RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-00862
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
________________________________________________________________
_
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
She be named as the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) beneficiary.
________________________________________________________________
_
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
She was married to the former member for 63 years; however, he
passed away on 10 Dec 11. She was not aware of the SBP form
until her husband died. She was listed on all other policies.
In support of her request, the applicant provides a copy of her
marriage license and a copy of the former members death
certificate.
Her 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 at Exhibit C.
________________________________________________________________
_
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPFFF recommends denial. Public Law (PL) 92-425 authorized
an enrollment period for members, who were already retired on
that date, to elect SBP coverage. A member, who is married at
the time of first being eligible to provide SBP coverage and
fails to do so, may not later elect coverage for that person, or
another person of the same category, unless Congress authorizes
an open enrollment period. There were five open enrollments
periods; however, there is no evidence the member returned a
valid SBP election during that time. Additionally, SBP premiums
were not deducted from the members retired pay.
There is no legal authority for the Air Force to pay the
applicant an SBP annuity because the member retired before the
implementation of the SBP and he did not choose to provide SBP
coverage for her when he was eligible to do so. There is no
evidence of error or injustice in this case. Furthermore, there
is no provision in law to grant relief.
The complete DPFFF evaluation is at Exhibit C.
________________________________________________________________
_
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the
applicant on 28 Jun 13 for review and comment within 30 days.
As of this date, this office has received no response.
________________________________________________________________
_
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 error or injustice. We took notice
of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of
the case; however, we agree with the opinion and recommendation
of the Air Force office of primary responsibility and adopt its
rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant has
not been the victim of an error or injustice. 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 that the evidence presented did not
demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; that
the application was denied without a personal appearance; and
that 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-2013-00862 in Executive Session on 7 Nov 13, under the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:
, Panel Chair
, Member
, Member
The following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 6 Feb 13, w/atchs.
Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPFFF, dated 7 Jun 13.
Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 28 Jun 13.
Panel Chair
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