Love Lives On Act of 2025
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Hudson (for himself, Mr. Neguse, Mr. Van Orden, Ms. …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Love Lives On Act of 2025 eliminates the "remarriage penalty" that has historically prevented military and veteran surviving spouses from receiving benefits if they remarry. Under current law, surviving spouses who receive VA dependency and indemnity compensation, military Survivor Benefit Plan annuities, or TRICARE healthcare lose these benefits when they remarry, creating a financial disincentive to remarriage.
Who Benefits and How
Surviving spouses of deceased veterans and service members are the primary beneficiaries. They will continue receiving VA dependency and indemnity compensation (averaging around $1,500/month) and military Survivor Benefit Plan annuity payments even after remarrying. Additionally, remarried military widows and widowers whose subsequent marriage ended (due to death, divorce, or annulment) will regain access to TRICARE healthcare coverage. The bill also provides retroactive relief for those who remarried before age 55 prior to the bill's enactment, resuming their annuity payments.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense will face increased costs from providing benefits to a larger pool of eligible surviving spouses. Federal taxpayers will ultimately fund these expanded benefit payments. The bill does not specify appropriations, but the costs will come from existing VA and DoD budgets, potentially requiring future supplemental funding or budget adjustments.
Key Provisions
- Amends Title 38 USC to allow surviving spouses receiving VA dependency and indemnity compensation to retain benefits after remarriage
- Amends Title 10 USC to prevent the Secretary of Defense from terminating Survivor Benefit Plan annuities solely due to remarriage
- Provides for retroactive resumption of annuity payments for surviving spouses who remarried before age 55 prior to the bill's enactment, with payments resuming one year after enactment (or immediately if they had transferred payments to children)
- Expands the TRICARE definition of "dependent" to include remarried widows or widowers whose subsequent marriage has ended
- Applies to both surviving spouses of deceased active duty service members and deceased veterans
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Allows military and veteran surviving spouses to retain benefits after remarriage
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Eliminate remarriage penalty for military and veteran survivor benefits to reduce financial hardship and remove disincentives to remarriage"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Surviving spouses of deceased veterans (VA benefits recipients)
- Surviving spouses of deceased active duty service members (SBP recipients)
- Remarried widows/widowers whose subsequent marriages ended (TRICARE coverage)
Likely Burden Bearers
- Department of Veterans Affairs (increased benefit payments)
- Department of Defense (increased annuity and healthcare costs)
- Federal taxpayers (funding expanded benefit eligibility)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Defense
Note: The Secretary refers to Secretary of Veterans Affairs in Section 2 (Title 38 amendments) but Secretary of Defense in Section 3 (Title 10 amendments)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Spouse of a deceased veteran eligible for dependency and indemnity compensation under sections 1311 or 1562 of title 38 USC
For TRICARE purposes, includes those whose subsequent marriage ended due to death, divorce, or annulment
Spouse of a deceased service member eligible for Survivor Benefit Plan annuity under subparagraphs (A) or (B)
A surviving spouse who remarried before reaching age 55 and before the date of enactment of this Act, who may resume receiving annuity payments
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology