AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

 
DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-01230 
COUNSEL: 
HEARING DESIRED: NO 

IN THE MATTER OF: 
   
   
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 
 
She  be  entitled  to  an  annuity  under  the  Survivor  Benefit  Plan 
(SBP).  
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 
 
1. She is a 93 year old widow and did not understand the SBP at 
the time of her spouse’s death.  She was denied the SBP annuity 
because she failed to make a claim for the benefits within the 
six-year period prescribed by statute.  
 
2. After  her  spouse’s  funeral,  she  moved  out  of  state  to  live 
with  one  of  her  sons.    Her  mail  was  being  held  until  she 
returned several months later.  While going through some of her 
papers,  her  son  discovered  she  had  received  mail  from  the 
Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) that dated back to 
2002. 
 
3. On 28 September 2002, she sent a letter to DFAS which met the 
statutory requirement for a claim.  DFAS cannot claim they were 
confused  by  what  she  was  attempting  to  communicate  when  she 
wrote the letter.  Nothing in her letter, would have led DFAS to 
conclude  she  was  not  seeking  benefits  provided  by  her  deceased 
spouse.   
 
4. She  was  the  spouse  of  a  military  retiree;  had  little 
experience in dealing with DFAS and should not be penalized for 
not  specifically  mentioning  survivor  benefits.    DFAS  on  the 
other  hand,  had  all  the  information  they  needed  to  process  her 
SBP benefits. 
 
5. On  3  November  2011,  DFAS  rejected  her  request  for  benefits.  
They  stated  there  was  no  completed  “Verification  for  Survivor 
Annuity (DD Form 2656-7) on file prior to the expiration of the 
six year statute of limitations.”  The reason for rejecting her 
application for benefits is faulty for two reasons: 
 
  a)  The  statute  cited  does  not  require  any  particular  format 
for a claim to be valid.   
 
  b)  The  DD  Form  2656-7  is  entitled  “Verification  for  Survivor 
Annuity” and has a stated purpose of being used by a surviving 

 

 

spouse  to  verify  eligibility  for  an  annuity.    Also,  it  states 
that  disclosure  is  voluntary  and  cautions  that  “failure  to 
provide  identifying  information  may  delay  the  verification 
process  and  any  subsequent  payment.”    Nothing  on  the  form 
indicates  that  it  is  a  form  for  filing  a  “claim”  or  that  the 
failure to use the form will be treated as a basis for denying 
benefits.  Her letter provided all the essential information the 
form was designed to elicit.   
 
6. Her  deceased  spouse  served  his  country  faithfully  and 
honorably.    He  authorized  the  deduction  of  premiums  from  his 
retirement  pay  and  went  to  his  grave  believing  he  had  done 
everything  required  to  ensure  she  was  provided  for  after  his 
death.   
 
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 B. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
DFAS-JBJE/CL  recommends  denial.    DFAS  states  that  based  on 
Claims,  Against  the  Government,  Title  31  United  States  Code 
Section  3702(b)  (31  USC  §  3702(b)),  The  Barring  Act,  the 
applicant  was  required  to  submit  a  claim  for  the  SBP  annuity 
within six years from her deceased spouse’s date of death.   
 
In  order  to  constitute  a  claim,  in  addition  to  providing  the 
requisite  information  in  31  USC  §  3702(B),  the  annuitant  must 
also  indicate  in  some  fashion  they  believe  the  United  States 
Government  owes  them  funds.    A  person’s  notification  of  a 
member’s death, even in writing, does not constitute a claim for 
payment.    The  applicant’s  claim  for  annuity,  filed  in  2011, 
9 years after the member passed away was denied because she had 
not made a claim for benefits within the 6 years prescribed by 
statue.  
 
The complete DFAS evaluation is at Exhibit B.  
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION:  
 
The  applicant’s  counsel  states  there  is  no  statue  or  regulation 
that states DD Form 2656-7 and only this form, is the only means 
for  requesting  SBP  benefits.    The  letter  sent  by  the  applicant 
contained all the pertinent information this form requests, just 
in a different format.   
 
Counsel  states  the  title  of  the  form  is  misleading.    No  one 
reading  this  form  would  reasonably  conclude  this  is  a  “claims” 
form.  The title leads one to believe it is a form used simply to 
verify  beneficiary  information.    The  cited  purposes  on  the  form 
itself indicate it is used to verify eligibility for an annuity.  
The interested party is not advised that the failure to use this 
precise form will be deemed to be a failure to “file a claim.” 
 
Being  told  to  fill  out  a  form  to  receive  the  unpaid  retirement 
benefits at the time of death is well within the ability of the 
lay  person  to  understand.    The  SBP  program;  however,  is  quite 
complicated  and  not  easily  understood  by  many  military  spouses.  
A  lay  person,  particularly  an  elderly  lay  person,  will  not  be 
familiar with the nuances of that particular program.   
 
