RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-02880
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
Her deceased former spouses record be changed to show he elected
spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP).
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
Her husband never intended to have his SBP revoked, but wanted to
remove his son as beneficiary and name his wife.
In support of her request, the applicant provides a personal
statement and documents extracted from the service members
military personnel records.
The applicants complete submission, with attachments, is at
Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The decedent and the applicant were married, had children and he
elected child only SBP coverage based on full retired pay prior
to his 1 April 1974 retirement.
The decedents first wife died on 15 December 2004.
The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS)
records show the decedent married the current spouse on 20 May
2006. The decedent died on 20 December 2009.
_________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPSIAR recommends denial. DPSIAR states on 2 June 2009, the
former member submitted a request to correct his records to
remove his son as an SBP beneficiary because receipt of SBP
payments (approximately $3,500 per month) would jeopardize his
care under a State of Indiana contract. The request did not
mention or imply he wished to provide SBP coverage for the
applicant. On 25 August 2009, the AFBCMR authorized the former
members records to be corrected to reflect he declined SBP
coverage effective 1 April 1974. On 2 October 2009, DFAS paid
the former member an SBP credit of $9,340.84 (gross) for the
child only premiums deducted from his retired pay retroactive to
1 April 1974.
The former member could have elected spouse and child coverage
prior to his retirement, but he did not. He could have provided
spouse coverage for his former deceased spouse during the three
SBP open enrollments (1 October 1981 to 30 September 1982;
1 April 1992 to 31 March 1993; and 1 March 1999 to 29 February
2000), but he did not. Since the member failed to elect SBP
spouse coverage, he was not entitled to elect coverage on the
applicants behalf within the first year following their
marriage. However, he could have elected SBP spouse coverage for
her during the open enrollment. Had he elected coverage during
this opportunity he would have been required to pay a lump-sum
buy-in of approximately $249,210 and lived for two full years
from the date of the election. It is each members
responsibility to ensure required actions are taken to provide
family members those military benefits and privileges which are
afforded to them. 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 relief to the applicant
based on the evidence presented is not justified and would
provide an additional opportunity, after the fact, not afforded
to other survivors. There is no evidence of Air Force error or
injustice in this case.
The DPSIAR complete evaluation is at Exhibit B.
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
The applicant reviewed the evaluation and states her husband
married his first wife and elected child only coverage because
their son had to be institutionalized for medical reasons until
1998. He did not include his first wife on the SBP due to her
failing health. She passed away in December 2004.
She states that she and her husband were informed by personnel at
Luke Air Force Base that the child only election that was
previously made could not be changed she could never be added
as beneficiary.
The applicant's complete response is at 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. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to
demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice. The
applicants contentions are duly noted; 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
or injustice. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the
contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the relief
sought in this application.
_________________________________________________________________
THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:
The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not
demonstrate the existence of an error or 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-2010-02880 in Executive Session on 10 February 2011,
under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:
The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket
Number BC-2010-02880 was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 3 August 2010, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPSIAR, dated 17 September 2010.
Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 5 November 2010.
Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated 15 November 2010.
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