RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-04695 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her spouse’s record be changed to add her disabled son to the spouse only coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Her husband opted out of the family portion of the SBP without her knowledge or consent and because of his death being so close to the date of when their son was born, it was impossible for them to add him to the SBP. The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant was married to the decedent and had one dependent child born on 21 November 1978. The decedent elected to decline SBP coverage prior to his 1 August 1980 retirement. Another dependent child was born on 4 December 1981 after the decedent’s retirement. The decedent died on 21 January 1982. The applicant was not notified of the decedent's decision to decline SBP coverage as required by PL 92-425, and a AFBCMR BC- 2003-00800 corrected the decedent's record on 29 April 2003 to reflect he elected spouse only coverage under the SBP. The applicant is currently receiving an annuity of $892. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPFFF recommends approval. DPFFF states there is no evidence of Air Force error; however, to preclude an injustice, they recommend the record be corrected. The member’s record should be corrected to reflect he elected spouse and child coverage based on full retired pay effective 1 August 1980, and his son is permanently incapable of self- support. Approval should be contingent upon recoupment of all applicable retroactive SBP premiums. The applicant provided medical documents stating her son was diagnosed with a permanent disability in 1997 at the age of 15. The U.S. Court of Claims ruled that if widows were not given notice of the sponsor’s election the widows and eligible dependent children were entitled to full SBP coverage. It is reasonable to presume when the applicant submitted her original request in 2003 she would have also requested the member’s record to be corrected to reflect spouse and child coverage, if she had understood the impact of his life-long eligibility to receive SBP annuity payments. In the event relief is granted and the Barring Act is waived, all unpaid contributions to the SBP that would have been deducted from the member’s retired pay for child coverage will be collected. The complete evaluation is at Exhibit B. APPLICANT REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: On 27 March 2014, a copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant for review and response within 30 days (Exhibit C). As of this date, no response has been received by this office. 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. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice. After a thorough review of the evidence in this case, we are persuaded that relief is warranted. We note that the applicant was not notified of the former service member’s decision to decline SBP coverage as required by law, and the AFBCMR corrected the former service member’s record on 29 April 2003 to reflect he elected spouse only coverage under the SBP. The applicant has subsequently provided medical documents stating her son was diagnosed with a permanent disability in 1997 at the age of 15. We believe that when the applicant submitted her original request in 2003, she would have also requested the record to be corrected to reflect spouse and child coverage if she was aware that she could have added her son at that time. Therefore, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of AFPC/DPFFF that the applicant’s record should be corrected to reflect spouse and child coverage under SBP. Therefore, we recommend the records be corrected as indicated below. THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 31 July 1980, he elected spouse and child coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) based on full retired pay; that he made timely notification to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service on the birth of his son ; and that his son was permanently disabled before age 18 and remains incapable of self-support. The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2013-04695 in Executive Session on 29 December 2014, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: Although chaired the panel, in view of her unavailability, has agreed to sign as Acting Panel Chair. All members voted to correct the records, as recommended. The following documentary was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 27 September 2013, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPFFF, dated 23 January 2014. Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 27 March 2014.