Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI)

• General Coverage Rules
• Basic Life Insurance
• Option A—(Standard Optional Insurance)
• Option B—(Additional Optional Insurance)
• Option C—(Family Optional Insurance)

General Coverage Rules

The group policy coverage available to most federal employees through the FEGLI program is administered by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company under a contract with the Office of Personnel Management. Under FEGLI’s basic coverage, employees are provided with two kinds of coverage: (a) group term life insurance without a medical examination (if you do not waive coverage when first eligible or if you elect it during an open enrollment period) and (b) accidental death and dismemberment insurance that provides double indemnity protection. Eligible employees are automatically covered for Basic insurance unless they specifically state in writing that they do not want it.

In addition to the Basic coverage, there are a number of optional coverages available to employees who wish to augment their own life insurance program or provide coverage for their family members. Although the premiums for optional coverages are paid for exclusively by employees, they are provided at group rates.

:: Back to Top ::

Basic Life Insurance

If you are an insured federal employee, the following material explains in general terms the rights and benefits available to you under the FEGLI program.

The cost of the Basic insurance is shared by the employee and the government. The employee’s share is two-thirds of the cost and is withheld from the worker’s salary. The employee pays 15¢ biweekly or 32.5¢ monthly per $1,000 of Basic coverage.

The government’s share is one-third and is contributed from agency appropriations or other funds available to pay salaries. (However, the U.S. Postal Service contributes 100 percent of the Basic life insurance costs for its employees.)

The group policy provides two kinds of Basic insurance during employment: (a) life insurance without a medical examination (if you don’t waive coverage when first eligible or if you elect it during an open enrollment period), and (b) accidental death and dismemberment insurance providing double indemnity for accidental death, and payment for accidental loss of eyesight or one or more limbs.

The Basic insurance amount equals an employee’s annual pay rounded to the next higher thousand plus $2,000, with a minimum of $10,000 insurance for all those earning $8,000 or less, at all times during active employment.

The “Schedule of Basic Insurance Withholdings” shows how life insurance amounts and an employee’s cost are determined at different compensation levels. Each amount of life insurance shown carries with it an equal amount of accidental death and dismemberment protection (not including the extra benefit explained below).

The amount of Basic life insurance provided under FEGLI begins to decrease once an individual retires or reaches age 65, whichever is later. The rate of decrease is two percent per month, until 25 percent of the amount you had at time of retirement is reached. However, FEGLI-covered employees are given an opportunity at the time of retirement to elect either a lower rate of reduction or no coverage reduction after attaining age 65 in exchange for their agreement to make additional premium payments. Accidental death and dismemberment coverage is not available to retirees. (See Insurance Premiums: Retirees and Compensationers, below.)

The amount of Basic life insurance available to each eligible employee under age 45 was increased commencing with the first pay period beginning on or after October 1, 1981, at no additional cost to the employee. The increase is graduated according to the employee’s age.

Employees under age 36 are eligible for Basic insurance coverage in an amount equal to their annual salary rounded to the next higher thousand dollars, plus $2,000, multiplied by two. For employees in this under-36 category, a worker’s FEGLI premium cost remains the same. Beginning at age 36, the multiplication factor for the amount of Basic insurance will decline by 0.1 each year, until it reaches 1.0 for employees age 45 and over.

:: Back to Top ::

Option A—(Standard Optional Insurance)
Federal employees covered under the Basic life insurance program have the option of purchasing an additional $10,000 worth of FEGLI life insurance. The employee pays the full cost of this “standard optional insurance” coverage. The amount of the premium depends on the employee’s age and is withheld from the worker’s salary. For covered employees (not retirees), selection of the Option A life insurance coverage also results in an equal amount of accidental death and dismemberment protection. Retirees who reach age 65 no longer have to pay premiums, but the $10,000 optional insurance starts to decline at this point at the rate of two percent for each full calendar month until it reaches $2,500, or one-fourth of the face value. The cost is listed in the table entitled “Option A Withholdings.”

:: Back to Top ::

Option B—(Additional Optional Insurance)
Federal employees who are insured for the Basic coverage may elect “additional optional insurance” in an amount equal to one, two, three, four, or five times their actual rate of annual basic pay (rounded to the next $1,000). The employee pays the full cost of the additional optional insurance. The premium depends on the employee’s age and is withheld from salary. Accidental death and dismemberment coverage is not included in this coverage. Retirees at age 65 no longer have to pay premiums for additional optional insurance, but the amount of their coverage starts to decrease at this point at the rate of two percent each month for 50 months, at which point coverage ceases. However, a retiree may elect to keep the full amount of the additional optional insurance in force and continue to pay the full premium. Such an election may be cancelled at a later date. The cost for the additional optional insurance is listed in the table entitled “Option B Withholdings.”

:: Back to Top ::

Option C—(Family Optional Insurance)
Federal employees insured for the Basic insurance coverage may elect family optional insurance to cover eligible family members. Eligible family members are an employee’s spouse and unmarried dependent children under age 22. The coverage amount is an amount equal to up to five multiples of $5,000 for a spouse and up to five multiples of $2,500 for each eligible child. The employee pays the full cost of the family optional insurance. The premium depends on the employee’s age and is withheld from the worker’s salary. Accidental death and dismemberment coverage is not included in this coverage. Retirees at age 65 no longer have to pay premiums for family optional insurance, but their coverage amount starts to decrease at this point at the rate of two percent each month for 50 months, at which point coverage ceases. However, a retiree may elect to keep the full amount of the family optional insurance in force and continue to pay the full premium. Such an election may be cancelled at a later date. The cost of family optional insurance is listed in the table entitled “Option C withholdings.”

:: Back to Top ::