IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 11 December 2008
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080007464
THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:
1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).
2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests that his records be corrected to show he elected to participate in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP).
2. The applicant states that the RCSBP was never fully explained to him until he had already submitted his retirement packet.
3. The applicant provides copies of his marriage certificate and his Data for Payment of Retired Personnel (DD Form 2656), dated 6 December 2006 in support of his application.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant and his spouse married on 31 December 2003.
2. On 17 March 2004, the applicant was sent a notification of eligibility for retired pay at age 60 (20-Year Letter). This letter informed him that he had a period of 90 days from the date of the letter in which to submit his election for RCSBP.
3. On 6 December 2006, the applicant, with his spouses concurrence, declined to participate in the SBP.
4. On 4 February 2008, the applicant became 60 years of age on
4 February 2008 and eligible to receive retired pay.
5. Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) records show that the applicant declined RCSBP coverage.
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.
7. Public Law 95-397, the RCSBP, enacted 30 September 1978, provided a way for those who had qualified for reserve retirement but were not yet age 60 to provide an annuity for their survivors should they die before reaching age 60. Three options are available: (A) elect to decline enrollment and choose at age 60 whether to start SBP participation; (B) elect that a beneficiary receive an annuity if they die before age 60 but delay payment of it until the date of the members 60th birthday; (C) elect that a beneficiary receive an annuity immediately upon their death if before age 60. If the member dies before reaching age 60, premiums are deducted from the annuity.
8. Public Law 106-398, enacted 30 October 2000, required written spousal consent for a Reserve service member to be able to delay making an RCSBP election until age 60. The law is applicable to cases where 20-year letters have been issued after 1 January 2001. In other words, failure to elect an option now results in the default election of option C.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The available evidence clearly shows that the applicant did not make an RCSBP election within the required 90-day period of receiving his 20-Year Letter, dated 17 March 2004.
2. Furthermore, his election dated 6 December 2006 to decline RCSBP coverage was improperly accepted by DFAS since it was submitted out of the allowed timeframe.
3. The applicant became 60 years of age on 4 February 2008 and entitled to receive retired pay.
4. In view of the above, and in accordance with the wishes of the applicant, his records should be corrected to show that his RCSBP election dated 6 December 2006 was rejected due to not being submitted within the authorized timeframe.
5. The applicant's records should be further corrected to show that he was automatically enrolled in the RCSBP for full and immediate spousal coverage by virtue of his failure to make an election with the allowed timeframe upon receipt of his 20-Year Letter.
BOARD VOTE:
____X___ ___X____ ___X___ 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. voiding the applicant's declination of RCSBP coverage dated 6 December 2006; and
b. showing that he was automatically enrolled at the time of his eligibility to receive retired pay at age 60, for full and immediate RCSBP coverage for his spouse (Option C).
__________X____________
CHAIRPERSON
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080007464
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080007464
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110015619
It shows the applicant was notified: a. that he completed the required years of service and he would be eligible for retired pay upon application at age 60; b. that by law, he was entitled to participate in the Reserve Component SBP (RCSBP), his sole means of protecting his retired pay; c. that by law, "a qualified Reserve component member, who is married, will automatically be enrolled in the RCSBP under option C, Spouse and Child(ren) coverage based on the Full Retired Pay, UNLESS...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090020974
Counsel requests, in effect, that the records of the FSM be corrected to show: * the applicant is entitled to Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) benefits * the applicant is eligible to receive 20 percent of the FSM's retired pay 2. The divorce decree indicated that the applicant was to receive 20 percent of the FSM's retired pay. Public Law 95-397, the RCSBP, enacted 30 September 1978, provided a way for those who had qualified for reserve retirement but were not yet age 60 to provide an annuity...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080011481
The applicant requests, in effect, that her records be corrected to reflect that she elected not to participate in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and that she be reimbursed for all of the deductions from her retired pay. Additionally, the applicant has not submitted any current verification of her spouse's concurrence or non-concurrence with her desire to correct her records to show she elected not to participate in the SBP; therefore, it would not be appropriate for the Board to make the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090018016
The applicant requests that his records be corrected to show he declined participation in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP). His spouse provided a notarized statement on 18 June 2010, indicating she concurred with the applicant's election not to participate in the SBP. As a result, the Board recommends that the DD Form 2656 of the individual concerned be amended to show he and his spouse signed the form in a timely manner declining to participate in the SBP and it was...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050002790C070206
The applicant requests, in effect, that the records of her deceased spouse, a former service member (FSM), be corrected to show he elected to participate in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) for spouse only coverage. Records at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command - St. Louis indicate that the FSM's records did not contain a DD Form 1883. The FSM's 20-year letter was issued in 1993.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110017403
The case corrected the military records of an FSM to show the applicant (the FSM's spouse) was entitled to an RCSBP annuity effective the date following the FSM's death. There was no evidence the FSM completed a DD Form 1883 or that the spouse was informed the FSM could participate in the RCSBP. The evidence of record shows the FSM received his Twenty-Year Letter with the accompanying SBP forms in June 2000. a.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2006 | 20060011215
The applicant requests, in effect, that the records of her deceased spouse, a former service member (FSM), be corrected to show he elected to participate in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) for spouse only coverage. This letter states that the FSM received his 20-year letter on 22 June 1997 and that he did not make a selection for the SBP (DD Form 1883) because the FSM and his spouse were not counseled on their SBP options. Although the applicant contends that the FSM...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050015385C070206
The applicant provides a supplemental letter; a memorandum from a commanding officer at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; a DD Form 1884 (Application For Annuity Under The Retired Serviceman's Family Protection Plan (RSFPP) and/or SBP); a Direct Deposit Sign-up Form; the FSM' s Certificate of Death; her Form W-4P (Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments); the FSM's reassignment orders to the Retired Reserve; the FSM's 20-Year Letter; the FSM's Chronological Statement of...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080013181
IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 16 December 2008 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080013181 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct all records to include DEERS to show the applicant and FSM were married on 14 April 2007, that the FSM was enrolled in the RCSBP under Option C (full coverage), and that the applicant was the FSMs legal spouse and SBP beneficiary at the time of the FSMs death on 12 February 2008. As a result, the Board recommends that all...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090002540
The applicant requests, in effect, that her records be corrected to show she declined participation in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) and that she receive reimbursement for any and all deductions from her retirement pay. The 20-Year Letter, dated 28 July 2004, also stated that "NOTE: Public Law 106-398, 30 October 2000, requires that upon receipt of this Letter, a qualified Reserve Component member, who is married, will automatically be enrolled in the RCSBP under...