RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-01747
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
Her late spouses record be changed to show he elected spouse
coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP).
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
She was informed that she should receive 55 percent of her late
spouses monthly pay and later she was told she would not.
The applicants complete submission, with attachments, is at
Exhibit A.
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The applicant and the decedent were married on 11 October 1952.
The decedent elected to decline the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP),
and to make an SBP election prior to attaining age 60. He
declined SBP coverage on 4 July 1992 and the applicant concurred
in his election.
The decedent died on 24 February 2014.
A copy of the AFBCMR marital status affidavit was forwarded to the
applicant on 30 April 2014, to verify if she has remarried
(Exhibit B).
The applicant responded with a signed and notarized affidavit,
dated 5 May 2014, which indicates that she has not remarried
(Exhibit C).
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPFFF recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an
error or an injustice. DPFFF states the service member began
receiving retired pay effective 25 February 1993, after attaining
age 60. A copy of the SBP election located in his finance record
reflects the applicant signed a statement concurring in the
service members election, as required by PL 99-145. The service
member could have elected SBP coverage on the applicants behalf
during two open enrollment periods authorized by PLs 105-261 and
108-375, but he failed to do so.
The applicants signature in Section V of the ARPC Form 0-
508 (Survivor Benefit Plan Election) indicates the applicants
acknowledgement of the service members decision to decline SBP
coverage. SBP is similar to commercial life insurance in that an
individual must elect to participate during the opportunities
provided by law and pay the associated premiums in order to have
coverage. It would be inequitable to other widows, who also
concurred in their sponsors election to decline coverage, to
grant this widow another opportunity to obtain SBP coverage after
the death of the service member.
A complete copy of the AFPC/DPFFF evaluation is at Exhibit D.
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant
on 4 August 2014 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit
E). As of this date, no response has been received by this
office.
THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:
1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing
law or regulations.
2. The application was timely filed.
3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to
demonstrate the existence of an error or an injustice. We took
notice of the applicants 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 is not a 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 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-2014-01747 in Executive Session on 16 March 2015, under the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:
The following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 23 April 2014, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 30 April 2014.
Exhibit C. Affidavit, Applicant, dated 5 May 2014.
Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPFFF, dated 18 June 2014.
Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 4 August 2014.
AF | BCMR | CY2013 | BC 2013 03356
She does not recall receiving a letter from the Air Force informing her of her spouses decision to decline SBP participation. There is no record the required notice was sent to the applicant and the applicant has provided a sworn statement that the notification was not received. Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 19 Sep 13.
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There is no evidence the applicant received the required notice, in accordance with Public Law 92-425, that her husband elected less than maximum spousal coverage under SBP. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 30 September 1981, he made a timely and effective election for spouse and child(ren) coverage under the...
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Another dependent child was born on 4 December 1981 after the decedents retirement. DPFFF states there is no evidence of Air Force error; however, to preclude an injustice, they recommend the record be corrected. The members record should be corrected to reflect he elected spouse and child coverage based on full retired pay effective 1 August 1980, and his son is permanently incapable of self- support.
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RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-04435 APPLICANT: COUNSEL: NONE MEMBER: (DECEASED) HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her deceased husbands record be corrected to show that he elected spouse coverage, at the full level, under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), naming her as beneficiary. ...
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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: At the time of her husbands retirement in June 1988, she was not informed of her survivor benefit rights as a spouse. Microfiche records produced by the Air Force Accounting and Finance Center (AFAFC) from July 1989 reflect the decedent declined SBP coverage with the applicant's concurrence prior to his 1 July 1988 retirement. Even though the applicant claims she was not provided an SBP election to sign and was not informed of the members election, finance...
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The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are described in the memorandum prepared by the Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR), which is included at Exhibit C. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPFFF recommends the requested relief be granted. Under the provisions of SBP, the spouses of married service members had to be informed when the service member declined SBP coverage, or elected less than the maximum level of coverage. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPFFF...
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The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the memorandum prepared by the Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR), which is attached at Exhibit C. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPFFF recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice. As of this date, no response has been received by this office. The Board would be willing to reconsider her request upon receipt of the applicants affidavit stating she did not receive the...
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They note that the record should be corrected to show that, effective 30 Nov 76, the decedent elected spouse only SBP coverage based on full retired pay. In this case, as in all Barber cases, the facts are essentially the same: there is no record the required notice was sent to the applicant and the applicant has provided a sworn statement that she did not receive notification that the decedent had declined SBP coverage. ________________________________________________________________ THE...
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AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPFFF recommends granting relief. The parties divorced on 2 Dec 04, and in the Agreement, incorporated in the divorce decree, the decedent agreed to pay SBP premiums currently in place for the benefit of the applicant. SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE WASHINGTON JUL 2 2 2015 MEMORANDUM FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS (AFBCMR) SUBJECT: AFBCMR Docket Number: BC-2013-03921 I have carefully reviewed the AFBMCR application...
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The decedent elected spouse and child SBP coverage based on a reduced level of retired pay prior to his 1 Jul 95 retirement. There is no evidence either party submitted a valid election to change spouse to former spouse coverage within the first year following their divorce as the law requires. The complete DPFFF evaluation is at Exhibit F. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The applicant acknowledges the change to the advisory opinion to recommend the decedents record...