RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-01398
            INDEX CODE:137.00

              (Deceased)     COUNSEL:  None

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

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

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

An error was made at ----- AFB in 1979 because she knows  her  husband
resigned (sic) for the Survivor Benefits.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The servicemember elected spouse and child coverage under the  Retired
Serviceman’s Family Protection Plan (RSFPP) prior to his  1  September
1970 retirement.  There  is  no  information  in  the  servicemember’s
records to indicate why and when this marriage  ended.   There  is  no
information in his records regarding  his  marital  status  as  of  21
September  1973.   He  declined  SBP  coverage  during   the   initial
enrollment period.

The applicant and the servicemember were married on 1 September  1979.
There is no evidence in the servicemember’s records that indicates  he
elected SBP coverage on the applicant’s behalf within the  first  year
of their marriage or during the open enrollments of 1981-1982 or 1992-
1993.  The servicemember died on 29 December 1995.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPTR  indicates  that  the  Survivor  Benefit  Plan  (SBP)   was
established  by  Public  Law  (PL)  92-425  on  21   September   1972,
authorizing a one-year open enrollment period  for  servicemembers  to
elect coverage.  Servicemembers, who were unmarried  on  20  September
1973, were permitted to elect coverage within one year after acquiring
a spouse or child.  Public  Laws  97-35  and  101-89  authorized  open
enrollments periods 1 October 1981 - 30 September 1982, 1 April 1992 -
31 March 1993 to elect or increase SBP coverage.  The open  enrollment
packets, as well as the Afterburner, USAF News for Retired  Personnel,
published   during   these   timeframes   were   forwarded   to    the
servicemember's  address  maintained  by  the  finance  center.    The
Afterburner  contained  points  of  contacts  to   obtain   additional
information regarding SBP.  These open  enrollments  periods  required
retired servicemembers to live for two full years from  the  effective
date of the election before  their  survivors  gained  eligibility  to
receive the annuity.

If the applicant was married to another person on 21  September  1973,
he was not eligible to elect coverage for  the  applicant  within  the
first year of their marriage.  The servicemember’s  first  opportunity
to elect coverage would have been the 1981-1982 open  enrolment.   The
information regarding the 1992-1993 open enrollment was  published  in
the 1992 Afterburner, which was mailed to servicemember at the address
where the applicant continues to reside.   If  the  servicemember  had
elected SBP coverage he would have had to pay a late  election  charge
of 4.5  percent,  plus  the  standard  6.5  percent  cost  for  spouse
coverage.  Furthermore, the  servicemember’s  failure  to  notify  the
finance center of his change in marital status does  not  impact  this
request.  While  the  applicant  is  not  eligible  to  receive  RSFPP
payments, she should have received the  premiums  that  were  deducted
from his retired pay (subject to the six-year statute of limitations).
 It is unfortunate the servicemember did not elect  SBP  coverage  for
the applicant when he was eligible  to  do  so.   However,  the  well-
meaning  intentions  of  retired  servicemembers  are  not  sufficient
grounds to constitute a valid SBP election.  It would be unfair to the
members who chose to participate  when  eligible,  and  to  the  other
widows whose sponsors whose chose not to participate,  to  provide  an
entitlement to the applicant.

DPPTR recommended that the request be denied.  However, if  the  Board
recommends granting the request, the servicemember’s record should  be
corrected to show the servicemember elected SBP spouse  only  coverage
based on full retired pay effective 21 September 1972.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant on 23 May 2003, for review and response.  As of  this  date,
no response has been received by this office.

_________________________________________________________________

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  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
servicemember failed to notify the Finance Center of the change in his
marital status; and did not elect spouse coverage during  the  initial
enrollment period for SBP; nor did he elect coverage during authorized
open enrollments periods.  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:

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 BC-
2003-01398 in Executive  Session  on  30  September  2003,  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                       Mr. David C. Van Gasbeck, Panel Chair
                       Mr. Roscoe Hinton, Jr., Member
                       Mr. Mike Novel, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 17 Apr 03, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPTR, dated 13 May 03.
      Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 23 May 03.




                             DAVID C. VAN GASBECK
                             Panel Chair