RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-03308
COUNSEL:
HEARING DESIRED: NO
___________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
Her deceased former spouses military record be changed to show he
made a timely Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) election for former
spouse coverage.
__________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
She should be given favorable consideration to be awarded the
former members SBP under Public Law 98-94 dated 24 Sep 83.
In support of her request, the applicant provides a copy of a
Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) printout, a copy of
the former members DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United States
Report of Transfer or Discharge, a copy of the former members
death certificate, a copy of her marriage license, and a copy of
her divorce decree.
Her complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.
__________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in
the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air Force.
Accordingly, there is no need to recite these facts in this Record
of Proceedings.
__________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPSIAR does not provide a recommendation because it involves
two potential SBP beneficiaries.
The DPSIAR complete evaluation is at Exhibit B.
The AFRBA Legal Advisor recommends denial and states in part that
despite the Jan 88 court order directing the member to convert to
former spouse coverage, federal law makes the election unavailable
when the deemed election is not timely filed. In this case, there
is no evidence either party requested SBP coverage within one year
of the divorce as required by law. If there were not a competing
eligible beneficiary, the AFRBA Legal Advisor would recommend
correcting the record, but there is. The AFRBA Advisor would also
recommend correcting the record if the current spouse gives her
notarized consent. Absent that consent, no extraordinary
circumstances exist that support not enforcing the deemed election
requirement given the fact that correcting the record in the
manner requested will deprive the members current spouse benefits
to which she is legally entitled.
The complete AFRBA Legal Advisor evaluation is at Exhibit C.
__________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
A copy of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the
applicant on 30 Nov 10 for review and comment within 30 days. As
of this date, this office has received no response.
__________________________________________________________________
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. After a
thorough review of the evidence of record and applicants
submission, we are not persuaded that the former members records
should be changed to make the applicant an eligible former spouse
SBP beneficiary. We note neither the applicant, nor the former
member filed the necessary SBP election applications that would
have provided the former spouse SBP coverage within the one-year
time frame allotted them to do so. Therefore, we agree with the
opinion and recommendation of the SAF/MRB legal advisor and adopt
his rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant
has not been the victim of an error or injustice, and 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 that the evidence presented did not
demonstrate the existence of 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 AFBCMR Docket Number
BC-2010-03308 in Executive Session on 10 Feb 11, under the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:
, Panel Chair
, Member
, Member
The following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 16 Aug 10, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPSIAR, dated 7 Oct 10.
Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRB, dated 23 Nov 10.
Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 30 Nov 10.
Panel Chair
AF | BCMR | CY2011 | BC-2011-00062
She indicates there is no evidence the deceased former member elected former spouse coverage for any of his former spouses. In Dec 92, DFAS received an SBP Open Enrollment Election form from the member requesting to change the applicants coverage from spouse to former spouse. A complete copy of the AFRBA Legal Advisor evaluation is at Exhibit E. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The applicant contends...
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 | CY2010 | BC-2010-00058
_________________________________________________________________ ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE ADVISORY: The AFRBA Legal Advisor recommends denial and states in part that despite the May 03 court order directing the member to convert to former spouse coverage, federal law makes the election unavailable when the deemed election is not timely filed. If there were not a competing eligible beneficiary, the AFRBA Legal Advisor would recommend correcting the record, but there is. The complete AFRBA...
AF | BCMR | CY2011 | BC-2010-03013
There is no evidence the service member or the applicant submitted a request for former spouse coverage within one year following their divorce. The complete SAF/MRB Legal Advisor evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit D. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The applicant requests the Board honor the divorce decree that deemed her the beneficiary under the SBP. While we do not take issue with the applicant’s...
AF | BCMR | CY2010 | BC-2010-04680
Her divorce decree lists her as the SBP beneficiary to receive the former members SBP benefits. While we do not take issue with the applicants assertion that her divorce decree ordered her former husband to continue coverage for her under SBP, he failed to convert the coverage to former spouse coverage within one year of their divorce as required by law. Since the applicant has failed to demonstrate that extraordinary circumstances existed that would override the failure of she and her...
AF | BCMR | CY2011 | BC-2011-02192
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-02192 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ___________________________________________________________ __ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her former spouses records be corrected to reflect he made a timely election for former spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). The service member elected spouse only coverage under the SBP at full retirement pay. Since the applicant...
AF | BCMR | CY2010 | BC-2010-00982
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-00982 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: The decedents records be corrected to reflect he made a timely election for former spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). _________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be...
AF | BCMR | CY2010 | BC-2010-03175
_________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSIAR does not provide a recommendation because it involves two potential SBP beneficiaries. Absent that consent, there is no extraordinary circumstance that supports not enforcing the deemed election requirement given the fact that correcting the record in the manner requested will deprive the members current spouse benefits to which she is legally entitled. We took notice of the applicants...
AF | BCMR | CY2009 | BC-2009-01754
In support of the application, the applicant submits a copy of her final divorce decree and her former spouse's death certificate. Moreover, there is no divorce decree requiring SBP (perhaps because it was not within court authority to order it at that time). The complete SAF/MRB Legal Advisor's evaluation is at Exhibit C. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: Counsel for the applicant states a former military spouse...
AF | BCMR | CY2010 | BC-2010-02857
Neither party submitted a valid election change during the required time limit following their divorce. The complete SAF/MRB Legal Advisors evaluation is at Exhibit C. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The applicants counsel states that paragraph 13; page 20 of the divorce decree shows the deceased member acknowledged his obligation by submitting this as an election for SBP for his spouse. ...