RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 25 July 2006
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20050016048
I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.
| |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | |Director |
| |Ms. Wanda L. Waller | |Analyst |
The following members, a quorum, were present:
| |Mr. Allen Raub | |Chairperson |
| |Ms. Laverne Douglas | |Member |
| |Ms. Peguine Taylor | |Member |
The Board considered the following evidence:
Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.
Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests, in effect, that her DD Form 2656 (Data for
Payment of Retired Personnel), dated 13 October 2005, be corrected to show
she elected not to participate in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) on 1
August 2005. She also requests that she be refunded all premiums paid thus
far.
2. The applicant states that prior to her retirement, she was given the
wrong election form (DD Form 2656-5 (Reserve Component Survivor Benefit
Plan (RCSBP) Election Certificate)) for forwarding to the Defense Finance
and Accounting Service (DFAS). The required document for new retirees is a
DD Form 2656. By law, DFAS is required to deduct the monies for SBP if it
does not receive the required documentation.
3. The applicant provides a copy of her DD Form 2656-5; a DD Form 2656-8
(Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) - Automatic Coverage Fact Sheet); and a DD
Form 2656.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. Having prior active and inactive service, the applicant reenlisted in
the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 2 November 1984.
2. Section IV (Coverage) on the applicant's DD Form 2656-5, dated 11 May
2005, shows she elected Option A (I decline to make an election until age
60).
3. The applicant retired on 31 August 2005 in the rank of sergeant first
class after completing over 20 years of active duty in an Active Guard
Reserve (AGR) status with the USAR (not with the Army National Guard as
indicated on her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from
Active Duty)).
4. The applicant's DD Form 2656, dated 13 October 2005, shows she is
married with a dependent child. Section IX (Survivor Benefit Plan
Election) on her DD Form 2656 shows she elected not to participate in the
SBP. Section XI (SBP Spouse Concurrence (Required when member is married
and elects children only coverage, does not elect full spouse coverage, or
declines coverage)) on her DD Form 2656 shows her husband concurred with
her election.
5. The applicant’s Board application is also dated 13 October 2005.
6. Public Law 92-425, the SBP, enacted 21 September 1972, provided that
military members could elect to have their retired pay reduced to provide
for an annuity after death to surviving dependents. An election must be
made before the effective date of retirement, or coverage automatically
defaults to spouse coverage (if applicable).
7. Public Law 99-145, enacted 8 November 1985 but effective 1 March 1986,
required a spouse's written concurrence for a retiring member's election
that provides less than the maximum spouse coverage.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant was automatically enrolled in the SBP for spouse coverage
upon her retirement on 31 August 2005. Her contention that she was given
the incorrect form to complete is plausible. The DD Form 2656-5 is dated
11 May 2005, about the time she should have completed the DD Form 2656.
2. However, the correct form, the DD Form 2656, was not completed until
October 2005, after she retired. Since that election was made after her
retirement, DFAS did not accept it as a valid document and she was
automatically enrolled in the SBP for spouse coverage.
3. The applicant’s spouse concurred with her election not to participate
in the SBP, and her Board application was submitted the same day the DD
Form 2656 was completed. Therefore, it would be equitable to correct her
DD Form 2656 to show she elected not to participate in the SBP on 1 August
2005 and to correct her applicable records to show her DD Form 2656 was
accepted and processed by the appropriate office in a timely manner.
BOARD VOTE:
AR_____ _LD_____ _PT_____ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all
Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:
a. correcting her DD Form 2656 to show she completed the form on
1 August 2005 and elected not to participate in the SBP, with her
spouse’s concurrence, and the DD Form 2656 was accepted and processed by
the appropriate office in a timely manner; and
b. refunding to the applicant all paid SBP premiums.
__Allen Raub__________
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR20050016048 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON | |
|DATE BOARDED |20060725 |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
|DISCHARGE REASON | |
|BOARD DECISION |GRANT |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
|ISSUES 1. |137.0000 |
|2. | |
|3. | |
|4. | |
|5. | |
|6. | |
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