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AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE MATTER OF:
DOCKET NUMBER: 97-02021
COUNSEL :
HEARING DESIRED: No
APPLICANT REQUESTS:
Corrective action that would entitle her to an annuity under her
late former husband's Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) .
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
Applicant states that in accordance with her divorce settlement,
her late former husband agreed to take all necessary action to
provide her with guaranteed survivorship benefits to his
government pension payable to her on a monthly basis in the event
of his death. However, he never made this correction.
In support of her request, applicant submits a copy of her
divorce settlement and decree, a copy of the member's death
certificate, and other documentation relating to her appeal.
Applicant's complete submission is attached at Exhibit A.
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
Applicant and the service member were married on 1 Dec 72.
On 2 Mar 90, the member elected child only SBP coverage based on
full retired pay prior to his 1 Jul 90 retirement in the grade of
master sergeant. Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS)
records show that the applicant concurred in the election. The
applicant and member divorced on 16 Oct 90 and the court order
required the member to take all necessary action to provide SBP
coverage f o r his former spouse. The member died on 22 Apr 96 at
which time his youngest son began to receive the full annuity.
AFBCMR 97-02021
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
The Chief, Retiree Services Branch, AFPC/DPPTR, reviewed this
application and states that the member did not elect spouse
coverage at retirement. Consequently, he was not eligible to
obtain coverage on the applicant's behalf. Although he could
have elected former spouse coverage for the applicant during the
open enrollment period authorized by Public Law (PL) 101-189
(1 Apr 92 - 31 Mar 93), there is no record that the member
returned an election form. There is no evidence of Air Force
error in this case and no basis in law to grant relief.
Therefore, they recommend denial of the request.
A complete copy of the Air Force evaluation is attached at
Exhibit B .
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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
A complete copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to
applicant and counsel on 29 Dec 97 for review and response within
30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this
off ice .
THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:
1. The applicant has exhausted all
law or regulations.
2. The application was not timely
interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.
filed; however, it is in the
remedies provided by existing
3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to
demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice. We
took notice of the applicant's complete submission in judging the
merits of the case; however, we agree with the opinion and
recommendation of the Air Force and adopt their rationale as the
basis for our conclusion that the applicant has not been the
victim of an error or injustice. Therefore, in the absence of
evidence to the contrary, we find no compelling basis to
recommend granting the relief sought in this application.
THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:
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The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not
demonstrate the existence of probable material error or
injustice; that the application was denied without a personal
appearance; and that the application wlll only be reconsidered
2
c
upon the submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not
considered with this application.
AFBCMR 97-0202 1
The following members of the Board considered this application in
Executive Session on 21 May 1998, under the provisions of Air
Force Instruction 36-2603:
Mr. Henry C. Saunders, Panel Chair
Mrs. Barbara A. Westgate, Member
Ms. Ann L. Heidig, Member
Mrs. Joyce Earley, Examiner (without vote)
The following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 13 Jun 97, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPPTR, dated 11 Dec 97.
3
He could have elected former spouse SBP coverage for her during the 1992 open enrollment. However, spouse premiums could be terminated following divorce if the member additionally selected Option 4. He could have elected former spouse SBP coverage for her during the 92 open enrollment.
AF | BCMR | CY2002 | BC-2002-03521
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: 02-03521 INDEX CODE: 137.00 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ___________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her late husband's records be corrected so that she may be eligible for a Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity. They state that Public Law (PL) 98-525 permitted former spouses to submit a request to deem an SBP election change...
AF | BCMR | CY2003 | BC-2002-03271
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: 02-03271 COUNSEL: None HEARING DESIRED: No _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her former husband's records be corrected to show he filed a timely election for former spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and any SBP premium payments due be waived. ...
AF | BCMR | CY2004 | BC-2004-00024
DFAS records indicate that the former service member declined SBP coverage prior to his 1 July 1978 retirement. The member had an opportunity to provide coverage for the applicant during the SBP open enrollment periods authorized by Public Laws (PLs) 97-35 (1 Oct 81 – 30 Sep 82) and 101-189 (1 Apr 92 – 31 Mar 93), but there is no evidence he made such an election. We took notice of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of the case; however, we agree with the opinion and...
The applicant submitted a copy of a 11 Jun 92 letter from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) reflecting the service member elected her as his beneficiary and that she would be entitled to a survivor's annuity. The service member and the applicant's 20 Jun 00 divorce decree incorporated the previous property settlement, but specified that the benefit was incorrectly identified as "military retirement" and should reflect the service member's "Civil Service Retirement benefits." If the...
AF | BCMR | CY2004 | BC-2004-00978
_________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: The divorce decree ordered the servicemember to provide former spouse coverage for her under the SBP, but neither the servicemember nor she was aware of the one-year requirement to submit an election for former spouse coverage. Neither the servicemember nor the applicant made an election for former spouse coverage within one-year following their divorce. The applicant reviewed the Air Force...
AF | BCMR | CY2003 | BC-2003-00408
_________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Her ex-husband told her he elected SBP at the time of his 1972 retirement and he agreed to continue coverage on her behalf in their divorce. If he had elected SBP coverage for her, he would have been eligible to change to former spouse coverage within the first year following their divorce. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE...
AF | BCMR | CY2004 | BC-2003-03233
_________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Counsel states that, prior to the former member’s retirement from the Air Force, he elected SBP coverage for “spouse and child.” On 29 December 1983, the member and applicant divorced and their divorce decree incorporated a settlement agreement wherein the applicant would receive “all (100%) of the Husband’s Survivor benefits that can be paid to a former spouse.” The Defense Finance and Accounting...
AF | BCMR | CY2004 | BC-2004-02024
SBP premium were deducted from the servicemember’s retired pay until February 2003 when the finance center suspended the spouse portion of his SBP. We do not take issue with the applicant’s contention her divorce decree ordered her deceased former husband to provide former spouse coverage for her under the SBP, but he did not do so. However, in the absence of a showing the applicant is legally entitled to the relief sought or a waiver of entitlement from the current spouse, we conclude she...
AF | BCMR | CY2003 | BC-2003-00319
_________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPPTR states the applicant submitted a notarized letter alleging the signature on the copy of an AF Form 1267, Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Notification and Concurrence, is not her signature and that she did sign an SBP election form for annuity for 55 percent of the servicemember’s retired pay. If the servicemember had elected full spouse coverage, the applicant’s signature would not have been...