RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-00171
INDEX CODE: 137.04
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
Her former spouses records be corrected to show he made a timely
election for former spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit
Plan (SBP).
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado notified her that her husband
had stopped payment to his SBP.
In support of her request, the applicant provides a copy of her
divorce decree and a note from the Air Force Review Boards
Agency.
The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at
Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The applicant and former spouse were married on 24 May 1957. The
applicant retired for disability on 4 January 1979 and elected
spouse only SBP coverage based on full-retired pay prior to his
retirement. The former spouse did not provide a copy of their
divorce decree; however, the Defense Enrollment Eligibility
Reporting System (DEERS) records show the parties divorced on
24 January 2007. The separation agreement provided by the former
spouse contains an agreement that the applicant would take all
necessary steps to ensure the former spouse receives all the Air
Force retirement spouse benefits, to include but not limited to
medical benefits and SBP. There is no evidence the applicant or
former spouse submitted a valid SBP election to change spouse to
former spouse coverage during the required time following their
divorce. The former spouses date of birth continues to be
reflected as the eligible spouse beneficiary and premiums were
deducted from the applicants pay until 1 February 2009, when he
met the paid up requirement authorized under Public Law (PL) 105-
261.
Public Law 105-261 authorized SBP participates who reach the age
70 and whose retired pay has been reduced for 360 months
(30 years) or more, to no longer be required to pay monthly
premiums effective 1 October 2008.
_________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPSIAR recommends approval of the applicants request.
DPSIAR states there is no evidence of an Air Force error and
absent evidence of a competing claimant, it would be appropriate
to enforce the parties court-ordered agreement to continue SBP
coverage on the former spouses behalf. Approval should be
contingent upon the applicant providing a certified copy of the
finalized divorce decree and recovery of appropriate retroactive
costs.
The complete DPSIAR evaluation is at Exhibit C.
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the member on
12 March 2010, for review and comment within 30 days. As of this
date, no response has been received by this office. (Exhibit D).
_________________________________________________________________
THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:
1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing
law or regulations.
2. The application was timely filed.
3. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to
demonstrate the existence of error or injustice. After
thoroughly reviewing the circumstances of this case, we believe
the applicant should be awarded benefits under the Survivor
Benefit Program. In that regard, we note the controlling divorce
decree ordered that certain survivor benefits remain vested in
the applicant. Therefore, we recommend the applicants records
be corrected as indicated below.
______________________________________________________________
THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:
The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 25 January
2007, he elected to change his SBP election from "spouse"
coverage to "former spouse coverage" based on full-retired pay,
naming XXX as the eligible beneficiary.
_______________________________________________________________
The following members of the Board considered Docket Number BC-
2010-00171 in Executive Session on 10 June 2010, under the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:
Panel Chair
Member
Member
All members voted to correct the records, as recommended. The
following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 24 Nov 09, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Applicants Master Personnel Records.
Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIAR, dated 18 Feb 10
Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 12 Mar 10.
Panel ChairAF | BCMR | CY2012 | BC-2012-01307
If neither the member nor the spouse requests the election change during the one-year eligibility period, former spouse coverage may not be established thereafter. Even though a member fails to notify DFAS—Cleveland (DFAS-CL) of the divorce and continues to pay SBP premiums afterword, the former spouse is not eligible for annuity payments upon the member’s death. However, should the applicant provide a notarized statement from the deceased former member’s widow relinquishing her...
AF | BCMR | CY2012 | BC 2012 02752
The member did not request coverage for his former spouse be terminated and the fact that SBP premiums were deducted from his retired pay for over three years following their divorce are indicative of his intent to maintain the applicant as the eligible SBP beneficiary. There is no evidence of Air Force error in this case and absent a competing claimant, DPSIAR recommends the member's record be corrected to reflect on 10 Apr 2009, he elected to change SBP spouse to former spouse coverage...
AF | BCMR | CY2012 | BC-2012-02752
There is no evidence of Air Force error in this case and absent a competing claimant, DPSIAR recommends the member's record be corrected to reflect on 10 Apr 2009, he elected to change SBP spouse to former spouse coverage based on full retired pay, naming the applicant as the former spouse beneficiary. There is no evidence of Air Force error; however, to preclude an injustice, we agree with AFPC/DPSIARs recommendation that the members records should be corrected to reflect that he made a...
AF | BCMR | CY2011 | BC-2011-04372
There is no evidence that either party submitted an election to change spouse coverage to former spouse coverage within the first year following their divorce. The evidence of record reflects that as a part of the divorce settlement the court ordered the applicant to elect former spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force...
AF | BCMR | CY2012 | BC-2012-03655
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-03655 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His records be corrected to reflect he made a timely election for former spouse and child coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). However, there was no evidence that either the applicant or the former spouse made an election to change spouse...
AF | BCMR | CY2011 | BC-2011-04466
_______________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: She and her deceased former spouse were married on 10 Nov 1961 and divorced on 13 Dec 2002. While we do not take issue with the applicants assertion that her divorce decree ordered her deceased former husband to continue coverage for her under the SBP, he failed to convert the coverage to former spouse coverage within one year of their divorce as required by law. ...
AF | BCMR | CY2010 | BC-2010-04295
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-04295 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ THE APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: She be entitled to benefits under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). ________________________________________________________________ THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSIAR did not provide a recommendation. The complete AFRBA Legal Advisor...
AF | BCMR | CY2007 | BC 2007 03737
Even though the SBP was not addressed in the divorce decree, the member could have elected former spouse coverage voluntarily within the first year following the divorce, but failed to do so. We took notice of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of the case; however, we agree with the 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...
AF | BCMR | CY2012 | BC-2012-01800
On 12 Oct 90, the parties divorced and the applicant was ordered to elect SBP on behalf of his former spouse. Neither party submitted an election for former spouse coverage within the first year of the divorce; however, the member did not request his former spouse be removed as the SBP beneficiary. The complete DPSIAR evaluation is at Exhibit B.
AF | BCMR | CY2012 | BC-2012-02706
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-02706 COUNSEL: HEARING DESIRED: YES _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: She be entitled to benefits under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). He failed to complete a valid SBP election at that time, and DFAS-CL established the maximum level of SBP spouse coverage on the applicant's behalf, as required by law. ...