RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-04506
COUNSEL: NONE
(FORMER SERVICE MEMBER)
HEARING DESIRED: NO
(APPLICANT)
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
Her late spouses records be corrected to reflect that he made a
timely election for spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit
Plan (SBP).
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
The SBP election form her husband completed is a legal document
and should not have any erasures or other markings on the form.
She believes several sections of the form appear to have been
altered.
Her husband told her in the event of his death she would receive
his pension and Social Security.
At the time of the SBP briefing her English was not great. She
was told to sign the form and she signed it, never knowing she
was signing a document to forfeit receiving the pension.
The applicants 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:
AFPC/DPFFF recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of
an error or injustice. Under the provisions of Public Law (PL)
99-145, the spouses of married services members had to be
advised of the options and effects of the SBP, and be notified
if the service member declined SBP coverage, or elected less
than the maximum level of coverage. The spouse of a married
service member must concur in any SBP election that did not
provide the maximum level of coverage for the spouse. If the
married service member declined spouse coverage at retirement,
they may not provide SBP coverage for that spouse, or any spouse
acquired following retirement, unless Congress authorizes an
open enrollment.
The service member and the applicant were married on 14 Mar 69.
He declined SBP coverage prior to his 1 Aug 95 retirement and
the applicant concurred with the election. There is no evidence
the service member submitted an SBP election on the applicant's
behalf during two open enrollment periods following his
retirement.
The applicant has not provided any evidence to substantiate the
election form was tampered with prior to or after the form was
signed. Nor has she provided any evidence showing that she or
the SBP counselor was unable to understand one another, or that
she was pressured into signing the election. Furthermore, it is
each retiree's responsibility to ensure the required actions are
taken to provide their dependents with any military benefits and
privileges available to them and pay the costs associated with
those benefits. Also, it is each spouses responsibility to
understand the impact of documents they sign.
While it is unfortunate the service member failed to elect SBP
coverage on the applicant's behalf three times, it would be
inappropriate to provide an additional opportunity to elect SBP
coverage, an opportunity not afforded to other surviving spouses
similarly situated.
A complete copy of the AFPC/DPFFF evaluation is at Exhibit B.
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
The evidence she has provided clearly shows the errors on the
election form.
A complete copy of the applicants 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. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to
demonstrate the existence of an error or an injustice. The
applicant contends the election form they completed declining
SBP coverage appears to have been altered; and she did not fully
understand she was relinquishing her entitlement to the SBP due
to her difficulty with the English language. We took notice of
her complete submission, to include the rebuttal response, in
judging the merits of the case; however, we agree with the
opinion and the recommendation of the Air Force office of
primary responsibility and adopt its rationale as the basis for
our decision the applicant is not the victim of an error or
injustice. Other than her own assertions, the applicant has
provided no evidence showing the election form was altered prior
to or after they signed the form; she did not understand or was
coerced into concurring with her spouses decision to decline
SBP coverage. Therefore, 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 the evidence presented did not
demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; the
application was denied without a personal appearance; and 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-2012-04506 in Executive Session on 17 Jun 13, under
the provisions of AFI 36-2603:
, Panel Chair
, Member
, Member
The following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 9 Oct 12, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPFFF, dated 7 Nov 12.
Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 26 Nov 12.
Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated 17 Dec 12.
Panel Chair
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