RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-00460
                                             INDEX CODE:  137.04
                                             COUNSEL:  NONE

                                             HEARING DESIRED:  NO

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be allowed to terminate his Survivor Benefit Program (SBP)  coverage  for
his handicapped son.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His wife passed away on 6 December 2003.  He included his  son  in  the  SBP
plan only because the cost was so low.  He did not know that when  his  wife
died the cost of coverage for his son would escalate to  $81.68.   His  son,
who  currently  resides  in  a  Group  Home,  suffers  from  severe   mental
retardation as a result of Spinal Meningitis contracted as  an  infant.   If
he cannot withdraw from the SBP program, he will be paying $81.68  cents  or
more until he dies, and his son will never enjoy the benefits of the money.

In support of his application,  he  submitted  a  personal  statement.   The
applicant’s complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A.
________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The member  did  not  elect  Retired  Serviceman’s  Family  Protection  Plan
(RSFPP) coverage prior to his  1  May  1972  retirement.   He  declined  SBP
coverage during the Plan’s initial enrollment period (21  September  1972  -
20 March 1974), but elected spouse and child  SBP  coverage  based  on  full
retired pay  during  the  open  enrollment  period  (1  October  1981  -  30
September 1982) authorized by  Public  Law  97-35.   His  wife  died  on  22
December 2003, the cost for her coverage was suspended and the  SBP  premium
was adjusted to reflect his handicapped  son  (date  of  birth  14  November
1951) as the primary beneficiary.  Prior to  his  wife’s  death,  the  total
monthly SBP cost was approximately $143 ($142 for spouse costs, $1  for  the
child’s portion).  Following  the  adjustment  to  the  costs,  the  child’s
premium became approximately $81.00.
________________________________________________________________


AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The Retiree Services  Branch,  AFPC/DPPTR,  reviewed  this  application  and
recommended denial stating there is  no  evidence  of  Air  Force  error  or
injustice.  Monthly premiums for spouse  and  child  coverage  are  weighted
upon the fact that the child is a contingent beneficiary who  would  receive
SBP payments only in the event the spouse becomes ineligible  for  payments.
When  the  primary  beneficiary  becomes  ineligible,  the  costs  must   be
recalculated.  Premiums for a handicapped child  over  the  age  of  22  are
based upon the factors for a child age 17 and the member’s actual age.   The
applicant’s concern that his son will not enjoy any SBP  payments  resulting
from his participation for over twenty-two years has merit, but there is  no
provision in the laws controlling the SBP to  permit  termination  for  that
reason.

DPPTR states that if the Board’s decision is to grant relief,  the  member’s
record should be corrected to reflect he declined spouse and child  coverage
effective 29 September 1982, and correction should be  contingent  upon  the
member’s waiving refund of any SBP premiums deducted before  and  after  the
death of his wife.

The complete evaluation is at Exhibit C.
________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant reviewed the  Air  Force  evaluation  and,  in  an  additional
statement, reiterates his  initial  contentions  regarding  his  request  to
terminate SBP coverage  for  his  son.   In  support  of  his  comments,  he
includes a diagnosis and evaluation report  from  the  Austin-Travis  County
Mental Health Mental Retardation Center (Exhibit E).
________________________________________________________________

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.  Sufficient relevant evidence  has  been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of  injustice.   It  is  possible  the  applicant  was  not  fully
counseled that the cost for the child portion of the SBP coverage  would  be
recalculated should  his  wife  predecease  him.   Additionally,  under  the
circumstances presented in this case, the applicant’s son will  not  benefit
from the SBP coverage as  it  was  intended.   Therefore,  we  believe  that
relief is appropriate  in  this  case.   We  disagree  with  the  Air  Force
recommendation for relief should we not accept their assessment of the  case
since the spouse had the  benefit  of  the  coverage  for  approximately  20
years.  Based  on  our  findings  of  injustice,  we  believe  changing  the
applicant’s election from spouse  and  child  coverage  to  spouse  coverage
would be the best form of relief in this case.  To do so  would  allow  this
benefit to be available to any new spouse should the applicant remarry.   In
view of the foregoing, and as a matter of  fairness,  we  believe  that  the
applicant’s record should be corrected as indicated below.
________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air  Force  relating
to APPLICANT be corrected to show that  on  29 September  1982,  he  elected
spouse coverage, rather than spouse and child coverage, under  the  Survivor
Benefit Plan (SBP) based on full retired pay.
________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this application in  Executive
Session on 14 April 2004, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

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

The following documentary evidence was considered in connection with  AFBCMR
Docket Number BC-2004-00460.

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 8 Feb 04, with attachments.
      Exhibit B.  Applicant’s Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPTR, dated 26 Feb 04.
      Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 5 Mar 04.




      ROSCOE HINTON, JR.
      Panel Chair








AFBCMR BC-2004-00460




MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF

      Having received and considered the recommendation of the Air Force
Board for Correction of Military Records and under the authority of
Section 1552, Title 10, United States Code (70A Stat 116), it is directed
that:

      The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force
relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 29 September 1982, he
elected spouse coverage, rather than spouse and child coverage, under the
Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) based on full retired pay.







  JOE G. LINEBERGER

  Director

  Air Force Review Boards Agency