RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-01140 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ _ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His record be corrected to change his election from “Former Spouse and Child” coverage to “Suspend Coverage” under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). ________________________________________________________________ _ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Upon his divorce, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) advised him to fax a copy of his original divorce decree and a completed copy of DD Form 2656-1, Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Election Statement for Former Spouse Coverage. Since his divorce decree does not have a provision for his former spouse to receive benefits, nor does he have a minor child, DFAS should have advised him to fill out and fax a completed DD Form 2656-6, Survivor Benefit Plan Election Change Certificate, rather than the DD Form 2656-1. In support of his appeal, the applicant provides a copy of his divorce decree. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ _ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant elected spouse and child SBP coverage effective 1 September 1987, upon retirement. He divorced on 8 January 2013. On 11 January 2013, DFAS received a DD Form 2656-1 from the applicant requesting to change his SBP election, due to divorce, from spouse and child coverage to former spouse and child coverage. Effective 8 January 2013, the applicant’s SBP was changed to former spouse and child coverage. The remaining relevant facts, extracted from the applicant’s military personnel records, are contained in the evaluation by the Air Force office of primary responsibility at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ _ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: DFAS-JFBE/CL recommends denial. DFAS states that according to law, they cannot change a valid SBP election. The applicant did make a valid SBP election to change from spouse and child coverage to former spouse and child coverage. Although the applicant contends that DFAS advised him to complete and fax a DD Form 2656-1 rather than a DD Form 2656-6, they cannot verify if he received incorrect information from DFAS. The form is not required to suspend SBP coverage due to divorce. A letter and a copy of the divorce decree from the applicant would suffice to suspend SBP coverage. The applicant’s 18 year-old daughter is an eligible beneficiary if she is not married and is attending school full-time. If she does not qualify as an eligible beneficiary, the applicant can notify their office by letter and they will remove the child coverage from his SBP election and discontinue the premium for the child cost portion. Should he remarry in the future, he may then choose whether to cover his new spouse or not. This must be done within one year of marriage or his new spouse would automatically be covered. The complete DFAS-JFBE/CL evaluation is at Exhibit B. ________________________________________________________________ _ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: When he first elected SBP spouse and child coverage on 1 September 1987, he was still married to his first wife with child coverage for their two sons. He subsequently divorced his first wife in May 1988 and married his second wife on 10 August 1990. He and his second wife divorced on 8 January 2013. He was not fully informed of his options regarding SBP or of the fact that once he completed the DD Form 2656-1, that he could not change it. It should not be incumbent upon him to bear the burden of DFAS’ lack of clarity. DFAS’ comment that they cannot verify if he received incorrect information from DFAS not only questions his integrity, but also his character as a 20-year veteran of the Air Force. He feels he deserves more respect than that. His divorce decree makes it quite clear that his former spouse is not entitled to SBP or any other retirement plan in his name. Furthermore, given the fact that their divorce was a highly contentious and contested divorce, he would not have voluntarily elected to give his former spouse SBP when the court did not order him to do so. The applicant’s complete rebuttal is at Exhibit E. ________________________________________________________________ _ 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. After reviewing the evidence of record, we are not persuaded that the applicant has been the victim of an error or injustice. The evidence indicates the applicant made a valid SBP election to change from spouse and child to former spouse and child coverage. The applicant’s contention that he was not fully informed of his options regarding SBP was noted; however, he has provided no evidence that would lead us to believe that he was misled or that he received inaccurate information. Therefore, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of DFAS-JFBE/CL 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 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 AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2013-01140 in Executive Session on 8 January 2013, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence was considered in connection with AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2013-01140: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 26 Feb 13, w/atch. Exhibit C. Letter, DFAS-JFBE/CL, dated 10 Apr 13. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Apr 13. Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 19 Apr 13. Panel Chair