BOARD DATE: 5 August 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130020147
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 her spouse be designated as the beneficiary of her Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity.
2. The applicant states that she was not aware at the time of her retirement that she had to make her election within 1 year of marriage. She goes on to state that when she went to do her retirement paperwork she was informed that her SBP election was no good and she subsequently noticed that she had no SBP coverage.
3. The applicant provides copies of her marriage license, DD Form 2656 (Data for Payment of Retired Pay), and DD Form 1882 (SBP Election Change).
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant was serving in the pay grade of E-5 in the Arizona Army National Guard (AZARNG) when she completed her DD Form 1883 (SBP Election Certificate). She elected option A in which she elected to defer selection until she reached age 60. She had no beneficiaries at the time.
2. The applicant was promoted to the pay grade of E-6 on 1 August 2000 and on 21 November 2000, the applicant got married to her current spouse.
3. On 4 August 2002, the applicant submitted a DD Form 1882 in which she requested that her election be change to spouse full coverage. Her request was denied due to her not making the election within 1 year of her marriage.
4. On 14 January 2003, she was honorably discharged from the AZARNG and was transferred to the Retired Reserves.
5. On 6 September 2013, she applied for non-regular retired pay and submitted a DD Form 2656 in which she elected spouse full coverage. She was placed on the AUS Retired List effective 2 September 2013.
6. 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 member's 60th birthday, and (C) elect that a beneficiary receive an annuity immediately upon their death if before age 60. Spousal notification and concurrence are required only if the member elects to participate in the RCSBP for less than full spouse coverage. A member must make the election within 90 days of receiving the notification of eligibility to receive retired pay at age 60 or else wait until he/she applies for retired pay and elect to participate in the standard SBP. Before spousal notification and concurrence were required, failure to elect an option resulted in the default election of option A.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicants contention that her SBP election should be changed to show her spouse as her beneficiary has been noted and appears to have merit.
2. At the time the applicant made her SBP election she was not married and had no beneficiaries. Accordingly, she made the election to defer her SBP election until she reached age 60.
3. In 2002, she attempted to add her spouse. That attempt was invalid because it occurred outside the one-year enrollment window. This left her original decision to defer in place. When the applicant reached age 60 she made her SBP election of spouse full coverage; however, for reasons that are not apparent, she was not enrolled in the SBP.
4. It should also be noted that had the applicant not made a spouse full coverage election at the time she applied for non-regular retirement, her spouse would have had to concur with her election. Accordingly, it appears that an administrative oversight resulted in the applicant not being enrolled in the SBP.
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 showing that the applicant was enrolled in the SBP with Spouse full coverage on the date she was placed on the AUS Retired List.
_______ _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) AR20130020147
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130020147
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