ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: . BOARD DATE: 10 March 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190001251 APPLICANT REQUESTS: Reverse being enrolled in the Blended Retirement System (BRS) to the Legacy Retirement System. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) FACTS: 1. The applicant states he accidently enrolled into the Blended Retirement System. He takes full responsibility for this action and wants it reversed to the Legacy retirement. Somehow he enrolled into the BRS. He says the alleged error occurred on 1 January 2018. He states he has 23 years of service and the BRS is not going to benefit his family or him. He rolled 100% of his Battle Assembly checks into a retirement individual retirement account versus thrift savings plan. The applicant discovered he made a mistake on 5 December 2018. 2 A review of the applicant’s service record shows on: * 3 October 1995, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve. * 24 April 1996, he was released from active duty training * 2 November 2016, he received notification of eligibility for retirement for non-regular service of 20 years. He has 3018 career points and 2818 points for retirement pay. 3. ALARACT Message Number 028/2018 states, effective 1 January 2018, eligible Soldiers who completed the mandatory training were eligible to enroll in the BRS. The Department of Defense policy is that this informed decision by a Soldier eligible to enroll in the BRS is irrevocable. Several Soldiers from all components have notified their respective component and the Army G-1 of their unintentional enrollment in the BRS. 4. The Uniform Services Blended Retirement System states threshold is 4,320 retirement points as of Dec. 31, 2017 and: * If you have 4,320 or more retirement points, then you are grandfathered under your current retirement system. * If you have less than 4,320 retirement points, you are grandfathered under your current retirement system but will have the choice of whether or not to opt into Blended Retirement System. 5. The service members’ record reflects he has 3018 career points and 2818 points for retirement pay. 6. On 31 January 2020, the Army G-1 provided the Army Review Boards Agency an overall advisory opinion that supports certain requests for removal from the Blended Retirement System (BRS) despite enrollment on 26 January 2018 or earlier. a. On 1 January 2018 eligible Soldiers were given access to the BRS link on MyPay to enroll in the BRS. The system process required Soldiers to follow 5 separate screens (enclosed) to include providing their current address and date of birth. Screen two required the Soldier to acknowledge that he/she understands that the decision to opt-in is irrevocable once they complete the election. On screen three and four, Soldiers had to check a box and answer a question respectively that stated "I fully understand that I am opting into the BRS." Screen five allowed the Soldier to save and print the confirmation and again informed the Soldier that they were opting into the BRS. b. Prior to the beginning of the BRS enrollment, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) moved the Leave and Earning Statement (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 its customary first position on MyPay and relocate the BRS link effective 26 January 2018. c. Given the relatively small numbers involved and the potential long-term impact on the soldier, Army G-1 considers it is in the Army's best interest that giving these Soldiers the benefit of the doubt who notified the Army of their enrollment between 1-26 January 2018, is the right thing to do. 7. See references below. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. The Board carefully considered the applicant’s request, supporting documents and evidence in the records. The Board considered the applicant’s statement, his record of service and the date of enrollment in BRS. The Board considered the review and conclusions of the HQDA DCS-G1 advising official and the revision of the MyPay website. Based on a preponderance of evidence, the Board determined that the applicant’s enrollment in BRS should be corrected to remedy and error and injustice. 2. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was warranted. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 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: - Voiding the applicant’s election/enrollment in the Blended Retirement System, and; - Reinstate the applicant’s eligibility in the legacy retirement system under which he was enrolled, prior to the erroneous enrollment in BRS. 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. REFERENCE: 1. ALARACT Message Number 028/2018 states, effective 1 January 2018, eligible Soldiers who completed the mandatory training were eligible to enroll in the BRS. The Department of Defense policy is that this informed decision by a Soldier eligible to enroll in the BRS is irrevocable. Several Soldiers from all components have notified their respective component and the Army G-1 of their unintentional enrollment in the BRS. 2. The Uniform Services Blended Retirement System states the threshold is 4,320 retirement points as of Dec. 31, 2017: a. If you have 4,320 or more retirement points, then you are grandfathered under your current retirement system. b. If you have less than 4,320 retirement points, you are grandfathered under your current retirement system but will have the choice of whether or not to opt into Blended Retirement System. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190001251 4 1