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Army Emergency Relief
200 Stovall Street
Alexandria, VA 22332
Phone: 703-428-0000
Toll Free: 866-878-6378
DSN: 328-0000
Fax: 703-325-7183
DSN: 221-7183 |
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AER
ASSISTANCE TO WIDOWS OF SOLDIERS AND NEW
PARTNERSHIP WITH ARMED FORCES SERVICES
CORPORATION.
AER's approach to assisting widows is to be
available to help them get through the initial
period adjustment following the death of the
spouse while waiting for their benefits such
as SBP, DIC, social security, etc. to
commence. Assistance is normally provided for
routine monthly expenses such as
rent/mortgage, utilities, car payments, food,
etc.. It is extremely important the Army
Emergency Relief Officer (AERO) and the
Casualty Assistance Officer (CAO) understand
that all financial assistance provided to
widows is furnished as a grant. Additionally,
as part of our commitment to widows whose
spouses are killed or died while on active
duty, AER has formed a partnership with
Armed
Forces Services Corporation (AFSC)
to provide these widows with lifetime support
from AFSC. This agreement with AFSC will
entitle widows to an array of specialized
services at no cost to them. AFSC has
expertise in the area of government survivor
benefits. AFSC will quickly provide the widow,
or the CAO, a printout reflecting the
integrated amounts of survivor benefits
(social security, SBP, and VA or DIC) the
family can expect to receive. AFSC will also
include an explanation of the benefits and be
available to answer the families or the CAOs
questions about the benefits. Widows will
receive an annual printout reflecting
projected benefit amounts each year as
increased by COLA and notified throughout
their lifetime of any law changes that affect
their survivor benefits. Widows only need to
activate these services by contacting AFSC at
1-888-237-2872. The CAO may
also activate the widow's lifetime support by
contacting AFSC.
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