Marines have until Sept. 30 to take advantage of legislation allowing them to add an additional death gratuity recipient.

The legislation, part of a supplemental spending law, provides service members the option of identifying an additional recipient of the funds previously earmarked for next of kin in the event of the service member’s death.

The additional recipient can receive a maximum of fifty percent of the gratuity, totaling $50,000. Marines must designate the amount of gratuity going to the additional beneficiary in ten percent increments.

Before the change, 100 percent of the death gratuity went automatically to next of kin starting in a lineal order that began, as applicable, with the surviving spouse, followed by children, and then parents or siblings.

The change allows Marines to designate someone not previously eligible to receive the death gratuity benefit, according to Capt. Mark Mendez, the administration officer of the casualty section at Headquarters Marine Corps, Quantico, Va.

The change benefits those Marines who, for example, were raised by their grandparents, explained Mendez.

While Marines currently face a deadline for designating an additional beneficiary, MarAdmin 489/07, which announces the change, also states that leaders anticipate the addition of a death gratuity beneficiary will be made permanent policy under the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act.

For all service members who opt not to designate an additional beneficiary, the benefit goes to the next of kin following the previously established lineal order beginning with the spouse.

Marines identify their beneficiary on the record of emergency data and can make changes by visiting their administration section.