RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-01019
            INDEX CODE:137.00

      APPLICANT (Deceased)   COUNSEL:  None

      SSN   HEARING DESIRED:  Yes

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her former late-husband’s records be corrected to  entitle  her  to  a
Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The service member was ordered by the court to  maintain  her  as  his
beneficiary under the SBP.

Applicant's complete submission,  with  attachments,  is  attached  at
Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Public Law (PL) 92-425, effective 21 Sep  72,  which  established  the
SBP, provided the provision whereby if service members waived military
pay to enhance their subsequent  Civil  Service  (CS)  retirement  and
elected CS survivor coverage, they may not continue to participate  in
the  military  SBP.   The  applicant  being  the  previously  eligible
beneficiary will not be entitled to an annuity  based  on  her  former
spouse's retired pay.  If the service  member  combined  his  military
service time to increase his CS retirement and did not elect  CS  SBP,
his military SBP will remain in effect and  the  service  member  must
directly remit SBP costs to the finance center.

The relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted from  the
applicant's military records, are contained in the letter prepared  by
the appropriate office of the Air Force.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPTR states the applicant and the service member were married on
11 Jun 66.  The service member, prior to  his  1  Jul  73  retirement,
elected spouse and child coverage based  on  full  retired  pay.   The
Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) records reflect that the
service member elected the civil service (CS)  survivor  annuity  plan
prior to his retirement from that agency and waived his Air Force (AF)
retired pay effective 31 Mar 92.  The costs associated with his AF SBP
were terminated at that time.  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.  There were no children  eligible
for benefits after Sep 94.   The  applicant  and  the  service  member
separated on 28 Aug  96  and  the  separation  agreement  ordered  the
service member to continue the SBP coverage for  the  applicant.   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."  The
service member and M were  married on 23 Jun 00 and  he died on 20 Nov
01.  If the service member had not elected CS SBP when he  waived  his
AF retired pay, but retained the applicant's AF SBP, and  submitted  a
valid election to change the SBP coverage from spouse to former spouse
following their divorce, the applicant would have received 35  percent
of the service member's AF retired pay at the time of his death.   The
service member, in combining his AF service with his CS  and  electing
CS survivor annuity, relinquished his military  retired  pay  and  the
applicant's AF SBP coverage.  DPPTR suggests the applicant contact OPM
to seek corrective action through their agency.  Based on the evidence
provided they recommend the requested relief be denied.

A complete copy of the 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  the
applicant on 12 Apr 02, for review and response.  As of this date,  no
response has been received by this office.

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THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.    The applicant has exhausted all remedies  provided  by  existing
law or regulations.

2.    The application was timely filed.

3.    Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate
the  existence  of  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 the 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.   The
service member combined his AF service with  his  CS  and  elected  CS
survivor annuity, thus, relinquishing his military retired pay and the
applicant's AF SBP coverage.  The Board further agrees with DPPTR  and
recommends  the  applicant  seek  corrective   action   through   OPM.
Therefore, in the absence of evidence to  the  contrary,  we  find  no
compelling basis to recommend  granting  the  relief  sought  in  this
application.

4.    The applicant's case is adequately documented  and  it  has  not
been shown that a personal appearance with  or  without  counsel  will
materially  add  to  our  understanding  of  the  issue(s)   involved.
Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The  applicant  be  notified  that  the  evidence  presented  did  not
demonstrate the existence of material error  or  injustice;  that  the
application was denied without a personal  appearance;  and  that  the
application will only be reconsidered upon  the  submission  of  newly
discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number 02-
00874 in Executive Session on 16 August 2002, under the provisions  of
AFI 36-2603:

                       Mrs. Barbara A. Westgate, Chair
                       Mr. Joseph A. Roj, Member
                       Mr. Roscoe Hinton, Jr., Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 18 Mar 02, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPTR, dated 8 Apr 02.
      Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 12 Apr 02.




                             BARBARA A. WESTGATE
                             Chair