When her husband died...determined were military-related, Green had to choose between collecting his pension or a separate monthly benefit from the Veterans Administration.
She chose the latter.
In addition to the monthly benefit, the Pentagon sent her more than $41,000 from the government-sponsored insurance policy her husband purchased.
Green said she received the lump-sum check shortly after his death.
It prompted her to call the Defense Department for an explanation, she said.
"I called Air Force finance, and they said, 'No. That's your money.' I was afraid...they made a mistake."
The letter from the Air Force reads: "Because Jerry died from 100 percent service-connected disabilities, all of the money he paid for survivor's benefits is to be refunded."
"That's what they told me," she recalled.
Green said she then cashed the check, paying more than $6,000 in taxes.
In 2009, a federal judge ruled survivors could get both of the original benefits if they remarry after the age of 57.
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If I understand this correctly, she's getting the $41k paid as a refund, not as a benefit, then she has the priviledge of paying taxes on it and now the gov't wants it ALL back, this woman will have essentially paid $12k to the gov't if she's not "credited" the original $6k she paid.
Plus, Finance stated it was a REFUND of premiums paid. It's not a benefit.
I'm not going to presume to know how ALL of this works because they deliberately make it confusing as hell sometimes, but this one appears to be sticking it to the spouse.
A further question would be whether the $41k in premiums payed by her deceased husband were paid on a pre-tax basis. If not then they got double taxed, and the government is going for triple-taxing.
Also was the $41k return of premiums inflation adjusted when she received it or not?
Also there is the damage this causes in the form of current and prospective future military members observing this kind of treatment.