RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2008-02569
            INDEX CODE:  137.00
            COUNSEL:  NONE
            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her late husband's records be corrected  to  show  that  he  elected  spouse
coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) program.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

In Feb 93, her husband completed the DD Form  2618,  Survivor  Benefit  Plan
(SBP) Open Enrollment Election requesting premium payments to begin  in  Mar
93.  The form was mailed “certified” to the Defense Finance  and  Accounting
Service-Denver, CO, (DFAS-DE) and certified received on 16 Feb 93;  however,
it appears the request was never processed.

In support  of  the  application,  she  submits  a  copy  of  the  SBP  Open
Enrollment Election form,  the certified receipts,  the  “Afterburner,”  the
premium schedule, and her spouse’s death certificate.

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

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant and military service member were married on 26  Sep  59.   The
service member elected child only RSFPP prior to his  retirement  on  1  Sep
67.  He did not elect SBP coverage for his spouse after it was enacted,  nor
did he make an election during the open enrollment authorized by  PL  97-35.
His record contains a copy of a 28 Apr 93 letter from DFAS-DE advising  him,
among other  things,  that  the  12  Feb  93  open  enrollment  election  he
submitted was “invalid” because block 10 did not indicate  the  base  amount
upon which he wished to establish coverage.  Open  enrollment  ended  on  31
Mar 93.  He died on 13 Apr 08.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ  AFPC/DPSIAR  recommends  denial.   DPSIAR  states  the  member  had  six
opportunities to provide some sort of survivor protection for his wife,  but
failed to do so.  Notwithstanding the  decedent’s  unsuccessful  attempt  to
elect coverage during the last  month  of  the  year  long  open  enrollment
period authorized by PL 101-189, there  is  no  evidence  he  contacted  our
office to apply for  an  administrative  correction.   His  open  enrollment
election form contained what appears to be the monthly  SBP  premium  amount
he thought would be collected from his retired pay if  he  elected  coverage
on a reduced level of retired pay.  The cost  formula  for  the  92-93  open
enrollment was based upon a member’s retirement date, with the maximum  cost
of 11 percent required for members who had retired prior to 21 Sep 72.   His
gross retired pay effective 12 Dec 92 was $738 and a  base  amount  of  $673
would have had an open enrollment cost of $74.07.  Such a base amount  would
have provided the petitioner an SBP annuity of $370 if the member had  lived
for two full years following the date of a valid election.  If the  decedent
had made that election, the amount of the premiums  that  should  have  been
deducted from his retired pay until his  death  would  approximate  $18,000.
Additionally, there is no evidence he submitted an open enrollment  election
on the  petitioner’s  behalf  during  the  two  subsequent  open  enrollment
periods before his death.

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.  DPSIAR opines to provide entitlement to this widow on  the  basis
of the evidence presented would be unfair to  those  members  who  chose  to
participate when eligible and subsequently received reduced retired  pay  or
to other widows whose sponsors chose not to participate.

The complete DSPIAR evaluation is at Exhibit B.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 19  Sep
08 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this date, this office  has
received no response (Exhibit C).

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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  error  or  injustice.   Although  the  former   servicemember
attempted to procure SBP coverage for his spouse in Feb  93,  we  note  that
his submission was deemed invalid.  We also note that DFAS-CL  notified  him
a few months later of the invalid submission and provided  him  instructions
on  how  to  properly  resubmit  his  application.   Regrettably,  he  never
responded to DFAS-CL nor did he attempt to procure coverage  during  any  of
the other open enrollment periods offered before his demise.  Therefore,  we
agree with opinion and 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.

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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.

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The following members of the Board considered this application in  Executive
Session on 20 November 2008, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

            Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
            Ms. B.J. White-Olson, Member
            Ms. Patricia R. Collins, Member

The following documentary evidence for AFBCMR  Docket  Number  BC-2008-02569
was considered:

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 23 Jun 08, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPSIAR, dated 12 Aug 08.
      Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR dated 19 Sep 08.




            THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
            Chair