RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

 AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-01863 

 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 

 HEARING DESIRED: NOT INDICATED 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

Her Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) option be corrected to establish 
coverage for another natural person with an insurable interest 
(NIP) due to the death of her previous beneficiary. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

Her long-standing SBP option was dropped without her knowledge. 
In a letter to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) 
in October 2008, she had reported the death of her original 
beneficiary, her sister, and provided details on her new 
beneficiary. She assumed her records were corrected to reflect 
the new beneficiary but they were not. She discovered the error 
in the fall of 2011 and sent a fax to DFAS with the information 
contained in the October 2008 letter. DFAS denied her election 
of a new beneficiary on the grounds that her request was 
submitted 180 days after the death of her previous beneficiary. 

 

Her sister died in France in August 2008. Getting her death 
certificate took lots of time and red tape. She received the 
death certificate, in French, in October 2008 and called DFAS to 
report the death and change her beneficiary. The DFAS clerk who 
took her call told her she would have to report these changes in 
writing. As instructed, she sent the letter the next week. She 
wants to emphasize that she followed DFAS rules and reported her 
new beneficiary within 180 days of the death of her previous 
beneficiary. DFAS records are in error because they do not 
reflect her new beneficiary. 

 

In support of her request the applicant submits a personal 
statement, copies of her sister’s death certificate, DFAS letter 
dated 9 December 2011 and documents pertaining to her SBP 
election. 

 

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at 
Exhibit A. 

 

 

 

 


STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

According to documents submitted by the applicant, she served as 
a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force from 1953 
until her retirement as a Colonel, O-6, in 1988. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AFPC/DPSIAR recommends approval. DPSIAR states Public Law (PL) 
92-425, which established the SBP, permits a person, who is not 
married and has no eligible children at the time of retirement, 
to elect SBP coverage on behalf of an insurable interest 
beneficiary (10 USC 1448(b)(1)). No proof of the beneficiary 
interest in the continuation of the retiree’s life is required 
if the parties are more closely related than cousins. PL 109-
364 (17 Oct 06) allows a participant with NIP coverage to elect 
coverage for another NIP individual within 180 days of the 
original beneficiary’s death. 

 

The applicant, a Reservist, was unmarried and elected Reserve 
Component SBP (RCSBP) insurable interest coverage for her sister 
effective 1 October 1979, the date she completed her military 
service obligation. The applicant’s retired pay commenced 
effective 26 April 1988, the date of her sixtieth birthday. The 
applicant’s sister passed away on 8 August 2008. DFAS-CL 
received the copy of her death certificate and suspended NIP 
monthly premiums and coverage. However, there was no evidence 
the applicant submitted a request to name another NIP 
beneficiary within 180 days after her sister’s death. 

 

The applicant claims there was a delay in obtaining her sister’s 
death certificate from French authorities, which may have 
contributed to DFAS-CL’s decision to not honor her request to 
name a new NIP beneficiary. It is reasonable to assume that had 
there been no delay in receiving the death certificate, the 
applicant could have complied with the provisions of PL 109-364, 
and submitted her election within the appropriate time. 

 

While there is no evidence of Air Force error in this case, in 
the interest of justice, they recommend the applicant’s record 
be corrected to show she submitted a valid election for 
insurable interest, effective 7 February 2009. Approval should 
be contingent upon the applicant’s providing documentation that 
the NIP has on-going interest in the applicant’s life and upon 
recoupment of all relative costs. 

 

The complete AFPC/DPSIAR evaluation is at exhibit B. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

 

 


APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

In her response the applicant indicates that the person named as 
her new beneficiary has a long-standing and ongoing interest in 
her life. The applicant provided documentation to show that the 
NIP and the applicant have shared the address for decades and 
states that the applicant is named as the beneficiary on the 
NIP’s retirement IRA account. The applicant further states that 
the NIP has been her primary caregiver, throughout their years 
together, when serious medical issues have challenged her. The 
applicant reiterates her previous contention that her sister 
died in France and getting a death certificate was a big problem 
which may have been a factor that may have delayed processing 
the change in beneficiary. Another factor is that she is 84 
years old with many medical issues that often delay her response 
to situations like this. 

 

The applicant’s complete response, with attachments, 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 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 reviewing the 
evidence of record, we are persuaded that favorable 
consideration of the applicant’s request is warranted. We took 
note that a participant with NIP coverage to elect coverage for 
another NIP individual must be accomplished within 180 days of 
the original beneficiary’s death. Due to the obstacles the 
applicant faced in obtaining her sister’s death certificate, we 
believe it is reasonable to assume that had there been no delay 
in obtaining the death certificate, the applicant would have 
complied with the governing provisions. Therefore, we are in 
agreement with the Air Force office of primary responsibility 
(OPR) to recommend approval. We would like to point out, 
however, that it appears the applicant has provided the 
requested documentation to verify that the NIP has on-going 
interest in the applicant’s life. We will provide a copy of 
this documentation to the OPR for their information. 
Accordingly, we recommend the applicant’s records be corrected 
as set forth below. 

 

4. The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has 
not been shown that a personal appearance with or without 
counsel will materially add to our understanding of the 


issue(s) involved. Therefore, the request for a hearing is not 
favorably considered. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 

 

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air 
Force relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 
1 October 2008, she elected SBP coverage on behalf of an 
insurable interest beneficiary. 

 

The following members of the Board considered this application 
in Executive Session on 12 February 2013, under the provisions 
of AFI 36-2603: 

 

 Panel Chair 

 Member 

 Member 

 

The following documentary evidence was pertaining to AFBCMR 
Docket Number BC-2012-01863 considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149 dated 28 March 2012, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Letter, DFAS/DPSIAR, dated 18 June 2012. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 2 July 2012. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated 27 July 2012, w/atchs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair