RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-00502
	XXXXXXX	COUNSEL: NONE
		HEARING DESIRED: NO

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His records be corrected to show he made a timely election for 
spouse coverage under the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit 
Plan (RCSBP).

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was divorced in 1984; therefore, his son and daughter were 
named beneficiaries.  He forgot to make the necessary changes 
when he remarried in 2004.

The applicant provides no documents in support of his request. 

His complete submission is at Exhibit A.

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained 
in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air 
Force.  Accordingly, there is no need to recite these facts in 
this Record of Proceedings.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPFFF recommends denial.  DPFFF states that a member who is 
unmarried at retirement may elect coverage for the first spouse 
acquired after retiring.  However, the election must be made 
before the first anniversary of the marriage.  If a member fails 
to make an election before then, SBP coverage for that person or 
another person of that category may be elected only if Congress 
authorizes an open enrollment period.  Public Law (PL) 108-375, 
28 Oct 2004, authorized an SBP open enrollment period beginning 
1 Oct 2005 through 30 Sep 2006, that allowed members, who 
declined or had less than maximum level of SBP coverage, an 
opportunity to elect to participate or increase their coverage 
up to a base amount of their gross retired pay. Members were 
advised by direct mail of their eligibility to make an election. 

The applicant was unmarried prior to attaining age 60 and on 
13 Jul 1988, he elected child only SBP coverage based on full 
retired pay (immediate option) under the RCSBP.  The youngest 
child lost eligibility in Jul 1997.  The applicant began 
receiving retired pay effective 21 Dec 2003.  Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) records 
show the applicant married on 31 Jul 2004, but he failed to 
submit a valid election within the first year of his marriage.  
There is no evidence he submitted an election during the 2005-
2006 open enrollment period.  Providing this applicant 
additional time to elect SBP coverage would be inequitable to 
other retirees in similar situations and is not justified by the 
facts.

The complete DPFFF evaluation is at Exhibit B.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 31 May 2013, a copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded 
to the member for review and comment within 30 days.  To date, a 
response has not been received (Exhibit C).

_______________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by 
existing law or regulations.

2.  The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the 
interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

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 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 this application 
in Executive Session on 30 Sep 2013, under the provisions of AFI 
36-2603:

      , Panel Chair
      , Member
      , Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in AFBCMR BC-
2013-00502:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 23 Jan 2013.
    Exhibit B.  Letter, AFPC/DPFFF, dated 16 May 2013.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 31 May 2013.
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