RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2021-00288

XXXXXXXXXXXX	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 16 years of satisfactory service at the time he made his decision to opt into the BRS; however, he was never advised that matching contributions for the new retirement system would cease after 26 years of total service.  

He now has 23 years of total service and mathematically it makes no sense for him to forgo 10 percent of a traditional, lifetime DoD retirement for four years of 5 percent Thrift Savings Program (TSP) matching.  The total years of military service rule, was ambiguous and unclear.  Had he known about how the 26-year rule applies, he would have never opted into the BRS. 

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

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is an Air National Guard (ANG) lieutenant colonel (O-5), who currently has 4,592 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 BRS. 

The Military Personnel Data System does not show the date the applicant completed the BRS training, but does show that on 1 January 2019 he elected to opt-in. 

In addition, since the applicant opted into the BRS he is eligible to receive matching contributions, which continue to the last pay period in which the applicant would reach 26 years of total service, as calculated from his PEBD (for the Air Force it is referred to as the “Pay Date”).  The Military Personnel Data System shows that the applicant’s actual “Pay Date” is is 6 Jun 1997 and therefore the last date the applicant could receive matching contributions would be 6 Jun 2023.

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

APPLICABLE AUTHORITY/GUIDANCE:

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.

Standard Blended Retirement System Guidance:  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 BRS combines the traditional legacy retirement pension, also known as a defined benefit, with a defined contribution benefit into a Thrift Savings Plan.  The BRS 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 BRS.

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 [PEBD] (for the Air Force it is referred to as the “Pay 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 BRS.  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 BRS is irrevocable.  The opt-in window for most Airmen closed on 31 December 2018.

Guidance on the 26-year rule for matching contributions:  Commencing with the pay period that follows a Uniformed Service member’s completion of 24 months of service, as calculated from his or her PEBD (Pay Date), the Secretary concerned will contribute an amount that matches the Service member’s individual contribution from basic pay and/or inactive duty pay to TSP; however the matching contributions will cease following the end of the pay period during which the member completes 26 years of service, as calculated from his or her PEBD (Pay Date).
 
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 BRS 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 49 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 16 April 2021 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 that the applicant was only eligible for four 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 1 January 2019, 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-2021-00288 in Executive Session on 14 Jun 21:

, 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 2 December 2020.
Exhibit B:	Documentary evidence, including relevant excerpts from official records.
Exhibit C:	Blended Retirement System Guidance.
Exhibit D:	Advisory opinion, NGB/A1PP, dated 2 April 2021.
Exhibit E:	Notification of advisory, SAF/MRBC to applicant, dated 16 April 2021.

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.