It  is  inappropriate  for  DFAS  to  simply  say  “we  sent  her  the 
papers,  our  job  is  done.”    DFAS  knows  it  is  often  dealing  with 
elderly  widows,  none  of  whom  would  knowingly  forgo  receiving  a 
lifetime  annuity  paid  for  out  of  their  deceased  spouse’s 
retirement check.   
 
Counsel states DFAS should not be allowed to simply remain silent 
and let these elderly widows unknowingly forfeit a benefit which 
is specifically designed to provide for them after their spouse’s 
pass away.   
 
The  applicant  provided  all  the  verification  data  this  form 
requests  in  her  letter.    She  identified  herself  as  the  service 
member’s wife, gave her address and social security number.  DFAS 
knew the service member had elected and paid for the SBP annuity 
for his wife who was 84 years old at the time of his death.  To 
recite the fact the applicant missed the window to apply for the 
benefits her deceased spouse bought for her, ignores the facts of 
the  case,  is  unjust  to  the  applicant  and  unjustly  enriches  the 
government  for  its  inaction,  all  at  the  expense  of  a  deceased 
retired  service  member  who  trusted  he  had  “taken  care”  of  his 
spouse after his death.   
 
Counsel’s complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit D. 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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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.  Sufficient  relevant  evidence  has  been  presented  to 
demonstrate  the  existence  of  an  injustice.    After  thoroughly 
reviewing the documentation submitted in support of this appeal, 
we believe that relief is warranted.  In this respect, we note 
that at the time of his eligibility for reserve retired pay in 
1975,  he  elected  spouse  coverage  under  the  SBP,  based  on  full 
retired  pay,  and  paid  the  associated  premiums  to  ensure  the 
applicant would receive an annuity upon his death.  In order to 
establish  the  annuity,  the  applicant  was  required  to  complete 
and  return  to  DFAS  a  DD  Form  2656-7,  Verification  for  Survivor 
Annuity.  However, she did not submit this form until 2011.  As 
a result, DFAS has refused to pay her an annuity and recommends 
denial of her instant application, stating that it is untimely, 
as she did not file a valid claim within the 6 years prescribed 
by  31  USC  §  3702(b).    The  evidence  before  us  indicates  that 
although  the  applicant  failed  to  submit  the  requisite  form  to 
claim  the  annuity,  she  did  submit  a  letter  to  DFAS,  dated 
28 September  2002,  in  which  she  provided  all  of  the  relevant 
information she believed was necessary to affect her receipt of 
the annuity.   In addition, on 13 November 2002, she forwarded 
DFAS a completed SF Form 1174, Claim for Unpaid Compensation of 
Deceased Member of the Uniformed Services and provided a copy of 
the  former  member’s  death  certificate.  In  view  of  this,  we 
believe that in 2002, the applicant believed that she completed 
all  of  the  necessary  paperwork  in  order  to  receive  the  annuity 
and in effect, had timely placed DFAS on notice of her claim for 
said annuity.  Considering the age of the applicant at the time, 
it appears that she may not have understood the steps necessary 
to  request  the  SBP  annuity;  however,  she  clearly  demonstrated 
her intent to establish a timely annuity claim.  Moreover, we do 
not find it reasonable that she would have knowingly elected not 
to  pursue  this  important  benefit,  which  the  former  member  had 
paid  premiums  for  over  26  years.    Accordingly,  in  view  of  the 
above  and  based  on  the  substantial  evidence  before  us,  we 
believe the interest of justice can best be served by correcting 
the former member’s records to the extent indicated below. 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 
 
The  pertinent  military  records  of  the  Department  of  the  Air 
Force  relating  to  the  deceased  service  member  be  corrected  to 
show  that  on  14  July  2002,  the  applicant  submitted  a  DD  Form 
2656-7, Verification for Survivor Annuity, requesting payment of 
the Survivor Benefit Plan annuity. 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
The  following  members  of  the  Board  considered  AFBCMR  Docket 
Number  BC-2012-01230  in  Executive  Session  on  19  Dec  12,  under 
the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 
 
 
 
 
 
All  members  voted  to  correct  the  records  as  recommended.    The 
following  documentary  evidence  pertaining  to  AFBCMR  Docket 
number BC-2012-01230 was considered: 
 
Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 28 Feb 12, w/atchs. 
 
Exhibit B.  Letter, DFAS-JBJE/CL, dated 21 Jun 12.  
 
Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, Letter, dated 27 Jun 12,  
 
                w/atch.  
    Exhibit D.  Letter, Applicant, dated 12 Jul 12, w/atch. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

    Panel Chair 
    Member 
    Member 

Panel Chair 

  

 

 

 

 

 

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