RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2007-02783 INDEX CODE: 137.04 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ _ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her deceased husband’s records be corrected to show he elected coverage for her under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). ________________________________________________________________ _ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Her husband’s former spouse was the beneficiary of the SBP through a divorce decree. Her husband contributed to this plan for many years and predeceased his former spouse by only 11 months. Therefore, she is requesting that she be granted beneficiary status. She and her husband had been married for more than 17 years when he passed away. She feels her case is unique due to the fact that her husband’s former spouse passed away shortly after his death. She is unsure if her husband’s former spouse ever began collecting the benefits since she was very ill at the time of his death, but if she did, it would have been for a very short time. In support of her request, applicant provided her personal statement, a DD Form 2656-7, Verification for Survivor Annuity, her husband’s DD Form 214, Report of Separation From Active Duty, her husband’s death certificate, her husband’s former spouse’s death record, and a Letter of Administration appointing her a personal representative of her husband’s estate. The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ _ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The Air Force states the record reflects the member and his former spouse were married and he elected spouse only SBP coverage based on a reduced level of retired pay prior to his 1 Oct 75 retirement. Subsequently, the member elected to increase his reduced level of coverage to full SBP coverage on her behalf during the open enrollment authorized by Public Law (PL) 97-35 (1 Oct 81 – 30 Sep 82). Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) records show the parties divorced 8 Sep 88 and the divorce decree ordered that she remain the SBP beneficiary. The finance center received a valid former spouse election on her behalf Dec 88 and established the coverage retroactive to the date of divorce. The applicant and the member married on 22 Oct 88, but he did not notify the finance center of the change in his marital status, nor request SBP coverage be extended to her. The member died on 14 Nov 05 and his former spouse received a monthly annuity of approximately $1,940 until her 25 Oct 06 death. ________________________________________________________________ _ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: HQ AFPC/DPSIAR recommends denial. There is no merit in this request or basis in law to grant relief in this case. There is no evidence the member sought to have the requirement to provide former spouse SBP coverage amended or rescinded in order to provide SBP coverage for the applicant. Furthermore, there is no provision in law to provide annuity payments to both a surviving former spouse and a widow. The DPSIAR complete evaluation is at Exhibit B. ________________________________________________________________ _ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: On 9 Nov 07, a copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days. To date, a response has not been received. ________________________________________________________________ _ 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 error or injustice. We took notice of the applicant's 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 has not been the victim of an error or injustice. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no compelling basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application. ________________________________________________________________ _ THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; that the application was denied without a personal appearance; and that 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 Docket Number BC-2007-02783 in Executive Session on 14 Feb 08, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: The following documentary evidence pertaining to Docket Number BC-2007-02783 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 13 Mar 07, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPSIAR, dated 10 Oct 07. Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 9 Nov 07.