PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           15 January 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001062405

	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:

	Ms. Irene N. Wheelwright		Chairperson	
	Mr. Hubert O. Fry, Jr.		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman, Jr.		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 that his records be corrected to show he requested enrollment in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) for spouse coverage within one year of his marriage.

3.  The applicant states that he was married in August 1998.  In March 1999, he took his spouse to McClellan Air Force Base to get her an identification card.  Later, his financial advisor asked him what portion of his retired pay his spouse would receive.  He did not know and when he called the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) he was informed that his spouse was not listed as an SBP beneficiary.  After he sent DFAS a copy of his marriage certificate, DFAS informed him he could not enroll in the SBP for spouse coverage as more than a year had passed since his marriage.  At no time was he aware that he had to notify Army personnel of his marriage other than to obtain an identification card for her.  He is willing to pay any costs due.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 10 December 1954.  He retired on 1 May 1975.  At that time he was not married, had dependent children, and declined to participate in the SBP.

5.  The applicant married on 1 August 1998 and apparently did not attempt to enroll in the SBP for spouse coverage until around July 2001.

6.  Public Law 92-425, the SBP, enacted 21 September 1972, provided that military members on active duty could elect to have their retired pay reduced to provide for an annuity after death to surviving dependents.  An election, once made, is normally irrevocable.

7.  Title 10, U. S. Code, section 1448(a)(5) provides that a person who is not married or has no dependent child upon becoming eligible to participate in the SBP but who later marries or acquires a dependent child may elect to participate in the SBP.  Such an election must be written, signed by the person making the election, and received by the Secretary concerned within one year after the date on which that person marries or acquires that dependent child.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  At the time the applicant retired in 1975, he had dependent children but was not married.  He declined to participate in the SBP at that time.

2.  The Board notes that the applicant had been retired for 23 years at the time of his marriage in 1998 and may not have remembered the requirements for enrolling in the SBP.  It would be equitable to show that he requested, in writing, that he be enrolled in the SBP for spouse coverage on 12 March 1999, within one year of the date he married his current spouse.

3.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’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 applicant requested, in writing, that he be enrolled in the SBP for spouse coverage on 12 March 1999, within one year of the date he married his current spouse.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__inw___  __hof___  __dph___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Irene N. Wheelwright
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001062405	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020115	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	137.04	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.