Family Changes

The wedding is the easy part. Here's what actually changes in your pay, your benefits, and your paperwork once you're married.

DEERS is the database that turns "we got married" into real benefits. No DEERS record, no ID card and no TRICARE for your family.

SGLI gives you $500,000 by default. Here is how to tell whether that is plenty or whether your family needs more.

The Defense Department scholarship that pays up to $4,000 toward a license, certification, or associate degree you can carry with you from base to base.

If you carry SGLI, the military can cover your family too. Here is what they get, and what it costs.

Referrals, costs, and when each plan actually fits, for active-duty families deciding between the two.

Who can transfer, the four-year service deal that comes with it, and the spouse-versus-kid rules that decide when your family can actually touch the benefit.

Active-duty dental, family dental through TDP, and how vision works through your TRICARE plan and FEDVIP.

On-base care is priced off your income, and if the slots are full, the military helps pay for care out in town. Here's how the system actually works.

If you're a young service member with a pregnant spouse or little kids, WIC is built for you, and your housing allowance usually doesn't count against you.

If someone in your family has a medical or educational need that takes extra support, EFMP exists to keep that support in reach as the military moves you around.

Three credits that can put thousands back in a military family's pocket, and the combat-pay choice that changes the math.

What a 529 is, the 2026 rules that made it far more flexible, and how it pairs with a transferred GI Bill so you don't double-fund the same tuition.

You are signed up automatically at in-processing. Here is the coverage, the cost, and how to name a beneficiary.

You're 20, you don't own much, and you're about to deploy. That's exactly when these three documents matter most, and the military does them for you for free.

Your life insurance and your retirement account pay whoever is on the form, not whoever you meant. This is the 15-minute job that protects the people you love.

What TRICARE is, the main plans, and who's actually covered, in plain English for new service members and their families.

How a personal retirement account stacks on top of your TSP, why Roth is a strong fit for junior service members, and the spousal IRA most military families miss.

If your household income runs short, there are real programs built for this. Here is who qualifies and how to apply.