RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-02399
            INDEX NUMBER:  137.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His records be corrected to allow him to add his disabled  daughter
to his reduced spouse only coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan
(SBP).

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

At the time of his retirement from the Air Force he  elected  child
coverage under the SBP.  His daughter was excluded once she  turned
18 years old, and he added his spouse.  Her disability happened  at
birth.  He was not briefed, nor was he counseled that his  daughter
could remain on his SBP due to her  disability.   This  information
was just recently briefed to him.

In support of his request, applicant provided a doctor’s letter,  a
letter from DFAS, and a DD Form  1172,  Application  for  Uniformed
Services Identification Card.

Applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

___________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant was married and he elected child only coverage  under
the Retired Serviceman’s Family Protection Plan  (RSFPP)  prior  to
his 1 Aug 69 retirement.

The member elected spouse only SBP  coverage  based  on  a  reduced
level of retired pay during the initial open enrollment (21 Sep  72
– 20 Mar 74) that followed the Plan’s implementation.  All  of  his
children lost eligibility for the RSFPP prior to 1978.

___________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPTR recommends  denial.   Members  were  required  to  be
briefed and make an RSFPP election prior to completing 19 years  of
service.  The RSFPP was a  voluntary  program  fully  supported  by
participants and had  no  government  subsidy.   Eligible  children
covered under the RSFPP remained eligible until age 18  or  23,  if
unmarried and a full time student.  A child, who is diagnosed to be
incapable of self-support prior to age 18 or  23  if  an  unmarried
full-time student, remains an eligible beneficiary  for  life.   An
RSFPP beneficiary may receive both an RSFPP  and  an  SBP  annuity.
Public Law (PL) 92-425, which established the SBP  on  21  Sep  72,
authorized an enrollment period for retired members  to  elect  SBP
coverage.  Members could either terminate or keep  their  RSFPP  in
addition to electing or declining SBP.

The member’s claim that he elected child coverage under the SBP  is
without  merit.   The  applicant   claims   his   daughter   became
handicapped in  1975  at  age  20,  but  he  provided  no  evidence
verifying she was a  full  time  student  at  that  time.   If  his
daughter’s  disability  was  diagnosed  while  she  was   otherwise
eligible, the member could have  elected  coverage  on  her  behalf
during the initial open enrollment; however, there is  no  evidence
such an election was submitted.  SBP is similar to commercial  life
insurance in that an individual must elect to participate  and  pay
the associated premiums in order to have coverage.

PLs 97-35, 101-189 and 105-261 authorized three SBP open enrollment
periods:  1 Oct 81 – 30 Sep 82, 1 Apr 92 – 31 Mar 93, and 1 Mar  99
– 29 Feb  00.   Members  were  advised  by  direct  mail  of  their
eligibility to make an election.  The enrollment packets,  as  well
as the Afterburner, USAF  News  For  Retired  Personnel,  published
during  those  timeframes,   were   sent   direct   mail   to   the
correspondence address members had provided to the  finance  center
and contained toll-free numbers and points of contact for  retirees
to use to gain additional information.  The open enrollments of 81-
82 and 92-93 did not permit participants with SBP  spouse  coverage
to add an eligible child.

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

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant provides a letter from his daughter’s current  doctor
indicating her handicap occurred  at  birth.   He  also  submits  a
letter  from  Radcliffe  Infirmary,  Oxford   England,   indicating
diagnosis and treatment of his daughter at the age of 10 days  old.
He stated that at age  five,  his  daughter  was  sent  to  a  USAF
Hospital for evaluation of her convulsive state and cerebral damage
and possible  surgery.   The  surgery  was  determined  to  be  too
dangerous.  At age 10, his daughter was scheduled for  consultation
at Walter Reed Hospital; it was again determined  surgery  was  too
dangerous, so she remained on medication.

Applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, 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 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 error or injustice.  After careful review  of  the
evidence provided, it appears the  applicant’s  daughter  has  been
permanently incapacitated and incapable of  self-support  since  10
days of age.  In view of this, the applicant could have established
survivor coverage in her behalf under  the  Survivor  Benefit  Plan
(SBP).  The applicant contends he was not briefed or counseled that
his daughter could remain a beneficiary of his SBP coverage due  to
her disability.  In this regard, we note the applicant  elected  to
participate in the SBP program during the initial  open  enrollment
following  the  Plan’s  implementation,  three  years   after   his
retirement from the Air Force.  We believe the applicant would have
elected to provide coverage for his daughter had he been aware that
she would have remained an eligible beneficiary for life  based  on
her disability.   Therefore,  we  recommend  that  the  records  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:

    a.  His  daughter,  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX,  was  incapable  of  self-
support and, on 21 Sep 72, he elected  spouse  and  child  coverage
under the Survivor Benefit Plan based on reduced retired pay.

    b.  Effective 1 Oct 72, he terminated his Retired  Serviceman’s
Family Protection Plan coverage.

___________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket  Number
BC-2004-02399 in Executive Session on 2 December  2004,  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Roscoe Hinton Jr., Panel Chair
      Mr. Michael J. Novel, Member
      Mr. Michael K. Gallogly, Member

All members voted to correct  the  records,  as  recommended.   The
following documentary evidence was considered:

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 22 Jun 04, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPTR, dated 2 Sep 04.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Sep 04.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, Applicant, dated 30 Sep 04, w/atchs.




                                   ROSCOE HINTON JR.
                                   Panel Chair



AFBCMR BC-2004-02399




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:

            a.  His daughter, xxxxxxxxxxxxx, was incapable of self-
support and,on 21 Sep 72, he elected spouse and child Survivor
Benefit Plan coverage based on reduced retired pay.

            b.  Effective 1 Oct 72, he terminated his Retired
Serviceman’s Family Protection Plan coverage.






            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director
            Air Force Review Boards Agency