RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:
            DOCKET NUMBER:  02-03200
            INDEX CODE:137.04
            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her late husband’s Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)  election  of  former  spouse
coverage be changed to entitle her to an SBP annuity.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

She contacted the Defense Finance and Accounting Service  (DFAS),  Retiree’s
Benefits Office, to see if she was  eligible  for  her  late  husband’s  SBP
annuity.  The  DFAS  office  stated  she  was  the  beneficiary  on  record;
however, she was later advised that his former spouse was receiving the  SBP
benefits and that they would have to contact Denver to see why.

She does not understand how on September 15, 1999, seven  months  after  her
husband passed away, that he elected his former spouse as  beneficiary  when
she has documentation showing that  his  desire  was  to  have  her  as  the
beneficiary.   After he was diagnosed with cancer and told he would die,  he
sat down with her and told her that she would not  have  anything  to  worry
about and that she would be taken care of by the Air Force.   She  was  with
him when he accomplished the forms designating her as his beneficiary.   She
is now under the impression that his  desires  and  wishes  do  not  mean  a
thing.  He was retired from the Air  Force  before  he  married  his  former
spouse, and against his request, she is receiving his SBP benefits.

In support of her appeal, applicant submits a copy of his  divorce  decrees,
a copy of her marriage certificate, a  copy  of  her  late  husband’s  death
certificate and correspondence relating to SBP benefits from  DFAS  and  the
AFBCMR.  The  applicant’s  complete  submission,  with  attachments,  is  at
Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The Military Personnel  Database  reflects  applicant  retired  effective  1
October 1974.

The remaining 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 at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPTR recommends the application be  denied.   DPPTR  states  that  the
former member and the former spouse were divorced on 11 September  1996  and
the former spouse was awarded the SBP by the court, but neither submitted  a
former spouse election change within the required time  limit.   The  former
member failed to advise DFAS of the divorce and SBP  premiums  continued  to
be deducted from his retired pay until 29 May 1998, when  he  notified  DFAS
of his divorce and marriage to the applicant.  At  that  time  he  requested
his former spouse be  removed  from  the  SBP  and  that  the  applicant  be
designated as the eligible spouse beneficiary when she  gained  eligibility.
Even though the former member requested that  the  applicant  be  named  the
beneficiary to the SBP before his death, the applicant would not  have  been
eligible for the annuity because  the  member  died  before  they  had  been
married one full year.  There are no provisions in law  to  waive  the  one-
year eligibility period for spouses acquired after retirement.

The AFPC/DPPTR evaluation is at Exhibit B.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant states she cannot argue against the legal reasons why  the  former
spouse is receiving the SBP annuity.  She wants to state her views.   It  is
true that they fell short by a couple of days of being married for  a  year.
It was she who took care of him, in those trying times and final  days.   It
was he who told her not to worry, that he filed the forms and that  the  Air
Force would take care of her.  It was she who was  there,  by  his  bedside,
watching him, desperately trying to make  those  final  few  days  to  their
anniversary.  What bothers her most is that the woman he caught cheating  on
him in his own bed is being rewarded with  his  SBP  annuity.   It  was  her
actions that caused the divorce.  In his final moments,  the  former  spouse
harassed and aggravated him whenever possible.  It seems like a slap in  his
face that his wishes and desires are not being carried out.

Applicant’s letter is at Exhibit D.

On 24 March 2003, a copy of a USAF/JAG evaluation  regarding  former  spouse
requests for SBP coverage was forwarded to  the  applicant  for  review  and
comment.  As of this date, we have not received a response.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

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

2.  The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest  of
justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of error.  We have reviewed the available evidence  pertaining  to
the applicant’s assertions related to her late  husband’s  Survivor  Benefit
Plan (SBP) election, and we are unpersuaded  that  an  SBP  election  change
from former spouse to entitle her to an SBP annuity based  on  the  evidence
presented is warranted.  Her contentions in  this  regard  are  duly  noted;
however, in our opinion, the Air Force office of primary responsibility  has
adequately addressed these contentions and we are in  agreement  with  their
recommendation.  It should be noted that even if the former spouse were  not
eligible for SBP, the applicant would not receive the  SBP  annuity  because
the member died before they had been married one full year.  In view of  the
above,  we  find  no  basis  to  warrant  favorable  consideration  of  this
application.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

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  will
only be reconsidered  upon  the  submission  of  newly  discovered  relevant
evidence not considered with this application.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this application in  Executive
Session on 8 April 2003, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Kathy L. Boockholdt, Panel Chair
      Ms. Joseph A. Roj, Member
      Mr. Roscoe Hinton, Jr., Member

The following documentary evidence for AFBCMR  Docket  Number  02-03200  was
considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 30 Sep 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Letter, AFPC/DPPTR, dated 24 Oct 02.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 1 Nov 02.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, Applicant, dated 7 Nov 02 w/atchs.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 24 Mar 03, w/atchs.





                                             KATHY L. BOOCKHOLDT
                                             Panel Chair