BOARD DATE: 14 June 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006036 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: * showing he elected, in a timely manner and prior to his retirement, not to participate in the Survivor Benefit Plan * reimbursing him any premiums paid as a result of this correction I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. BOARD DATE: 14 June 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006036 BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :x x: :x GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 14 June 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006036 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests disenrollment from the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). 2. The applicant states, in effect, he wants the SBP beneficiary selection corrected, as well as the existing bill removed. He was never married and is being charged for an SBP selection he did not make and until recently was unaware of. 3. The applicant provides SBP premium bill, dated February 2016. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 14 June 2005. He served in a variety of stateside or overseas assignments, including Iraq. 2. He was honorably released from active duty on 24 October 2009, and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Reinforcement). His DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) shows he completed 4 years, 4 months, and 11 days of creditable active service. 3. He enlisted in the Alaska Army National Guard (AKARNG) on 25 October 2009. He also executed an extension of ARNG enlistment on 14 January 2011. 4. On 22 December 2014, a physical evaluation board convened and found the applicant physically unfit and recommended a rating of 100 percent and that his disposition be permanent disability retirement. He concurred. 5. U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency, Orders Number D014-71, dated 14 January 2015, retired the applicant by reason of permanent physical disability. 6. His National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service) shows he was honorably retired on 17 February 2015 by reason of disability and he was placed on the permanent disability retired list on 18 February 2015. His net active service was 9 years, 8 months, and 4 days. 7. The applicant's service records indicate his marital status as single. These include: * DD Form 93 (Record of Emergency Data), dated 11 August 2009 * Application for Retirement Benefits - National Guard and Naval Militia Retirement System, dated 9 January 2010 8. His record is void of any evidence of a DD Form 2656 (Data for Payment of Retired Personnel) being completed and or submitted to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) indicating he elected to participate in the SBP. Additionally, his record is void of any evidence of him being married, divorced, or having dependent children. 9. The applicant provides an SBP premium bill from DFAS military retirement pay, dated 28 February 2016, showing a monthly cumulative charge resulting in a $1,644.24 balance. REFERENCES: 1. Public Law 92-425, the SBP, enacted 21 September 1972, provided that military members on active duty could elect to have their retired pay reduced to provide for an annuity after death to surviving dependents. An election, once made, was irrevocable except in certain circumstances. This law also provides that every member having a spouse and/or child(ren), who retired/transfers to the retired list on or after that date, is automatically covered under SBP at the maximum rate unless he/she elected otherwise before retirement or transfer to the retired list. 2. Title 10 U.S. Code (USC), section 1448, required notice to a spouse if a member elected not to participate in the SBP. The statute also provided for automatic enrollment for spouse coverage at the full base amount unless a member affirmatively declined to participate in the SBP prior to receiving retired pay. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant contends he never elected SBP coverage and his participation should be terminated because he never elected to participate prior to his retirement date on 17 February 2015. 2. There is no evidence that he submitted a completed DD Form 2656 declining SBP participation prior to his retirement date. As a result, his SBP coverage on his retirement date (17 February 2015) defaulted by law to coverage based on the full amount apparently due to the Government’s mistaken belief that he did, in fact, have a spouse and/or children entitled to automatic coverage in the absence of a notarized concurrence from the spouse agreeing to decline coverage. 3. The applicant never intended to participate in SBP and had no dependents at retirement. It appears he was erroneously enrolled in the SBP as confirmed by email from DFAS on 13 July 2017 showing he had no beneficiary as of 18 February 2015. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160006036 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160006036 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2