Secondary Dependency: When Your Parent Depends on a Serving Son or Daughter

TLDR

• A parent, stepparent, or parent-in-law can be approved as a secondary dependent.
• Core test: sponsor provides MORE THAN 50 PERCENT of financial support.
• Approved dependents get an ID card, base privileges, MTF pharmacy access, and space-available MTF care.
• This is NOT health insurance; do not drop Medicare or civilian insurance.

The Determination Process

A parent, stepparent, or parent-in-law of a service member can be approved as a secondary dependent through a dependency determination by the service's finance center (Defense Finance and Accounting Service / DFAS processes for the Army). The parent application form is DD Form 137-3. The core test is that the sponsor provides more than 50 percent of the parent's financial support. The parent's own income and living situation are part of the determination.

After Approval

Approved secondary dependents are recorded in DEERS. DEERS is the record every downstream benefit checks.

Benefits Provided

Secondary dependency provides a dependent ID card and base privileges, military treatment facility (MTF) pharmacy access, space-available care at an MTF, and TRICARE Plus primary-care enrollment ONLY where an MTF offers it.

WARNING: This is NOT Health Insurance

Secondary dependency is NOT health insurance. It grants NO TRICARE Prime/Select eligibility and NO civilian network access. A secondary dependent must NOT drop Medicare or civilian insurance on the strength of secondary dependency.