RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2020-00773

XXXXXXXXXX	COUNSEL: NONE
	
	HEARING: NO

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

His election to opt-in to the Blended Retirement System (BRS) be reversed and he be allowed to remain under the legacy retirement system.

APPLICANT’S CONTENTIONS

He is an Air National Guardsman who had 10 years of active duty service and 25 years of total service at the time he made his decision to opt into the Blended Retirement System; however, he was never advised that matching contributions for the new retirement system would cease after 26 years of total service.  

He originally made the decision after being informed that the government would match based on active duty years and mathematically it makes no sense for him to forgo 10% of a traditional, lifetime DoD retirement for two years of 5% Thrift Savings Program (TSP) matching.  Consequently, he will suffer significant undue financial hardship in retirement based on the oversight of Kirtland Air Force Base Finance and the military personnel office who failed to provide accurate guidance.  He believes that the simple math in his situation makes it apparent that no reasonable person would have made the choice to opt into the new system had they been properly advised

In support of his appeal, the applicant provides a letter to the Board along with copies of his orders, multiple e-mails and other documents that support his contentions.  

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is an Air National Guard (ANG) Senior Master Sergeant (E-8), who currently has 4,850 points towards retirement; however, at the time he elected to opt-in he had accrued fewer than 4,320 points.  As such, he was grandfathered under the current retirement system but was eligible to opt-in to the Blended Retirement System.

The Military Personnel Data System does not list a date that the applicant completed the Blended Retirement System training, but shows that on 11 June 2018 he 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, 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

NGB/A1PP, recommends granting the application.  Based on the documentation provided by the applicant and analysis of the facts, there is evidence of an error or injustice. Although there is no provision to authorize members who knowingly opted into the Blended Retirement System to opt out of the program, the guidance is not clear on whether or not the 26-year service cap applies to active service or satisfactory service.  The applicant is currently 48 years old, could potentially serve 12 more years in the Air National Guard, and would not be able to make additional retirement contributions if he remains under the new 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 26 June 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 concurs with the rationale and recommendation of NGB/A1PP and finds a preponderance of the evidence substantiates the applicant’s contentions.  The Board notes that at the time of the applicant’s election, the Blended Retirement System module had just been introduced and finds it plausible that he may have been misinformed about the matching contributions.  Given the applicant was only eligible for two years of matching contributions, the Board finds it reasonable to assume that the applicant would not have made a financially impractical decision had he understood that the matching contributions ceased after 26 years of total service.  Furthermore, the Board recognizes that the guidance on the new retirement system may have failed to properly address the intricacies of Reserve and National Guard retirement systems compared to that of their active duty counterparts.  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 11 June 2018, the applicant 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-2020-00773 in Executive Session on 28 July 2020:

, 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 5 March 2020.
Exhibit B:	Documentary evidence, including relevant excerpts from official records.
Exhibit C:	Blended Retirement System Guidance.
Exhibit D:	Advisory opinion, NGB/A1PP, dated 22 June 2020.
Exhibit E:	Notification of advisory, SAF/MRBC to applicant, dated 26 June 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.