Benefits

Thousands of honorably discharged veterans will soon be able to join the American Legion under new legislation expected to be signed soon by President Donald Trump.

Under the new law, any honorably discharged veteran who has served since Dec. 7, 1941, may join the American Legion, meaning military veterans who served in what were previously considered periods of peacetime between wars are now eligible for membership.

About 2.1 million service members are seeing a slight bump in their paycheck, as the monthly premiums for life insurance for themselves and their spouses have decreased, effective July 1.

For those with the maximum $400,000 coverage under the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, or SGLI, the premium has decreased by $4 a month, from $29 to $25. Most service members have the maximum coverage.

Navy spouses – like spouses in the other services – can now apply for reimbursement of up to $500 in costs for relicensing and recertification each time they relocate with their service member.

Sailors can be reimbursed up to $500 to cover the cost of their spouses’ professional licenses or certifications if an assignment requires them to move to a different state, the Navy announced this week.

“This is part of an ongoing effort to show Navy families we are working to expand family support programs and facilitate spouse employment opportunities,” said Perry Christiansen, lead for the Navy’s family readiness programs policy, in a statement.