Taxpayers provide a $100,000 death gratuity to eligible beneficiaries of military service members who die while on active duty. Yet, when a member of Congress dies in office, Congress regularly approves a $174,000 payment to the lawmaker’s heirs, or even more if they served in a leadership role. And this perk for representatives and senators is provided out of tradition, even though lawmakers generally have incomes far exceeding the average American, and is in addition to statutory survivor benefits. On the other hand, the Pentagon had to clarify its policy regarding eligibility for this benefit in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and a news report that some families of fatalities were initially denied benefits.
As NTUF explained previously, death gratuities date back to an era before lawmakers had federal pensions and survivor benefits. The payments are not required by any statute. Congress continues the tradition by including them in appropriations legislation, providing tax-free gifts on top of other benefits for which survivors may qualify. Since 2000, Congress has provided over $8 million in payments.
In contrast, the military death gratuity is established in law to provide financial assistance following a service member’s death. Troops serving on active duty are generally covered. Eligibility does not require a formal declaration of war or death in combat. In certain cases, coverage also extends to members of the reserve or those in training, and qualifying service-connected deaths that occur within 120 days after release or discharge. A service member can name up to 10 beneficiaries in increments of 10%. A law in 2003 made the benefit tax-free to the recipients.
Congress has increased the death gratuity benefit over time. Before 1991, it was set at six months of basic pay, with a minimum of $800 and a maximum of $3,000. During the Persian Gulf War, Congress increased the benefit to $6,000 and made half of it tax-free. In the Military Family Tax Relief Act of 2003, Congress doubled the gratuity to $12,000. It was temporarily increased to $100,000 in 2005 for service members who died in combat zones or in combat-related operations. Then, in 2006, Congress made the $100,000 lump sum payment permanent and extended it to active-duty deaths more broadly.
The larger congressional payment is also difficult to justify given that lawmakers are generally well off. A March 2026 analysis by NOTUS, now known as The Washington Sun, estimated the median senator’s net worth at nearly $4.4 million. Meanwhile, a 2025 NFCC/Harris Poll survey found that half of active-duty service members reported that they are “just getting by” financially. Despite the $40 trillion debt, congressional death gratuities are paid without any consideration of financial need, even to the heirs of multi-millionaires.
Reports that a military widow had been denied benefits after a plane crash because Congress had not formally declared war raised understandable concerns. According to a report from September, Libby Klinner, whose husband, Air Force Major Alex Klinner, died in an aircraft crash in Iraq while supporting military operations against Iran, said that she was told ineligible for the gratuity benefit because the U.S. was not at war. After this controversy, the Pentagon claimed that there was a communication mixup and clarified that his final pay did include the applicable hazard pay and combat-related benefits. After this controversy, the Pentagon announced changes to its Defense Casualty Analysis System. As Military.com reported, the department is standardizing classification of hostile and non-hostile casualties and adding a category for those awaiting classification.
Families of service members and members of Congress have access to other survivor benefits, so these gratuities do not represent their full benefits packages. But the comparisons and discrepancies add another reason to end Congress’s antiquated perk. Lawmakers and their survivors already have access to federal benefits, including coverage in the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance program. Taxpayers should not also be required to fund an additional tax-free death gratuity gift to their heirs because of an outmoded tradition.