Insurance FAQs Life

During the first 12 months of LWOP, your FEGLI coverage continues. If you die during the first 12 months, OFEGLI uses the salary at the time of death to compute the benefit. For example:

Stan had Basic insurance only. He went on LWOP February 1, 2003. His salary at that time was $18,449. In September 2003, he got a within-grade increasing his salary to $20,849.00. He died November 15, 2003. Since he died during the first 12 months of LWOP, life insurance is payable. The basic salary used to compute the benefit is $20,849.00.

Your insurance continues automatically for the first 12 months of nonpay status. If you return to pay status for a period of four consecutive months or more, you start a new 12-month period of continued coverage. Four consecutive months in pay status means any four-month period during which you are in pay status for at least part of each pay period. For example:

Melissa was on leave without pay (LWOP) from January 1 to February 28, 2002. She returned to work on March 1, 2002. She worked through July 31, 2002, and again went on LWOP. Since she was in a pay and duty status for at least four consecutive months, she will start a new 12-month period of continued coverage. The period she was on LWOP from January 1 through February 28, 2002, will not count against the new 12-month period that starts August 1, 2002. 

If you return to pay status for less than four consecutive months, and you then again go into a nonpay status, you continue in the same 12-month nonpay status period. Another example will help.

Mai went on leave without pay (LWOP) on February 1, 2002. She then returned to work on May 1, 2002. She worked through July 31, 2002, and again went on LWOP beginning August 1, 2002. Since she was in a pay status for less than four months, we continue in the same 12-month LWOP status. If she does not return to pay and duty status, Mai's life insurance will end at the end of the day on April 30, 2003.

If you return to pay status for less than four consecutive months after your insurance ends due to 12 months in nonpay status, you do not get another 12-month period of continued coverage. You have insurance while you are again in pay status, but your insurance will stop on the last day of your last pay period in pay status. Here is an example of this situation.

Carlos' insurance ended on August 31, 2002 which was the end of 12 months in a nonpay status. Carlos returned to work on October 1, 2002. His life insurance is reinstated. On November 16, 2002, Carlos again goes into a LWOP status. Since he was in a pay status for less than four consecutive months, his life insurance ends at the end of the last day of the pay period in which Carlos went on LWOP or November 20, 2002. He does not begin a new 12-month period of continued coverage.

A per stirpes designation means that if a named beneficiary dies before the Insured dies, the children of the named beneficiary are entitled to the benefits, or the grandchildren of the named beneficiary if the children aren't alive, or the great-grandchildren of the named beneficiary if the grandchildren aren't alive, etc. Designations using per stirpes designations are unacceptable. You may want to consider a designation like this, instead:

Hector Gonzales, my son, 100%, if living  Otherwise to the estate of Hector Gonzales

You could then specify the per stirpes terms in your will. If Hector is not living when you die, OFEGLI will pay your estate. The estate will follow the terms of the will which include the per stirpes terms.

You can find instructions on how to complete the SF 2823 Designation of Beneficiary form on the reverse side of the form. If you need help, you can contact your human resources office.

You can look on a copy of your most recent Standard Form 50, Notice of Personnel Action, to determine the coverage you currently have. On that form, in block 27, there is a 2-character code that represents your current coverage and a definition of the code. For example, if block 27 shows "C0 - Basic only", that means you have Basic life only with no optional coverage. You can look up the codes in the FEGLI Handbook, the SF-50s Equivalents of Insurance Codes chapter at www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/sf50.pdf. [335 KB] If you have any questions, you should check with your human resources office to verify your coverage. The Office of Personnel Management cannot verify your coverage, nor can the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance.

Your life insurance coverage continues for up to 12 months in a LWOP or nonpay status. You do not have to pay any premiums while you are on LWOP unless you are receiving benefits from the Department of Labor, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. The life insurance ends at the end of the 12 months with a 31-day extension of coverage and a right to convert to an individual policy.

When your life insurance terminates, except when you stop it voluntarily by cancellation, the coverage automatically continues for 31 days after the terminating date. You do not pay any premiums during these 31 days.

