An un-remarried former spouse receives medical, commissary, exchange and theater privileges under the Morale, Welfare and Recreation program if:
He or she was married for at least 20 years at the time of the divorce.
The military member has performed at least 20 years of service that is creditable (get a copy of the member’s DD214) in determining eligibility for retired pay (the member does NOT have to be actually retired from active duty).
The former spouse was married to the member during at least 20 years of the member’s retirement-creditable service (see member’s DD214).
This means that if you were married for at least 20 years, and your former spouse performed at lest 20 years of service creditable for retired pay, and there was at least a 20-year overlap of the marriage and the military service, you are entitled to full commissary, exchange and health care benefits after the divorce.
20/20/15 Former Spouse
If you cannot qualify under the “20/20/20 Rule”, you may still be eligible to one year of transitional military benefits for purposes of military medical care, only. The 20/20/15 rule requires the former spouse to show three things:
The service member performed at least 20 years of creditable service (obtain a copy of his/her DD214);
Your marriage lasted at least 20 years;
The period of your marriage overlapped the period of service by at least 15 years.
If these requirements are met, the former spouse will be entitled to retain TriCare medical coverage, but only for a transitional period of one year. A 20/20/15 spouse will not have access to the military exchange, installation privileges or commissary privileges.
