RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2007-00439
            INDEX CODE:  137.04
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

MANDATORY COMPLETION DATE:

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be allowed to establish Survivor Benefit Program (SBP) coverage  for  his
spouse.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was married on 30 Mar 91.  He recently discovered that his wife  was  not
listed as his beneficiary and would like to  take  the  necessary  steps  to
ensure that she is named as spouse beneficiary of his SBP.

He created this problem and would like the Board’s  help  in  resolving  it.
He was not married at the time of his retirement and paid  little  attention
to the details of a program intended for spouses.  When he  married  a  year
and a half later, SBP did not cross his mind because  he  assumed  SBP  only
applied to those who were already married before they  retired.   He  always
assumed his wife would receive his final paycheck from the  Air  Force  upon
his death.   He  recently  received  a  form  indicating  his  sons  as  the
beneficiaries of his SBP.  He was informed about  enrolling  in  SBP  during
open season; however, the latest open season ended in Sep 06.

He has the ability and willingness to pay retroactively to bring him  up  to
date in the program.  He accepts full responsibility for this oversight.

The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant was honorably discharged and retired from the Air Force  on  1
Dec 89 in the grade of master sergeant (E-7).

The applicant was not married and declined SBP coverage prior to his  1  Dec
89 retirement.  He was married on 30 Mar 91, but  did  not  submit  a  valid
election within the first  year  of  marriage.   There  is  no  evidence  he
submitted an election during the 92-93, 99-00, or the 05-06 open  enrollment
periods.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPRT recommends denial.  DPPRT states Public  Laws  (PLs)  101-189,
105-261, and 108-375 authorized enrollment periods (1 Apr 92 – 31 Mar 93,  1
Mar 99 – 29 Feb00, and  1Oct05  –  30  Sep  06,  respectively)  for  retired
members to  elect  SBP  coverage.   Each  open  enrollment  required  higher
monthly premiums or a lump-sum buy-in and all three required the  member  to
live for two full years from the effective date of  the  election.   Members
were advised by direct mail of their eligibility to make an  election.   The
enrolment packets, as  well  as  the  Afterburner,  News  for  USAF  Retired
Personnel,  published   during   those   timeframes   were   sent   to   the
correspondence address each member had provided to the  finance  center  and
contained points of contact for them to use to gain additional information.

DPPRT affirms that had the applicant submitted an election within the  first
year of his marriage, monthly premiums would  have  been  approximately  $97
and SBP costs of about $17,000 would have been  deducted  from  his  pay  to
date.  He later had three opportunities  to  obtain  additional  information
about the Plan and to elect coverage for his wife during  the  92-93,  99-00
and 05-06 open enrollments, but he failed  to  do  so.   PL  108-375,  which
authorized the most recent open enrollment period,  contained  no  provision
for waiving or extending the one-year period authorized to participate.  SBP
is similar to commercial life insurance in that an individual must elect  to
participate during the  opportunities  provided  by  the  law  and  pay  the
associated premiums in order to have  coverage.   Providing  this  applicant
additional time  to  elect  SBP  coverage  would  be  inequitable  to  other
retirees in similar situations and is not justified by the facts.

DPPRT concludes if the Board’s decision  is  to  approve  the  request,  the
member’s record should be  corrected  to  reflect  he  elected  spouse  only
coverage based on full retired pay on 31  Mar  91  and  approval  should  be
contingent upon the recovery of all retroactive costs that may be due.

The complete DPPRT evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force Evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 23  Mar
07 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this date, this office  has
received no response (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.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of  error  or  injustice.   We  took  notice  of  the  applicant’s
complete submission in judging the merits of the  case;  however,  we  agree
with the opinion and the recommendation of the Air Force office  of  primary
responsibility and adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion  that
the applicant has not been the victim of an error or injustice.   Therefore,
in  the  absence  of  persuasive  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 probable 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 this application in  Executive
Session on 7 Jun 2007, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

            Ms. Kathy L. Boockholdt, Panel Chair
            Ms. Janet I. Hassan, Member
            Mr. Alan A. Blomgren, Member

The following documentary evidence for AFBCMR  Docket  Number  BC-2007-00439
was considered:

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 7 Feb 07.
      Exhibit B.  Letter, HQ ARPC/DPP, dated 21 Nov 06 w/atchs
      Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR dated 1 Dec 06.





            KATHY L. BOOCKHOLDT
            Panel Chair