RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-05306
XXXXXXX COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
1. The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity election currently
reflected on his military retired pay account be changed from
Child only to Declination.
2. SBP premiums previously withheld from his retired pay
account be refunded.
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
He was not properly counseled regarding the SBP election. His
dependents are at least 21 years of age and he would like to be
compensated for the mistaken SBP deductions.
The applicant provides no documents in support of his request.
His complete submission 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 Primary
Responsibility (OPR). Accordingly, there is no need to recite
these facts in this Record of Proceedings.
_______________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
DFAS recommends approval. DFAS states that on 22 Feb 2012, the
applicant completed and signed DD From 2656, Data for Payment of
Retired Personnel, indicating he elected SBP coverage for his
children only. Since he did not provide dates of birth, his
retired pay account was established with automatic SBP coverage.
Public Law 92-425, effective 21 Sep 1972, provides that every
member having a spouse and/or child(ren), who retires/transfers
(reserve) on or after that date is automatically covered under
the SBP at the maximum rate unless he/she elected otherwise
before retirement or transfer. Since DFAS did not have all the
information concerning his dependents, he was provided automatic
SBP coverage.
Based on the information received from the Air Force Review
Boards Agency, the applicants current SBP coverage as automatic
coverage is incorrect. His youngest child was 20 years,
8 months and 10 days when he retired. The SBP costs that are
currently being deducted from his retired pay account are
incorrect. If the youngest child is attending school on a full
time basis, he would be an eligible beneficiary and the
applicant can choose to cover him. If so, the Board should
change his SBP coverage from automatic coverage to child only
SBP. If not, the Board should change his SBP coverage from
automatic coverage to no coverage due to no eligible
beneficiaries. In either case, an adjustment of his SBP
premiums will be done and a credit provided based on the
approved change.
The complete DFAS evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit
B.
_______________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
On 1 Mar 2013, a copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded
to the member for review and comment within 30 days. To date,
a response has not been received (Exhibit C).
_______________________________________________________________
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 error or injustice. We find the
applicants statement that he was miscounseled to be credible.
In this respect, we note that his youngest child was only three
months away from age twenty one at the time of the applicants
retirement. Therefore, had he understood the limits of child
coverage and since he was divorced, we find it reasonable to
believe he would have elected no coverage. Therefore, we agree
with DFASs recommendation that the applicants records should
be corrected to terminate SBP coverage. Based on the terminated
coverage the applicant will receive a refund of SBP premiums
withheld. Accordingly, we recommend his records be corrected as
set forth below.
_______________________________________________________________
THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:
The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air
Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 22 Feb
2012, he declined coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan.
_______________________________________________________________
The following members of the Board considered this application
in Executive Session on 29 Aug 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 in AFBCMR BC-2012-
05306:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 6 Nov 2012.
Exhibit B. Letter, DFAS, dated 28 Feb 2013, w/atchs.
Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 1 Mar 2013.
Panel Chair
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