Release No. 01-06-05 Jan. 12, 2005

Family members 75 and older to receive indefinite ID cards

Military retirees already receive ID cards with no expiration dates; but, renewing ID cards upon expiration has been a continuing requirement for family members.

Help is on the way for some.  Congress passed legislation with the FY 2005 Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to authorize the Services to issue ID cards without an established expiration date to those dependents and survivors of military retirees who are 75 years of age.

Those to which this applies should note, however, that although the law is in place, the capability to issue the indefinite card to the eligible population is being worked into the next software release which is not expected until summer 2005. 

Until the capability to issue the indefinite cards is brought on line, these individuals must continue to renew their ID cards upon expiration; by visiting an issuing facility or by the mail-in renewal process if they qualify to use it.  

In the past, many Medicare-eligible family members simply let their ID cards expire if they were no where near an installation to use the shopping privileges.  But since enactment of TRICARE for Life and TRICARE Senior Pharmacy coverage several years ago, older family members who have Medicare A & B now have a medical benefit and must have a current ID card to use the benefits. 

This summer, check with your local ID card issuing facility or look for an update in the Air Force Retiree News Service concerning the status of the issuance capability for the over 75 ID card population.