RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2003-02806
INDEX CODE: 137.00
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
His record be changed to show he elected to participate in the Reserve
Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP).
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
He was not made aware of a change he had to make within one year of his
marriage date. When he received his spouse’s identification card, he
expected that to be all he needed to do. The servicemember died after
submitting his application.
The servicemember’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The servicemember elected RCSBP - child only coverage, immediate option,
annuity based on full-retired pay on 8 November 1985. The servicemember
married on 29 June 1987 and divorced 10 January 1991. He remarried his
former spouse on 10 February 2003.
The servicemember died on 21 August 2003.
_________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPPTR recommended denial. They indicated that there is no evidence of
Air Force error or injustice in this case. However, if the Board’s
decision is to grant relief, the servicemember’s record should be corrected
to show that within the first year of his first marriage, he added spouse
coverage to his RCSBP child coverage, immediate option, based on full
retired pay, spouse coverage was suspended on a 1991 date to be determined,
and reinstated effective 10 February 2003.
The evaluation is at Exhibit B.
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
The servicemember’s widow has provided additional documentation that is at
Exhibit D.
_________________________________________________________________
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 an error or injustice. It appears the servicemember was not
married at the time he elected child-only RCSBP coverage in 1985.
Additionally, we find no evidence he attempted to change his coverage to
add the applicant within the first year of their marriage in 1987, as
required by law. While the applicant claims that her spouse was not aware
that he had to make an election to his RCSBP coverage within one year of
their marriage, the Board finds insufficient evidence to support this
assertion. In accordance with the governing law, since the servicemember
did not add the applicant to his existing child-only coverage at the time
he was first eligible, he was not eligible to add the applicant to his
coverage when they remarried in 2003. In view of the foregoing and in the
absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no compelling basis upon which
to grant the relief requested.
_________________________________________________________________
THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:
The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not demonstrate
the existence of an error or an 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-
02806 in Executive Session on 27 January 2004, under the provisions of AFI
36-2603:
Mr. Joseph A. Roj, Panel Chair
Ms. Leslie E. Abbott, Member
Mr. Mike Novel, Member
The following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 13 August 2003, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPPTR, dated 12 September 2003.
Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 19 September 2003.
Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated 13 October 2003, w/atchs.
JOSEPH A. ROJ
Panel Chair
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