Widows and widowers are often advised not to make any major life decisions during the first year after losing their spouse. The reason is simple: Grief can significantly impair decision making.

Yet military survivors are expected to make some of the most significant financial decisions of their lives during this exact period, facing a 12-month deadline for some aspects of managing military death gratuities and Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) benefits. These complex, life-altering financial decisions must come at a time when their ability to process information and evaluate options may be significantly diminished – a well-established state known as “grief fog” or “grief brain fog” that can make it difficult to read with comprehension or remember appointments, much less set up a financial portfolio.

This is why MOAA and fellow advocacy groups have joined to support the GRACE (Granting Rollover Access and Contribution Extensions) for Military Survivors Act. The bipartisan bill (H.R. 9489), introduced June 25 by Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Greg Steube (R-Fla.), and Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), would extend the time period from one year to three years for surviving spouses to contribute the money received through military death gratuities and SGLI payments to Roth IRAs and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts without penalty.