You may remember that last January, there was a flurry of concern about folks who had accidentally opted-in to the military’s new Blended Retirement System (BRS) when they were just trying to check their Leave and Earnings Statement (LES). While that particular problem seemed to have decreased as the year went on, there were other reports of different types of BRS opt-in problems across the 2018 BRS opt-in period. Folks were frustrated, and struggling to figure out how to undo the mistakes that could potentially be very expensive!
Well, I have no guarantees, but I have tracked down a process by which service members can request that their situation be reviewed. This subject came up in a blogger roundtable conference call in December, and I just got the follow-up email:
“While DoD policy is clear that the decision to opt-in is irrevocable, a Service member always has the option of applying to the Board for Correction of Military/Naval Records for relief for any matter related to pay and benefits. The Service member must prove a specific error or injustice. There is no guarantee the Board will take action to reverse a member’s election to enroll in the BRS, although it is within the purview of such boards to do so. To initiate a BCMR or BCNR case, a member should use the information at these links:
Army: http://arba.army.pentagon.mil/abcmr-app.html
Navy and Marine Corps: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/mra/bcnr/Pages/default.aspx
Air Force: https://www.afpc.af.mil/Career-Management/Military-Personnel-Records/”
If you erroneously enrolled in BRS, or if you ran into some other type of issue, please consider using this process to apply to have your record changed. It’s free, and it might just work. I would suggest being very specific about how the situation occurred, what you thought was happening versus what was actually happening, and what you did thereafter in an attempt to find a resolution.
Please, please let me know the outcome if you pursue this process!
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I’m applying for it. Will let you know how it works. thank you for your advice.
Curious to see too how it works