RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-03916 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

His records be corrected to reflect that he made a timely 
election for former spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit 
Plan (SBP) and that his dependent son was incapable of self-
support prior to age 18. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

He was not aware that he had to inform the government within 12 
months of his divorce that he wanted to establish former spouse 
coverage on his SBP. He understood it to be an automatic 
continuation of coverage. Additionally, his son was diagnosed 
with his disability after his retirement from active duty. 

 

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

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The relevant facts pertaining to this application are described 
in the letter prepared by the Air Force office of primary 
responsibility which is included at Exhibit C. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AFPC/DPSIAR recommends approval, indicating that while there is 
no evidence of Air Force error in this case it would be 
appropriate, in the interest of justice, for the AFBCMR to grant 
relief and correct the applicant’s record to reflect he elected 
former spouse and child coverage base on full retired pay under 
the SBP, naming his former spouse as the eligible beneficiary. 
Additionally, the applicant’s record should be further corrected 
to reflect his dependent son was incapable of self-support before 
attaining the age 18, contingent upon documentation that states 


the dependent son’s disability is permanent and renders him 
incapable of self-support and recovery of all applicable 
retroactive costs.Otherwise, the dependent son’s eligibility asacontingent beneficiary will cease upon his 22ndbirthday, 
unless proper documentation is provided indicating the disabilitywas diagnosed before he attained the age of 18. According to 
Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) records, 
the applicant and his former spouse were married on 17 Jun 92. 
Their dependent son turned 18 years old on 24 Aug 12. The 
applicant selected spouse and child SBP coverage based on full 
retired pay prior to his 1 Sep 00 retirement, but at the time, hedid not indicate his son was incapable of self-support. The 
applicant and his former spouse divorced on 30 May 07 and the 
divorce decree did not address the SBP. SBP premiums continue tobe deducted from the applicant’s retired pay. Despite the 
applicant’s failure to submit a valid former spouse election 
change, he did not request SBP coverage to terminate following 
their divorce, indicative of his intent to continue SBP coverage 
for his former spouse.

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSIARevaluation is at ExhibitC.

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

In response tothe Air Force evaluation forwarded to the 
applicant on 9Oct12, he provided a certified letter from his 
son’s physician (translated from German to English)indicatingthathe provided treatment to the applicant’s son from 2007-2008;
February 2011 to November 2011; and from July 2012 to present. 
He notes that the patient has been diagnosed with a perception 
disorder, AttentionDeficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and anautism spectrum disorder. The physician expects that he will 
either not succeed or, if he does succeed, he will still require 
additional assistance due to his mental disability. 

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existinglaw or regulations.
2.The application 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. The applicant 
contends he was not aware that he had to inform the government 
within 12 months of his divorce that he wanted to maintain his 
formerspouse as an SBP beneficiary. While there is no evidence 
the applicant or his former spouse made the required election forformer spouse coverage, we believe a preponderance of the 
evidence supports corrective action. In this respect, we note 
2


the applicant elected spouse and child SBP coverage based on full 
retired pay prior to his 1 Sep 00 retirement and believe his 
action to allow SBP premiums to be deducted from his retired pay 
for years following his divorce without requesting that said 
coverage be terminated is indicative of his intent for his former 
spouse to retain her eligibility as his SBP beneficiary. As for 
his request related to his dependent son, we also believe it 
would be in the interest of justice to correct the record to 
reflect his son was incapable of self-support and therefore 
eligible for SBP coverage beyond the age of 18. In this respect, 
we note that in response to the Air Force evaluation, the 
applicant has provided documentation from his son’s attending 
physician attesting to the fact that he was diagnosed with 
disabilities prior to his 18th birthday that render him incapable 
of self-support. Therefore, we recommend his records be 
corrected as 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 he elected 
former spouse and child coverage based on full retired pay under 
the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and that his dependent son was 
determined to be incapable of self-support prior to attaining the 
age of 18. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2012-03916 in Executive Session on 7 May 2013, under 
the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

 , Panel Chair 

 , Member 

 , Member 

 

All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The 
following documentary evidence was considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 14 Aug 12, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIAR, dated 28 Sep 12. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 9 Oct 12. 

 Exhibit E. Letter, Child Physician, dated 29 Nov 12. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair