ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF:   BOARD DATE:  20 February 2020 DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20180011175 


APPLICANT REQUESTS: an exception to policy to withdraw from the Blended Retirement System (BRS) 

APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: 

.DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record)

.National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 23B (Retirement Points History Statement)

.Enlisted Record Brief (ERB)



FACTS: 

1.The applicant states he inadvertently opted into the BRS and would like to return tothe High 3 retirement system.  At the time he opted in, the link for BRS was in the placeof the Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) link on MyPay.  When he inadvertentlyclicked on the BRS link, he thought the system was asking for normal informationupdates.  He has served for 14 years and opting into the BRS would create a financialburden for his family and himself when he retires.

2.The applicant enlisted into the Army National Guard on 25 May 2004.

3.His NGB Form 23B shows effective December 2017, he was an ARNG member in apaid status who had accrued less than 4,320 retirement points, thus eligible to opt-intothe BRS.

4.Email correspondence from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) and
the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) confirms the applicant opted into
the BRS on 17 January 2018.

5.Guidance from the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 states, in part, prior to
the beginning of the BRS enrollment, DFAS moved the LES link on MyPay and replaced
it with the BRS opt-in link.  Service members immediately began to contact their
respective Services of their "erroneous" enrollment while trying to acquire a LES and
surprisingly received notification that they had opted into the BRS.  After several
complaints, the Department, in coordination with DFAS, moved the LES link back to its
customary first position on MyPay and relocated the BRS link effective 26 January  
2018.  Given the relatively small number involved and the potential long term impact on 
the Soldier, the Army G-1 considers it the right thing to do and in the Army's best  
interest to give the benefit of the doubt to these Soldiers who notified the Army of their  
enrollment between 1-26 January 2018. 

BOARD DISCUSSION: 

After reviewing the application, the supporting documents, the records, applicable regulations, and the facts above, the Board found that relief is warranted as recommended in the Board Determination and Recommendation below. 


BOARD VOTE: 

Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 

:XXX:XXX:XXXGRANT FULL RELIEF 

: : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

: : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING 

: : : DENY APPLICATION 


BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 

The Board determined that the evidence presented was 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 voiding his election to participate in the BRS on 17 January 2018. 

X CHAIRPERSON

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. 


REFERENCES: 

1.Deputy Secretary of Defense Memorandum, Implementation of the BlendedRetirement System, dated 27 January 2017, advised the Blended Retirement System(BRS) was go to into effect 1 January 2018.  BRS offers service members portablegovernment retirement savings, provides the Department of Defense (DoD) greaterforce management flexibility and is a key step in modernizing DoD’s ability to recruit,retain and maintain the talent required for military readiness, while reducing the directcost to the American taxpayer.

a.Eligibility: Service members who enter the military on or after January 1, 2018,will automatically be enrolled in BRS.  Service members who enter service on or before December 31, 2017, are grandfathered into the legacy high-3 retirement system.  However, service members in the active component as of December 31, 2017, who have served fewer than 12 years, or service members in the Reserve component who have accrued less than 4,320 retirement points as of December 31, 2017 and are in a paid status, will have the option of electing BRS or to remain in the legacy retirement system.   

b.Those currently serving members who were eligible to opt into BRS would havean entire year to make their opt-in decision.  The opt-in or election period for BRS began 1 January 2018, and concluded on 31 December 2018.  The decision to opt-in is irrevocable. 

2.All Army Activity (ALARACT) Message Number 028/2018 states, effective 1 January2018, eligible Soldiers who completed the mandatory training were eligible to enroll inthe BRS.  The Department of Defense policy is that this informed decision by a Soldiereligible to enroll in the BRS is irrevocable.

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