If you already have Basic, you may elect Option B or you can increase your multiples of Option B based on a life event. A life event is marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, or acquisition of a child. The number of multiples of Option B you can get depends on the event. For example, if you marry, the number of multiples you can get is equal to the number of additional family members acquired with your marriage. There is a table in the FEGLI Booklet (FE 76-21 or FE 76-20 for Postal employees) with the life events and the number of multiples you may elect. You can also elect Option C or increase your multiples of Option C based on a life event. You can elect from one to five multiples, regardless of the number of eligible family members you have or acquired. You can increase your coverage based on a life event by completing a Life Insurance Election(Standard Form 2817 [159 KB]). You must submit the SF 2817 to your human resources office within 60 calendar days after the date of the event.

Unless you assign your life insurance, you may cancel (waive) your Basic insurance at any time by completing the Life Insurance Election (Standard Form 2817 [159 KB]) and submitting it to your human resources office. When you cancel Basic insurance, you automatically cancel all forms of Optional insurance. You may cancel (waive) any or all types of Optional insurance by signing for only the types of insurance you have and want to keep, on the Life Insurance Election (Standard Form 2817 [159 KB]). Remember, if you do not sign for a particular type of insurance, you have canceled (waived) it. Life insurance coverage and deductions for the coverage you cancel(waive) stop at the end of the last day of the pay period in which your human resources office receives your election form canceling (waiving) the coverage. Exception: If you cancel Option C because you don't have any eligible family members, the effective date is retroactive to the end of the pay period in which there stopped being any ELIGIBLE family members.

If you are under age 65 when you retire, you will continue to pay premiums for your Basic and any Optional insurance you have until you turn 65. The retirement system will withhold the premiums from your annuity each month. The cost of optional insurance depends on your age. The cost of Basic does not depend on your age. When you reach age 65 or if you are age 65 or older when you retire, whether you continue to pay premiums depends on what reduction schedule you have chosen. Basic insurance coverage with a 75% Reduction schedule is free to annuitants over age 65, but the coverage begins to reduce at age 65 by 2% per month until it reaches 25% of the pre-retirement amount. If you choose the 50% Reduction or No Reduction schedule for your Basic coverage, you will continue paying some level of premiums for the rest of your life. Option A is free after you turn 65; however it then starts to reduce at the rate of 2% per month until it reaches 25% of the pre-retirement amount or $2500.00. Option B and Option C are free if you choose the Full Reduction, but they begin to reduce at age 65 by 2% per month until they reach zero. If you elect No Reduction for your B and/or C, then you continue to pay the premiums and coverage continues unreduced until you die or change to Full Reduction. NOTE: Rates may change in the future.

You may want to consider completing a new designation form whenever you have a significant change in your life, such as a marriage, divorce, or death. Be sure it remains accurate and reflects your intentions. You should also file a new designation whenever a beneficiary's address changes. Failure to do so may mean that the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance cannot locate your beneficiary and therefore cannot pay him or her the death benefits.

Yes. Benefits are payable based on the death of an enrolled individual no matter how the death happened. However, if someone else causes your death, he or she may be excluded from receiving the death benefits. The Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance will not pay Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) benefits in a suicide case since the death is not accidental.

It depends. Active employees must file the form with their human resources office. If you receive benefits from the Department of Labor, Office of Workers Compensation Programs and you've been receiving these benefits for less than 12 months and you are still on the agency's rolls as an employee, you also must file the form with the human resources office. If you are a retired employee, you must file the form with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). If you are on compensation and are separated from your agency or have been receiving compensation for 12 months or more, you must file the form with the Office of Personnel Management, Retirement Operations Center, Validation Section, Boyers, PA 16017. The appropriate office must receive the Designation of Beneficiary form before your death in order for the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) to pay the benefits. If you do not file it with the proper office, OFEGLI will pay benefits in accordance with the next prior designation on file or under the order of precedence starting with the widow or widower, if there is no designation.

No, you do not have to complete a designation form. You may, however, decide you want to complete one after you understand how the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) pays life insurance benefits. If you did not assign your insurance and there isn't a valid court order on file, and you are not satisfied with the order of precedence, you should complete a designation form and indicate how you want OFEGLI to pay the benefits.