RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2019-04439

XXXXXXXXXXXXX	COUNSEL: NONE
	
	HEARING: YES

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

Her election to opt-in to the Blended Retirement System be reversed and she be allowed to remain under the legacy retirement system.

APPLICANT’S CONTENTIONS

While on myPay, the Blended Retirement System module appeared, but she assumed it was to verify completion of the mandatory training.  When she got to the final question regarding whether she knew that the decision was irrevocable, she clicked “Yes,” but again, she thought she was only confirming that she understood, not that she was in fact opting into the new retirement system.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is an Air Force technical sergeant (E-6).  Her Pay Entry Base Date (PEBD) is 24 April 2009.  Since she had less than 12 years of service as of 31 December 2017, she was grandfathered under the current retirement system but was eligible to opt-in to the Blended Retirement System.

The Military Personnel Data System indicates on 13 March 2017, the applicant completed Blended Retirement System training and on 24 January 2018, she elected to opt in.    

For more information, see the excerpt of the applicant’s record at Exhibit B and the advisory at Exhibit D.

APPLICABLE AUTHORITY:

Sections 631 through 635 of Public Law 114-92, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, amended in Public Law 114-80, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017.

On 27 January 2017, the Deputy Secretary of Defense implemented guidance for the newly created retirement system for the Uniformed Services, which was enacted in the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016.  This system, called the Blended Retirement System combines the traditional legacy retirement pension, also known as a defined benefit, with a defined contribution benefit into a Thrift Savings Plan.  The Blended Retirement System went into effect on 1 January 2018.  Service members who enter the Uniformed Services on or after 1 January 2018, are automatically enrolled in the Blended Retirement System.

Active component Service members with 12 years (or more) of service prior to 31 December 2017, and National Guard and Reserve service members who have accrued more than 4,320 retirement points as of 31 December 2017, are grandfathered under the legacy retirement system and their current retirement plan will not change.

Active component Service members with fewer than 12 years of service as of 31 December 2017 (calculated from their Pay Entry Base Date), and members of the National Guard or Reserve who have accrued fewer than 4,320 points as of 31 December 2017, are also grandfathered under the current retirement system but may choose to opt-in to the Blended Retirement System.  Service members who chose to enroll had to affirm on the myPay website that they had completed the mandatory training and acknowledge that the decision to enroll in the Blended Retirement System is irrevocable.  The opt-in window for most Airmen closed on 31 December 2018.

For more information, see Exhibit C.

AIR FORCE EVALUATION

AFPC/DP3SA, recommends denying the application.  Eligible service members were notified of the opportunity to elect the Blended Retirement System and were required to take a two-hour online opt-in training course developed by the Department of Defense.  Throughout the course, service members were reminded that the election is irrevocable and encouraged to seek financial counseling before making a decision.  The link on the myPay website is clearly labeled “Blended Retirement System Opt-in.”  When the opt-in window was opened on 1 January 2018, the link was placed at the top of the myPay Main Menu to make it easy for service members to locate.  However, some service members indicated that it was confusing because the link titled “Leave and Earning Statement (LES)” was previously at the top of the page and they selected the first link out of habit rather than reading the text.  While the titles of these two links are clearly different, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service moved the Blended Retirement System opt-in link, which is now located near the bottom of the screen.  Nevertheless, the opt-in module on the myPay website contains multiple steps to complete the enrollment process and it is improbable that service members completed all the required actions by mistake.  As such, there is nothing to indicate the opt-in process lends itself to erroneous elections and it is more likely that the service member is experiencing remorse regarding the decision to opt-in to the Blended Retirement System.

The complete advisory opinion is at Exhibit D.

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION

The Board sent a copy of the advisory opinion to the applicant on 28 February 2020 for comment (Exhibit E), but has received no response.  

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

1.  The application was timely filed.

2.  The applicant exhausted all available non-judicial relief before applying to the Board.

3.  After reviewing all Exhibits, the Board concludes the applicant is the victim of an error or injustice.  The Board notes the comments of AFPC/DP3SA stating that relief should be denied; however, we disagree.  In this respect, based on the Blended Retirement System module recent release, confusion regarding the placement of the opt-in link, the required training, and the rules surrounding the opt-in process, the applicant more likely than not was not fully aware of the opt-in process.  Given the applicant’s diligence to correct his erroneous election, the Board finds a preponderance of the evidence substantiates the applicant’s contentions.  Therefore, the Board recommends the applicant’s records be corrected as indicated below.

RECOMMENDATION

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 24 January 2018, she did not elect to opt into the Blended Retirement System and instead remained under the legacy retirement plan.  

CERTIFICATION

The following quorum of the Board, as defined in Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-2603, Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR), paragraph 1.5, considered Docket Number BC-2019-04848 in Executive Session on 13 Apr 20:

	, Panel Chair
	, Panel Member
	, Panel Member

All members voted to correct the record.  The panel considered the following:

Exhibit A:	Application, DD Form 149, w/atchs, dated 1 November 2019.
Exhibit B:	Documentary evidence, including relevant excerpts from official records.
Exhibit C:	Blended Retirement System Guidance.
Exhibit D:	Advisory opinion, AFPC/DP3SA, dated 13 September 2018.
Exhibit E:	Notification of advisory, SAF/MRBC to applicant, dated 28 February 2020.

Taken together with all Exhibits, this document constitutes the true and complete Record of Proceedings, as required by AFI 36-2603, paragraph 4.11.9.