the new payment options below to pay DFAS directly right now. You don’t have to wait until June.

Automatic Payments

If you have an electronic/automatic payment set up with your bank, ensure that you make the change early enough to send your June payment to DFAS instead of CRS.

Options for Making SBP/RCSBP Monthly Premium Payments to DFAS

If you do not receive the updated bill in June, or would like to start paying DFAS directly now, please see our Paying for SBP webpage for payment instructions: https://www.dfas.mil/payforsbp.

  1. We strongly recommend making your payment online through the Pay.gov website. Pay.gov is available 24/7. Payments can be made using your checking/savings account or debit card using the DOD Military Retired Pay SBP Premium at: https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/1463931154 online form.
  1. If you prefer, mail your SBP/RCSBP payments to the address below (payments mailed to any other address may be delayed). Please note: beginning October 1, 2025, DFAS is unable to accept checks or money orders as payment.

    Defense Finance and Accounting Service, DFAS-CL

    SBP Remittances

    P.O. Box 979013

    St. Louis, MO 63197-9000

  1. Request to have your SBP monthly premium payments deducted from your VA Disability Compensation pay. Find more information here: https://www.dfas.mil/payforsbp.

Questions?

Watch for additional information over the coming weeks or check out the “Paying for SBP” webpage at the link above.

Image