PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           7 March 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001064851

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. John P. Infante		Member	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests, in effect, that the records of her deceased spouse, a former service member (FSM), be corrected to show he enrolled in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) for spouse and children coverage.

3.  The applicant states that she and the FSM executed the Survivor Benefit Plan Election Certificate, DD Form 1883, together and mailed it back in the proper time to the return address on the letter that accompanied the form.  She searched through all his papers and cannot find the copies he kept.  It would be a great burden to her if the SBP is denied her since she has children to support.  

4.  The FSM’s military records show that he was born on 12 July 1954.  He     was commissioned in the U. S. Army Reserve as a Medical Corps officer on        7 September 1977.  He and the applicant married in 1977.  He entered active duty in 1980.  He was released from active duty in 1992 and was reassigned to the U. S. Army Reserve Control Group (Reinforcement).  

5.  On an unknown date, the FSM moved to Israel.  On 21 January 1998, he apparently notified the U. S. Army Reserve Command (AR-PERSCOM) that his new address was Raanana, Israel.  The FSM’s 20-year letter is dated 19 October 2000 and it was sent to the address he had given AR-PERSCOM.  He died on  15 August 2001 on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.  

6.  Public Law 95-397, the RCSBP, enacted 30 September 1978, provided a way for those who had qualified for reserve retirement but were not yet age 60 to provide an annuity for their survivors should they die before reaching age 60.  Three options are available:  (A)  elect to decline enrollment and choose at age 60 whether to start SBP participation; (B)  elect that a beneficiary receive an annuity if they die before age 60 but delay payment of it until the date of the member’s 60th birthday; (C)  elect that a beneficiary receive an annuity immediately upon their death if before age 60.  A member must make the election within 90 days of receiving the notification of eligibility to receive retired pay at age 60 or else wait until he/she applies for retired pay and elect to participate in the standard SBP.  If death does occur before age 60, the RCSBP costs for options B and C are deducted from the annuity.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board finds the applicant’s contention that the FSM completed the DD Form 1883 reasonable.  Considering the FSM’s place of residence, the Board finds it reasonable to believe he would have wanted to provide RCSBP protection for his family and that he completed a DD Form 1883 electing spouse and children coverage, full base amount, option C, mailed it in a timely manner, and the form was lost in the mail.

2.  In view of the foregoing, the FSM’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the FSM completed the DD Form 1883 on 1 November 2000, electing to participate in the RCSBP for spouse and children coverage, full base amount, option C, and returned the form to the appropriate office where it was received and processed in a timely manner.

2.  That the applicant be paid an RCSBP annuity retroactive to the date of the FSM’s death.

BOARD VOTE:  

__rvo___  __jpi___  __rks___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001064851	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020307	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	137.04	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.