RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF:
DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-
00201
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
Her former spouses record be changed to show he elected former
spouse coverage under the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit
Plan (RCSBP).
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
Her former spouse informed her that he did not elect her as his
survivor beneficiary when he received his 20 year letter and
election form. However, he was ordered in their divorce decree
to provide survivor benefits.
The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at
Exhibit A.
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The service member and the applicant were married on 9 November
1983.
The service member and the applicant divorced on 23 July 2007.
The service members current RCSBP election is for Option B,
Provide annuity at 60 if deceased prior to age 60 for Spouse
only, dated 7 August 2001. The election is no longer valid as
the applicant and service member are now divorced.
Copies of the AFBCMR marital status affidavits were forwarded to
the applicant and former military member on 15 January 2015, to
verify if either has remarried since their divorce (Exhibit E).
The applicant responded with a signed and notarized affidavit,
dated 15 January 2015, which indicates that she has not
remarried and her former spouse is not married (Exhibit F).
To date, a response from the former military member has not been
received.
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPFFF recommends denial. DPFFF states neither the service
member nor the applicant notified ARPC of the marital status
change within the required timeframe. In accordance with DoD
Financial Management Regulation (FMR) Vol 7B, Chapter 43,
paragraph 4030503 (C)(2), The request from the former spouse
must be received by the Secretary concerned within one year of
the date of the court order or filing involved and Title
10 U.S.C. Subsection 1448 (b)(3)(A)(iii), Manner and time of
election - any such election must be written, signed by the
person making the election, and received by the Secretary
concerned within one year after the date of the decree of
divorce, dissolution, or annulment. They have no record of the
applicant or the military member contacting ARPC requesting to
make a former spouse election.
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service was contacted and
they also had not received a deemed election request or any
other documents from the applicant.
However, if the decision is to grant the relief sought, the
records should be corrected to show the member elected Option B,
Provide annuity at 60 if deceased prior to age 60 for Former
Spouse coverage effective the date of divorce, 23 July 2007.
The service member must be made aware that he will still be
responsible for the former spouse premiums this coverage will
incur.
The complete DPFFF evaluation is at Exhibit B.
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
The applicant states she repeatedly sought and gained
clarification from DFAS officials that she had provided the
required notice. She also verbally confirmed with ARPC that her
former spouse indeed made the election prior to the one year
time frame. Since learning in September 2013 that DFAS claimed
to not receive her deemed election, she immediately took
remedial action to notify ARPC and DFAS of the error. Of note,
personnel from ARPC informed her that administrative mistakes
were common and typically occurred. She believes it would be
unjust for her to suffer financial hardship due to
administrative mishandling by ARPC and DFAS.
The applicants complete submission, 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. We took
notice of the applicant's complete submission, to include her
rebuttal comments, 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 former member did not submit a
valid election as required by law to establish former spouse
coverage. We further note that DFAS has no record of a deemed
election request or any other documents from the applicant or
service member. 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 an error or an 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-2014-00201 in Executive Session on 29 December 2014,
under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:
The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket
Number BC-2014-00201 was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 9 January 2014, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Letter, ARPC/DPTT, dated 12 February 2014,
w/atchs.
Exhibit C. Letters, SAF/MRBR, dated 15 September 2014.
Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated 9 October 2014, w/atchs.
Exhibit E. Marital Affidavits to Applicant and Former Service
Member.
Exhibit F. Affidavit, Applicant, dated 15 January 2015.
AF | BCMR | CY2014 | BC 2014 02658
The service member responded with a signed and notarized affidavit, dated 29 July 2014, which indicates he is currently married effective 16 November 2002 and his current spouse did not complete a Release of Benefits (Exhibit C). He did not request SBP benefits for his current spouse because he did not know that she was eligible. THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of an error or an injustice; the application was...
AF | BCMR | CY2013 | BC 2013 05896
Also, there is no evidence DFAS received a request from the applicant deeming a SBP election during the first year following the divorce. Subsequently, on 14 September 2012, a second DD Form 2656-10 was forwarded to DFAS; however, DFAS did not honor the applicants request because the 16 June 2011 court order was dated after the members retirement date. The member elected SBP coverage for his former spouse a month prior to establishing SBP coverage for his current spouse.
AF | BCMR | CY2013 | BC 2013 05023
DPTT states they should have given the former service member an opportunity to correct the ARPC Form 123 he submitted at the time he made his election. Title 10 Subsection 1448 (a) (3) (A) and Section IX on the form, A married person who is eligible to provide standard annuity may not without the concurrence of the persons spouse elect not to participate in the Plan. ARPC failed to notify the service member to make corrections and updated his election in error. Exhibit F. Affidavits,...
AF | BCMR | CY2014 | BC 2014 03816
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-03816 COUNSEL: NONE (SERVICE MEMBER) HEARING DESIRED: NO (APPLICANT) APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her former spouses records be corrected to reflect he made a timely election for former spouse coverage under the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP). There is no evidence the applicant or the service members submitted an election within the required timeframe. While we...
AF | BCMR | CY2014 | BC 2014 01612
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-01612 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: She be designated as beneficiary for former spouse coverage under the decedents Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP). The applicant was awarded full survivor benefit annuity under RCSBP by court order. However, the applicant did not notify ARPC of her RCSBP election within one year as prescribed by...
AF | BCMR | CY2014 | BC 2014 02386
In support of her request, the applicant provides a personal statement, copies of the former members death certificate, divorce decree, Separation and Property Settlement Agreement, marital status affidavit and various other documents associated with her request. None of the documents the applicant provided (Separation and Property Agreement or QDRO) had language that would entitle her to deem former spouse SBP coverage. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: Her attorney submitted...
AF | BCMR | CY2014 | BC 2014 01662
However, there is no evidence either party submitted a valid former spouse election within the first year following the divorce, as the law requires. The applicant has not demonstrated that extraordinary circumstances exist as required for this Board to grant relief in cases of competing SBP beneficiaries. Since it appears the former service members second spouse gained entitlement to the benefit by operation of law, and there has been no showing of extraordinary circumstances, we are...
AF | BCMR | CY2014 | BC 2014 00712
A person's eligibility as an SBP spouse beneficiary terminates upon divorce; however, the law provides two mechanisms for changing spouse coverage to former spouse coverage. The court order awarded the applicant the SBP and DFAS-CL records continued to reflect the applicants name as the eligible spouse beneficiary and SBP premiums continued to be deducted from the member's retired pay until his 14 Oct 13 death. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit D).
AF | BCMR | CY2014 | BC 2014 01845
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-01845 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be designated the former spouse beneficiary on his former wifes Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). The letter informed the applicant that his former spouse supplied documentation on 30 Oct 12 electing former spouse coverage but the documentation was insufficient and the application could not be processed. THE BOARD...
AF | BCMR | CY2014 | BC 2014 00389
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-00389 COUNSEL: NONE (DECEASED SERVICE MEMBER) HEARING DESIRED: NO (APPLICANT) APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her deceased former spouses records be corrected to reflect he made a timely election for former spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), naming her as the former spouse beneficiary. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are described in the...