RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-04372 

 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

His records be corrected to reflect that he elected his former 
spouse as beneficiary of his Survivor Benefit Program (SBP) at 
the time of their divorce. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

He failed to elect his former spouse as the beneficiary of his 
SBP within one year of their divorce as the court had ordered. 
However, both he and his current spouse consent to his former 
spouse being the SBP beneficiary. 

 

In support of his request, the applicant provides copies of a 
statement from his former spouse’s legal counsel, two signed 
affidavits, as well as his divorce decree and settlement 
agreement. 

 

The applicant’s 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, which is attached at Exhibit C. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

HQ AFPC/DPSIAR does not make a recommendation, as is the policy 
in cases with two potential beneficiaries. A person’s 
eligibility to receive a spouse SBP annuity terminates upon 
divorce. However, the law provides two mechanisms for changing 
spouse coverage to former spouse coverage. One of the following 
actions must be exercised within the first year following the 
divorce: (1) the retiree may file an election change, or 


(2) the former spouse may request the retiree be deemed to have 
made such a change on his or her behalf. In the latter case, 
the former spouse must provide legal documentation showing the 
member agreed, or that the court ordered the member to establish 
former spouse coverage. 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 the Defense 
Finance and Accounting Service—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. 

 

The applicant and the former spouse were married on 9 Jul 77, 
and he elected spouse only SBP coverage based on full retired 
pay prior to his 1 Sep 94 retirement. The parties divorced on 
11 Feb 05. The settlement agreement, incorporated into their 
divorce decree, ordered that the former spouse remain the 
beneficiary of the SBP. 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. 
However, the applicant did not request the former spouse be 
removed as the SBP spouse beneficiary, and monthly premiums 
continued to be deducted from his retired pay. The applicant’s 
SBP information maintained in the DFAS-CL retired pay system 
continues to reflect the former spouse’s name and date of birth 
as the eligible spouse beneficiary. The applicant and the 
current spouse were married on 5 May 06. By law, the current 
spouse became the eligible spouse beneficiary on the first 
anniversary of their marriage. The applicant’s request contains 
a notarized affidavit from the current spouse, in which she 
consented to the designation of the applicant’s former spouse as 
the SBP former spouse beneficiary. DPSIAR cannot confirm if the 
former spouse is remarried. 

 

The complete HQ AFPC/DPSIAR 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 22 Dec 12 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 not timely filed; however, it is in the 
interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file. 

 

3. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of injustice. 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). While the court-ordered action was 
not completed within one year of the divorce as required by law, 
the clear intent of the divorce settlement agreement was for the 
former spouse to remain the SBP beneficiary and to receive any 
annuities upon the death of the applicant. Although we find no 
evidence of an error on the part of the Air Force, after careful 
consideration of the evidence of record and the applicant’s 
complete submission, we believe that his former spouse should be 
designated as the eligible beneficiary for his SBP annuity. In 
this respect, we note that both the applicant and the current 
spouse have signed notarized affidavits stating the former 
spouse should be the rightful SBP beneficiary. Therefore, we 
are satisfied that his current spouse is fully aware she is 
relinquishing her entitlement to the annuity. Therefore, we 
believe the applicant’s records should be corrected to the 
extent indicated below. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 

 

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air 
Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 
11 February 2005, he elected former-spouse coverage under the 
Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) based on full retired pay, naming 
his former-spouse as the former-spouse beneficiary. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2011-04372 in Executive Session on 15 May 12, under 
the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

 , Panel Chair 

 , Member 

 , Member 

 

 


All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The 
following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2011-04372 was considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 14 Oct 11, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIAR, dated 14 Dec 11. 

Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 22 Dec 11. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair