RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2006-00568
            INDEX CODE:  137.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  28 AUG 07

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her late husband’s records be  corrected  to  entitle  her  to  his  Retired
Serviceman’s Family Protection Plan (RSFPP) annuity.

By amendment the applicant requests she receive  her  late  husband’s  RSFPP
annuity as indicated on the Defense Finance and  Accounting  Service  (DFAS)
account statement, or the premium payments that her late husband  paid  into
the account since its inception be returned in one lump sum.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The change of beneficiary was completed in the  November  or  December  1970
timeframe at Dover  Air  Force  Base.   Unfortunately,  she  does  not  have
possession of the documentation; however, she distinctly remembers going  to
the base completing documentation once she discovered the error on her  late
husband’s pay and allowance record.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Microfiche records produced by the Air Force Accounting and  Finance  Center
(AFAFC) from December 1978 (the oldest retired pay records  extant)  reflect
the following.

Prior to the servicemember’s 1 October 1963 retirement, he was  married  and
elected spouse and child RSFPP coverage, Option 4 - that allowed the  member
to terminate RSFPP premium  payments  in  the  event  the  beneficiary  lost
eligibility.  AFPC/DPPRT indicates  the  servicemember’s  first  spouse  was
born in 1918 and the monthly RSFPP cost was  $1.63.   They  were  unable  to
verify the date or the reason that the marriage ended,  but  RSFPP  premiums
continued to be deducted from the servicemember’s retired  pay  even  though
he had no eligible spouse beneficiary.

Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System  (DEERS)  records  show  the
decedent married the applicant on 29  November  1969.   The  youngest  child
lost eligibility in July 1987.  There is no evidence  in  the  records  that
the servicemember elected survivor benefits for the applicant.

On 20 November 2005, the servicemember died.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPRT recommended denial indicating Public Law 87-381  established  the
RSFPP and was in  effect  when  the  servicemember  retired.   Members  were
briefed and required to make their  RSFPP  elections  before  completing  18
years of service.  Members could elect spouse or  child  coverage,  but  did
not allow spouse coverage to be  transferred  to  another  person  upon  the
death or divorce of the original beneficiary.   There  is  no  evidence  the
servicemember returned a valid Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)  election  during
any of the four open enrollment periods (21 September 1972 -  when  SBP  was
established, 1 October 1981 through 30 September 1982, 1 April 1992  through
31 March 1993, and 1 March 1999 through 29 February 2000) authorized  before
his 20 November 2005 death.  During each  enrollment  period,  members  were
advised by direct mail of their eligibility to make an  election.   Had  the
servicemember elected SBP coverage  based  on  his  full  retired  pay,  the
monthly cost would have been approximately $166.00 at the time of his  death
and the annuity would have been no less than $1,022.00.

Retirees participating in RSFPP (with option  4)  must  notify  the  finance
center of the beneficiary’s death or their divorce.  The decedent  may  have
mistakenly believed that the applicant was  eligible  to  receive  an  RSFPP
annuity upon his death since the monthly premiums continued following  their
marriage.  Unfortunately, his belief had no basis in fact  or  law  and  the
Air Force has no authority to pay an RSFPP annuity to his  widow.   The  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.

There is no evidence of error or injustice on the part  of  the  Air  Force.
If the Board’s decision is  to  grant  relief,  the  servicemember’s  record
should be corrected to show he elected SBP spouse  only  coverage  based  on
full retired pay effective 21 September 1972 under the provisions of PL  92-
425 and concurrently terminated his  RSFPP  coverage.   Approval  should  be
contingent upon the recovery of the  additional  premiums  that  would  have
been deducted if the member had made these changes.

The evaluation is at Exhibit B.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant reviewed the evaluation and  indicated  she  does  not  recall
receiving any notification that the RSFPP was being  superseded  by  SBP  or
that an open enrollment period had been authorized on four  occasions.   The
premium for RSFPP continued to be deducted from her late  husband’s  retired
pay and therefore they never were aware that there  was  an  issue  or  that
something else had taken the place of RSFPP.

Her late husband’s first wife died in February 1963 of cancer and her  first
husband was killed in a C-124 accident  in  March  1965.   She  married  the
servicemember in November 1969.  They  went  to  Dover  Air  Force  Base  in
November/December 1970 as she noticed on  some  of  his  official  documents
that he had not updated the beneficiary forms.  From  that  time  until  his
death, she reviewed his annual retiree account summary and was not aware  of
any loss of RSFPP benefits or SBP enrollment  requirements  as  the  premium
continued to be deducted as in the past.  As a widow of  two  WWII  veterans
with a total in service time of 44 years, she is disappointed the Air  Force
did not take a  more  proactive  position  and  either  cancel  the  premium
payments or aggressively attempt to inform her husband  and/or  her  of  the
change in survivor benefit programs once the  final  enrollment  period  was
announced.

She requests  RSFPP  annuity  as  indicated  on  the  DFAS  retiree  account
statement, or at the least the premium payments that her late  husband  paid
into the account since its inception be returned in one lump sum.

The applicant’s response is at Exhibit D.

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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 timely filed.

3.    Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to  demonstrate  the
existence of an error or injustice.  The servicemember  married  his  former
spouse prior to his 1 October 1963 retirement,  electing  spouse  and  child
RSFPP coverage (with  option  4).   Option  4  allowed  a  servicemember  to
terminate RSFPP  premium  payments  if  the  beneficiary  lost  eligibility.
However, there is no official record  verifying  when  the  marriage  ended,
therefore, RSFPP premiums continued to be deducted from the  servicemember’s
retired pay.  He married the applicant in 1969; however, RSFPP coverage  was
not transferable to her, in accordance with law.  We  find  no  evidence  he
attempted to elect SBP coverage for the applicant during  any  of  the  four
open enrollment periods provide by law.  While  the  applicant  claims  that
her spouse changed his beneficiary in November or December 1970,  the  Board
finds insufficient evidence  to  support  this  assertion.   Regardless,  it
appears the servicemember made no attempt to  elect  SBP  coverage  for  the
applicant when he was eligible  during  the  four  open  enrollment  periods
after it was established.  In view of the foregoing and in  the  absence  of
evidence to the contrary, we find no compelling basis upon  which  to  grant
the relief requested.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate  the
existence of an error or an injustice; the application was denied without  a
personal appearance; and 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-
00568 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 10 Feb 06, w/atch.
   Exhibit B.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRT, dated 21 Mar 06.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 31 Mar 06, w/atch.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, Applicant, dated 25 Apr 06.




                       MICHAEL K. GALLOGLY
                       Panel Chair