RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-04100
                       INDEX CODE:  137.00

                       COUNSEL:  None

                       HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

She be allowed to terminate spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit
Plan (SBP).

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

For several years, she has requested that her husband not be listed as
her beneficiary for surviving spouse benefits.  Her  husband  did  not
want it.  She did not receive any statement nor have they  received  a
request requesting her spouse to  be  the  beneficiary.   Furthermore,
they did not have any of her spouse’s information to  process  him  as
her beneficiary.

Applicant's complete submission is attached at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Public Law (PL) 99-145 requires spouses of married  servicemembers  to
concur in writing prior to the servicemember’s retirement, in the  SBP
election that provides less than full spouse  coverage.   The  Defense
Finance Accounting Service-Cleveland Center (DFAS-CL)  will  establish
SBP coverage at the maximum level for all eligible beneficiary(ies) to
comply with law.

Public Law 105-85, 18 November 1997, authorized members who  had  been
retired as of 17 May 1998 for more than two years, a  one-year  window
to terminate their  coverage  under  SBP.   Termination  required  the
spouse’s written concurrence  and  no  refund  of  premiums.   If  the
servicemember failed to terminate coverage during the one-year period,
the election is considered permanent and irrevocable as  long  as  the
beneficiary is eligible.

The applicant, prior to her 1 February 1995, retirement,  was  married
with dependent children.  She elected child only SBP  coverage  on  14
September 1994.  The DD Form 2656 was  forwarded  to  the  applicant’s
spouse on 23 September 1994, for concurrence.  There is no record that
the  applicant’s  spouse  concurred  with   the   election.    DFAS-CL
established spouse and child coverage based on  full  retired  pay  in
accordance with law.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPTR states the applicant contends the finance  center  did  not
have her husband’s information to process an election.  The  applicant
completed the DD Form 2656 on 14 September 1994, which  listed  J.  as
her husband.  The SBP counselor annotated that she forwarded the  form
to the applicant’s spouse on 23 September 1994, more than five  months
before  the  applicant  retired.   When  spouses  are   geographically
separated the SBP counselor mails  the  form  to  the  spouse  at  the
address the retiring servicemember provides and the  servicemember  is
responsible for assuring the concurrence statement  is  completed  and
returned in a timely  manner  to  the  SBP  counselor.   Although  the
applicant alleges she has for several years tried to have  her  spouse
removed from her SBP, the only written request on file to the  finance
center was on 19 August 2003.  In addition, the Afterburner, News  for
USAF for Retired Personnel, printed during the  disenrollment  period,
17 May 1998 through 16 May 1999 contained guidance,  the  form,  toll-
free numbers to call for more  information,  and  reminders  regarding
deadlines.   Furthermore,  the   Afterburner   was   mailed   to   the
correspondence  addresses  retired  servicemembers  provided  to   the
finance center.  DPPTR recommends denying the applicant’s request.

A complete copy of the evaluation is attached at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the  applicant  on
16 January 2004, 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 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.   It
appears DD Form 2656 was forwarded to the applicant’s spouse  for  his
concurrence of her SBP child only  election.   However,  there  is  no
record he provided his concurrence.  Also, the Afterburner,  News  for
USAF Retired Personnel, printed during the  disenrollment  period  (17
May-6 May 1999) informed servicemembers  of  the  resources  available
regarding the procedures to disenroll from the SBP.  However, there is
no evidence in the applicant’s records to  indicate  she  submitted  a
timely request to make a correction to her SBP election  or  submitted
the appropriate paperwork to terminate her  SBP  coverage  during  the
disenrollment period provided by PL 105-85.  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-
2003-04100 in Executive Session on 7 April 2004, under the  provisions
of AFI 36-2603:

                       Mr. Roscoe Hinton, Jr., Panel Chair
                       Mr. Michael J. Novel, Member
                       Ms. Kathy L. Boockholdt, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 28 Nov 03.
      Exhibit B. Applicant’s Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPTR, dated 14 Jan 04.
      Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 Jan 04.




                             ROSCOE HINTON, JR.
                             Panel Chair