PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           24 July 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001056150

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson		Member	
	Mr. William D. Powers		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests, in effect, that the records of her deceased spouse, a former service member (FSM), be corrected to show he enrolled in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP).

3.  The applicant states that the FSM was within 15 days of retirement at age 60 when he died.  On his Application for Retired Pay, DD Form 2656, he had designated her to receive the SBP.  She notified the Army promptly when he died but it was not until a year later that the Army informed her that the FSM had completed a Survivor Benefit Plan Election Certificate, DD Form 1883, in 1979 without a designation for survivors’ benefits.  She does not know why the FSM might have completed the DD Form 1883 the way he did except that it might have been an error or oversight on his part.  Otherwise, he had always gone to great lengths during their marriage to provide for his family.  

4.  The FSM’s military records show that he was born on 15 January 1940.  He entered active duty in an enlisted status in 1959.  He and the applicant married on 23 June 1962.  He was appointed a commissioned officer in the U. S. Army Reserve in 1966.  His notification of eligibility for retired pay at age 60 (his        20-year letter) is dated 13 June 1979.  He apparently received and completed a DD Form 1883 declining to enroll in the RCSBP.

5.  Effective 1 October 1979, the FSM was released from his Troop Program Unit and assigned to the Individual Ready Reserve. 

6.  On an unknown date the FSM applied for retired pay.  His DD Form 2656 is not available but apparently he elected to enroll in the standard SBP at that time. He died on 30 December 1999.  He would have turned age 60 on 15 January 2000.

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 member’s 60th birthday; (C)  elect that a beneficiary receive an annuity immediately upon their death if before age 60.  If death does occur before age 60, the RCSBP costs for options B and C are deducted from the annuity.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of Government error in this case.  It appears the FSM did receive the DD Form 1883 in 1979 and declined to enroll in the RCSBP.  It appears he did elect to enroll in the standard SBP upon applying for retired pay at age 60; unfortunately, he died two weeks short of reaching age 60.
2.  However, the Board concludes that as a matter of equity the applicant should be granted the SBP annuity.  It was Congress’s intent in establishing the SBP to provide for those spouses who supported the military member for the majority of his or her military career.  The applicant was married to the FSM for the majority of his military career.  The FSM received his 20-year letter and first opportunity to enroll in the RCSBP in June 1979, less than one year after the establishment of the RCSBP.  At that time, reservists did not receive the detailed SBP counseling that is available today and the FSM may not have been aware of the importance of this program to his family.  While the Board cannot change the date of the FSM’s death, the Board concludes that it would be appropriate to correct his records to show that he enrolled in the RCSBP on 1 July 1979 for spouse coverage, full base amount, option C.

3.  In view of the foregoing, the FSM’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the FSM completed a DD Form 1883 on 1 July 1979 and enrolled in the RCSBP for spouse coverage, full base amount, option C.  

2.  That the applicant be advised that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service will be instructed to collect any RCSBP costs due. 

3.  That the applicant be paid an annuity based upon the FSM’s election to participate in the RCSBP retroactive to the date of his death.

BOARD VOTE:  

__jns___  __mvt___  __wdp___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			John N. Slone
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001056150	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010724	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	137.04	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.