RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2006-00045
INDEX CODE: 137.00
COUNSEL: None
HEARING DESIRED: No
MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE: 8 JUL 07
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
Her late husband's record be corrected to reflect he elected spouse
coverage under the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP).
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
She should receive the survivor benefits because she is the
beneficiary of the deceased servicemember.
Applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is attached at
Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The applicant and the servicemember were married on 28 February 1970.
On 4 March 1987, the servicemember was notified of his eligibility to
participate in the RCSBP. The eligibility notification package was
mailed by certified mail to the servicemember’s home address and
signed by him. The servicemember did not make an election for RCSBP
coverage and was automatically enrolled in Option A, “Deferred
election until age 60.” The servicemember died on 8 January 2003.
Congress authorized open enrollments periods from 1 April 1992 through
31 March 1993 and 1 March 1999 through 29 February 2000, for
servicemembers who had elected less than full coverage or no coverage
for their spouse or children to give them the opportunity to change
their election to cover their families. There is no evidence the
servicemember made an election during the authorized open enrollments.
_________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
ARPC/DPP states it is required by Title 10, U.S.C., Section 1448(a)(2)
that members wanting to participate in RCSBP must submit their
election within 90 days of receipt of the package. ARPC has no record
of receiving an election request from the servicemember. Furthermore,
the servicemember did not make an election when notified he was
eligible in 1987. Nor, did he elect coverage for his spouse during
the authorized open enrollment periods for 1992-1993 and 1999-2000.
They further state that unmarried spouses of retirement eligible
servicemembers may be entitled to other benefits such as access to the
Commissary, Base Exchange and other base services. The applicant
should contact the Entitlements Branch, Tricare and Veterans
Administration (VA) for information regarding her eligibility for
benefits. In view of the above, they recommend denying the
applicant’s request.
A complete copy of the evaluation is attached at Exhibit C.
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
A complete copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the
applicant on 3 February 2006, 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 file.
3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate
the existence of an error or an injustice. After thoroughly reviewing
the evidence of record, we are not persuaded to change the
servicemember's records to reflect that he elected coverage under the
RCSBP. The servicemember was notified of his eligibility to
participate in the RCSBP and failed to make an election. Furthermore,
the information contained in the initial election package clearly
indicated that the servicemember had 90 days from the date of receipt
of the election package to return the completed election form to ARPC,
in accordance with the governing statute. It is the responsibility of
the servicemember to submit the election form within the time
constraints allowed. The service member had another opportunity to
elect RCSBP coverage during two authorized open enrollment seasons,
but failed to do so. Therefore, it appears that the service member
was notified on three different occasions of his eligibility to enroll
in RCSBP but did not apparently choose to exercise his opportunity to
elect coverage. The applicant, as a widow of a retirement eligible
servicemember, apparently is eligible for other benefits, such as the
Commissary, Base Exchange and Tricare. Also, the Board suggests she
contact the Veterans Administration to determine her possible
eligibility for benefits. In view of the foregoing, we agree with the
recommendation of the Air Force and adopt the rationale expressed as
the basis for our conclusion that the applicant failed to sustain her
burden of establishing the existence of either an error or an
injustice warranting favorable action on his request.
_________________________________________________________________
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-
2006-00045 in Executive Session on 15 June 2006, under the provisions
of AFI 36-2603:
Mr. Michael K. Gallogly, Panel Chair
Ms. Renee M. Collier, Member
Ms. Marcia Jane Bachman, Member
The following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 27 Dec 05, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Letter, HQ ARPC/DPP, dated 27 Jan 06, w/atchs.
Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 3 Feb 06.
MICHAEL K. GALLOGLY
Panel Chair
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