RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2005-01176
            INDEX CODE:137.00

            COUNSEL:  None

            HEARING DESIRED:  No


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  9 OCT 06


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His  records  be  corrected  to  reflect  he   changed   his   Retired
Serviceman’s  Family  Protection  Plan  (RSFPP)  coverage  to   spouse
coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP).

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was advised that SVB (sic) premiums were deducted from his  retired
pay and that he was advised his wife would receive 50 percent  of  his
retired pay upon his death.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Prior to his 1 July 1966 retirement, the applicant  was  married  with
children and elected child coverage  under  the  Retired  Serviceman’s
Family Protection Plan (RSFPP).  His  records  indicate  his  children
lost eligibility for the RSFPP in January 1982.

There is no evidence the applicant  submitted  a  valid  election  for
spouse coverage under SBP during the initial open enrollment or any of
the three open enrollments periods which followed.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPTR states servicemembers  could  make  an  election  prior  to
completing 19 years of service under the RSFPP.  If the  servicemember
was married, they could decline, or elect RSFPP  coverage  for  spouse
only, spouse and child, or child only.  Child only coverage terminated
when the youngest child lost eligibility at age 23.  Unlike SBP, cost-
of-living increases (COLAs) were not applied to the RSFPP.  The  RSFPP
was a voluntary program which was fully supported by the  participants
and did not receive a Government subsidy.  An  RSFPP  beneficiary  may
receive both an RFSPP and an SBP annuity.

Public Law (PL) 92-425, which established  the  SBP  on  21  September
1972, authorized an enrollment period for retired members to elect SBP
coverage.  Servicemembers could either terminate or keep  their  RFSPP
in addition to electing SBP.  The enrollment packets and  Afterburner,
News for USAF Retired  Personnel,  were  sent  to  the  correspondence
address the servicemembers had provided  to  the  finance  center  and
contained information and points of contact to  use  to  gain  further
information.

AFPC/DPPTR further states the servicemember’s contention that  he  was
paying premiums for his spouse to receive an annuity upon his death is
without merit.  The cost to have elected  spouse  coverage  under  the
RSFPP would have been $14.  There is  no  evidence  the  servicemember
submitted a spouse SBP  election  during  the  initial  enrollment  or
during later open enrollments.  Furthermore, it is the  responsibility
of each servicemember to ensure they understand the provisions of  the
survivor plans as they would apply to their individual  situation  and
contact administrators if they did not understand.  The survivor plans
are similar to commercial life insurance  in  that  the  servicemember
must elect to participate and pay the associated premiums in order  to
have coverage.  It would be inequitable to  those  servicemembers  who
chose  to  participate  in  the  SBP  when  they  were  eligible   and
subsequently received reduced retired pay to permit this servicemember
with an additional opportunity  to  provide  SBP  coverage.   An  open
enrollment for SBP has been scheduled for  October  2005.   AFPC/DPPRT
recommends the requested relief be denied.

A complete copy of the Air Force evaluation is at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The servicemember’s wife submitted a  letter  stating  their  youngest
child was only nine years old in January 1982.  He was born on 20 June
1973 (Exhibit D).

On 8 June 2005, HQ AFPC/DPPRT amended their evaluation by stating  the
laws controlling the RSFPP did not extend  coverage  to  a  spouse  or
child acquired after the servicemember’s retirement (Exhibit E).

On 16 June 2005, the Board staff forwarded a corrected copy of the Air
Force evaluation to the applicant for review and response (Exhibit F).

The applicant’s spouse in response to the letter dated 16  June  2005,
stated that their daughter was only 20 years old in January  1982  and
that they also have a son who was born deaf (Exhibit G).

On 26 July 2005, the Board staff  forwarded  the  applicant  a  letter
clarifying some of the issues in the advisory opinions (Exhibit H).

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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 an error or an  injustice.   Applicant’s  contentions
are duly noted; however, after thoroughly reviewing  the  evidence  of
record, we are not persuaded to  correct  the  applicant’s  record  to
reflect he elected SBP spouse coverage.  The applicant, prior  to  his
1966  retirement,  elected  child  only  coverage  under  the  Retired
Serviceman’s Family Protection Plan (RSFPP).  It appears his  children
lost eligibility  for  the  RSFPP  in  1982.   There  is  no  evidence
indicating the applicant elected coverage for his  spouse  during  its
initial enrollment period.  Furthermore, the  applicant  has  had  the
opportunity to elect SBP coverage for his spouse during the authorized
open enrollments periods  from  1981-1982,  1992-1993  and  1999-2000.
However, there is no evidence the applicant elected coverage  for  his
spouse during these time periods.  It is noted the applicant will have
another opportunity to elect SBP coverage during the  authorized  open
enrollment beginning 1 October 2005.  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-
2005-01176  in  Executive  Session  on  27  October  2005,  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                       Mr. Michael K. Gallogly, Panel Chair
                       Ms. Kathleen F. Graham, Member
                       Mr. Alan A. Blomgren, Member

The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket  Number
BC-2005-01176 was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 2 Apr 05, w/atch.
      Exhibit B. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRT, dated 6 May 05.
      Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 13 May 05.
      Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant’s Spouse, dated 18 May 05.
      Exhibit E. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRT, dated 8 Jun 05.
      Exhibit F. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 16 Jun 05.
      Exhibit G. Letter, Applicant’s Spouse, dated 29 Jun 05.
      Exhibit H. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 26 Jul 05.




                             MICHAEL K. GALLOGLY
                             Panel Chair