IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 13 April 2021 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20200003246 APPLICANT REQUESTS: correction of his personnel records to reflect entitlement to Continuation Pay (CP) under the Blended Retirement System (BRS) effective the date of his election to participate in the BRS. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Continuation Pay (Blended Retirement) Request – Calendar Year 2019, dated 27 September 2019 FACTS: 1. The applicant states that the information concerning CP was not readily available and the personnel at both the unit and installation level were not versed in the policy. He contests that CP was not addressed within any of the BRS briefings received prior to him electing to participate (opt in). This issue continued to remain so once he began inquiring about receiving CP. In fact, he obtained the information on-line. After speaking with multiple support agencies, it was apparent that this was not an isolated issue. He eventually spoke with the Department of the Army, G-1 staff who provided the much needed information. For this reason and lack of clear information that was previously afforded to both he and other service members, he is requesting correction of the timely submission of his request for CP. 2. A review of the applicant’s available service records reflects the following: a. On 24 October 2006, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army (RA). b. On 25 September 2012, the applicant was released from active duty to accept a commission as a warrant officer. He completed 5 years, 11 months, and 2 days of net active service. c. On 26 September 2012, the applicant was appointed as a Reserve warrant officer and executed an oath of office. d. The applicant remains on active duty. 3. The applicant provides a CP (BRS) Request – Calendar Year 2019 reflective of his acknowledged understanding that he would receive CP in return for his continued service in the Regular Army. He further agreed to accept CP at 2.5 times his base pay for 4 years of Additional Obligated Service (AOS) to be paid in 1 lump sum payment. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was warranted. The Board found sufficient evidence that the applicant intended to apply for the BRS continuation pay in accordance with statutory requirements. The Board further found sufficient evidence to correct the applicant’s records to show that he was in receipt of a completed CP request prior to the completion of 12 years of service as computed. Due to the lack of clarity found upon the implementation of the BRS, the Board agree to approve the applicant’s entitlement to CP and that is was approved and received in a timely manner. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :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 the applicant was in receipt of a completed continuation pay (CP) request prior to the completion of 12 years of service and it was approved and processed in timely manner. 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. ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE(S): N/A REFERENCES: 1. Deputy Secretary of Defense Memorandum, Implementation of the Blended Retirement System dated January 27, 2017 states that the BRS goes into effect 1 January 2018. Service members who enter the military on or after 1 January 2018, will automatically be enrolled in BRS. Service members who enter service on or before December 31, 2017, are grandfathered into the legacy high-3 retirement system. However, service members in the active component as of 31 December 2017, who have served fewer than 12 years, or service members in the Reserve component who have accrued less than 4,320 retirement points as of 31 December 2017 and are in a paid status, will have the option of electing BRS or to remain in the legacy retirement system. Those currently serving members who are eligible to opt into BRS will have an entire year to make their opt-in decision. The opt-in or election period for BRS begins 1 January 2018, and concludes on 31 December 2018. The decision to opt-in is irrevocable. a. CP will be enacted under Title 37, United States Code (USC), section 356, effective on 1 January 2018, which was further modified by Public Law 114-328. Members of the Uniformed Services who are covered by the BRS are eligible to receive a one-time, mid-career bonus payment in exchange for an agreement to perform AOS. This one-time bonus payment is in addition to any other career field-specific incentives or retention bonuses. b. Regular Army members are eligible to receive CP if they "opt-in" to the BRS; and have completed not less than 8 and not more than 12 years of service, as computed from that member’s pay entry base date and is eligible to enter into an agreement to serve not less than an additional 3 years in the Regular Army. c. The Secretary concerned is responsible for determining the CP amount offered to members of his or her department covered by the BRS, the timing of when CP is offered, and the duration of the associated additional obligated service. The amount payable for Regular Army personnel is not less than 2.5 times and not more than 13 times the monthly basic pay of that member based on the member’s current paygrade and years of service. 2. Title 37 USC, section 356 (CP: Full Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) states, members with 8 to 12 Years of Service provides that the Secretary concerned shall make a payment of CP to each full TSP member of the uniformed services under the jurisdiction of the Secretary who has completed not less than 8 and not more than 12 years of service in a uniformed service; and enters into an agreement with the Secretary to serve for not less than 3 additional years of obligated service. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20200003246 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1