BOARD DATE: 10 May 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110020819
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 cancellation of the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) coverage he elected on 10 January 1997.
2. The applicant states he did not receive counseling or attend classes about his rights and consequences of the SBP other than that he was told to elect SBP after he received his 20-year letter.
3. The applicant provides a DD Form 2656 (Data for Payment of Retired Personnel) and a Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) summary of retired pay account.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant was born on 3 September 1951. After having prior service in the Regular Army, he served the U.S. Army Reserve until his retirement in the rank of master sergeant on 3 September 2011.
2. His Notification of Eligibility for Retired Pay at Age 60 (20-year letter) was issued on 16 February 1996.
3. On 10 December 1996, he completed a DD Form 1883 (SBP Election Certificate). He elected to participate in the Reserve Component SBP (RCSBP) for spouse and children coverage based on the full amount of his retired pay, option C (immediate coverage). The front side of the DD Form 1883 states, "IMPORTANT: The decision you make with respect to participation in the SBP is a permanent irrevocable decision. Please consider your decision and its effect very carefully."
4. On 21 January 2011, he completed a DD Form 2656. He indicated he elected not to participate in the SBP. His spouse concurred with his decision.
5. He retired and was placed on the Retired List on 3 September 2011.
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 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 member's 60th birthday; (C) elect that a beneficiary receive an annuity immediately upon their death if before age 60. Once a member elects either option B or C in any category of coverage, that election is irrevocable. Option B and C participants do not make a new SBP election at age 60. They cannot cancel SBP participation or change options they had in RCSBP and RCSBP coverage automatically converts to SBP coverage upon retirement.
8. Public Law 105-85, enacted 18 November 1997, established the option to terminate SBP participation. Retirees have a 1-year period beginning on the second anniversary of the date on which their retired pay started to withdraw from SBP. Members retired for more than 2 years as of 17 May 1998 were authorized a 1-year opportunity (17 May 1998-16 May 1999) to disenroll. The spouse's concurrence is required. The effective date of termination is the first day of the first calendar month following the month in which the election is received by the Secretary concerned. No premiums will be refunded to those who opt to disenroll. Reservists who elected an option under the RCSBP will continue to have the Reservist Portion cost deducted from their retired pay.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's DD Form 1883 shows he enrolled in the RCSBP for spouse and children coverage on 10 December 1996. By law and regulation, RCSBP participation cannot be cancelled and automatically converts to SBP coverage upon reaching age 60. As a result, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to support granting the requested relief.
2. The applicant is advised that retirees have a 1-year period to withdraw from SBP beginning on the second anniversary of the date on which their retired pay started. The spouse's concurrence is required. No premiums will be refunded to those who opt to disenroll. If he elects to terminate his SBP participation at that time, he is advised that despite his action, the Reserve Component premium add-on will be deducted from his retired pay for life. This deduction is the cost of the RCSBP coverage or protection his spouse and children enjoyed from the date he first made an election in 1996. He is further advised that in his particular case, he can withdraw from the SBP during a 1-year window beginning in September 2013, the second anniversary of his receipt of retired pay, with a new properly-executed concurrence from his spouse.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
__X__ ___X_____ __X______ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.
___________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) AR20110020819
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110020819
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090007149
He argues that he clearly elected not to participate in the SBP on the DD Form 2656 and his spouse concurred. If the applicant elects to terminate his SBP participation at that time, he is advised that despite his action, the Reserve Component premium add-on will be deducted from his retired pay for life. He is further advised that in his particular case, he can withdraw from the SBP during a 1-year window beginning in December 2010, the second anniversary of his receipt of retired pay,...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2007 | 20070005016C071029
John G. Heck | |Member | The Board considered the following evidence: Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records. His wife is a Master Sergeant in the U. S. Army Reserve and will have her own retired pay. Once a member elects either Options B or C in any category of coverage, that election is irrevocable.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100021525
BOARD DATE: 8 March 2011 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100021525 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). His 20-year letter notified him, in pertinent part, that upon receipt of this letter, a qualified Reserve Component (RC) married member would automatically be enrolled in the RC Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) under Option C, Spouse and Child(ren) coverage based on full retired pay, unless his...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080014058
Therefore, the applicant is not entitled to correction of his records to show that he rescinded his election to participate in the RCSBP or SBP. The evidence of record shows that the applicant attained age 60 and eligibility for retired pay on 15 July 2008. In support of that effort, a copy of DD Form 2656-2 (Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Termination Request) is being provided to the applicant, along with this Record of Proceedings.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110007955
The applicant requests that his records be corrected to show that he elected to decline participation in the Survivor Benefit Program (SBP) at the time of his retirement on 8 July 2010. The applicant was born on 8 July 1950 and he was serving in the United States Army Reserve (USAR) when he received his 20-year letter and submitted his DD Form 1883 on 18 December 1991 in which he elected full spouse coverage under option C (immediate coverage). Based on the foregoing, there is insufficient...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110009777
This document shows that on 4 June 1999, the applicant elected Option C (immediate coverage based on full retired pay), spouse-only SBP coverage. The applicant's DFAS-CL Form 7220/148 shows he is paying for spouse-only RCSBP coverage based upon his full gross retired pay. Effective 1 October 2008, no reduction may be made in the retired pay of a participant in the SBP for any month after the later of: (1) the 360th month for which the participants retired pay is reduced; and (2) the month...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140009410
She elected not to participate in the SBP. Three options are available: * Option A, elect to decline enrollment and choose at age 60 whether to start SBP participation * Option B, elect that a beneficiary receive an annuity if they die before age 60 but delay payment of it until the date of the member's 60th birthday * Option C, elect that a beneficiary receive an annuity immediately upon their death if before age 60 8. The evidence of record does not support the applicant's request for...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090004444
The applicant requests, in effect, that his military records be corrected by canceling his Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) election for spouse and children coverage. The applicant states, in effect, that when he applied for retirement on 18 June 2008 he enrolled in the SBP only after being assured that he could opt out of this program at any time by submitting a DD Form 2656-2 (Survivor Benefit Plan Termination Request). In support of his claim, the applicant provided a DD Form 2656, dated 18...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2007 | 20070005589
On 19 November 1989, he elected Reserve Component SBP (RCSBP), option C, immediate coverage for his survivors on Survivor Benefit Plan Election Certificate, DD Form 1883. The applicants election to participate in the RCSBP was an irrevocable decision which rolled over into the SBP upon his reaching age 60. The applicant will have a one-year window of opportunity to terminate SBP coverage between the second and third year anniversary following the date the applicant started to receive...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120020679
The applicant requests his military records be corrected by canceling his Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) participation for spouse coverage. The applicant states: * SBP and Reserve Component SBP (RCSBP) deductions should not be withheld from his military retirement * it was his understanding when he divorced Betty and he got confirmation that spousal SBP had stopped that was all he had to do * when he remarried in 2001, he assumed that if they wanted SBP that he had to request it * his DD Form...