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No. The only way to continue coverage into retirement is to meet the five year/all opportunity rule. You cannot "buy" the years you are missing.
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Yes. The amount of your FEGLI automatically increases when your salary goes up, whenever your annual pay is increased by an amount sufficient to raise the pay to the next $1,000 bracket.
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Being sent to a combat zone does NOT cancel FEGLI coverage. Civilian employees who are sent to a war zone or combat zone in a support capacity keep their FEGLI coverage, including Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage. Being sent to a combat zone does not affect the amount of your FEGLI coverage.
If a Federal employee working in a war zone is killed, "regular" death benefits are payable to the employee's beneficiaries. Accidental death benefits are also payable under Basic insurance (and Option A, if the employee had that coverage) unless the employee was in actual combat (or unless nuclear weapons were being used) at the time of the injury that caused the employee's death. The Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) decides whether to pay accidental death benefits only after thoroughly studying the facts and documentation surrounding an employee's death. The determination is made on a case by case basis. While we cannot say that in 100% of civilian deaths AD&D benefits will be payable, we can say that it is highly unlikely for a civilian to be in actual combat.
Accidental death benefits are in addition to regular death benefits. Even if accidental death benefits are not payable, regular death benefits ARE payable.
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No. The FEGLI Program provides group term insurance. It does not have any cash value and you cannot borrow against your coverage. The only opportunities to get money from your coverage while you are still alive are (1) if you are terminally ill and qualify for Living Benefits, or (2) if you are terminally or chronically ill and assign your coverage to a viatical settlement firm.
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No. Employees can only enroll in Basic, Option A and Option B this way. Obtaining a physical does not allow you to enroll in Option C. You must either enroll during an unrestricted Open Season or else in connection with a life event — marriage, divorce, death of spouse or acquisition of eligible children.
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You should consult an attorney concerning such legal issues as appointing a guardian for your minor child. If you should die while your child is still a minor and he/she is entitled to your life insurance benefits, the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) will not pay benefits to your minor child.
If the benefits payable are $10,000 or less, OFEGLI may pay the benefits to a surviving parent when the parent assures OFEGLI, in writing, that he/she will use the funds for the sole benefit of the child.
If benefits exceed $10,000, payment depends on whether the State where the child lives requires a guardian.
If the State requires a guardian, a court-appointed guardian can file a claim for death benefits on behalf of your minor child. In those cases, guardianship must be established before payment can be made. Natural parentage is not automatic guardianship. The guardian must have the authority granted by the court to collect money on behalf of the child. OFEGLI would then make payment to the guardian who would have to answer to the court regarding how/when he/she spent the money, depending on the details of the guardianship granted by the court.
In those States that do not require the court appointment of a guardian, OFEGLI will pay the benefits to the person responsible for the care of the child when he/she assures OFEGLI, in writing, that he/she will use the funds for the sole benefit of the child.
If there is not a guardian and one won't be appointed and the State requires one and the proceeds are greater than $10,000, OFEGLI will open an interest-bearing account payable to the minor upon reaching the legal age.
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Yes, and this works differently than when a survivor disclaims benefits. You can name someone as a beneficiary and someone else if that first person disclaims the benefits. It's a form of contingent beneficiary. As the insured, you CAN specify who should receive the disclaimed benefits (the beneficiary cannot specify who should receive disclaimed benefits).
For example, you could word your designation like this:
Mary Jones, 100%, unless she disclaims.
Otherwise to Johnson Wallace, 100%.
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If you disagree with the plan’s decision on your claim, the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program provides for an appeal process. Check your plans FEHB brochure to see if the service is covered, limited, or excluded.
Review and follow the directions in the disputed claims section (Section 8) of the
brochure. This section will tell you how to ask the plan to reconsider your claim. You must explain why (in terms of the applicable brochure coverage provisions) you feel the services should be covered.
If the plan again denies the claim, read the plan's decision letter carefully. Then, check your plan's
brochure again. If you still disagree with the plan's decision, the disputed claims section of the brochure will tell you how to write to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to ask us to review the claim.
If you have a complaint that is not related to a disputed claim, email your complaint to FEHB@opm.gov.
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Send the completed form with a certified copy of the death certificate to the insured's agency if he/she died as an employee. If you are the deceased's widow(er) and the agency told you to send your claim form and other documents directly to OFEGLI, you should do that.
If the deceased was retired, send the form with a certified copy of the death certificate to:
Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance
P.O. Box 6512
Utica, NY 13504-6512
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Yes, you as the insured, can cancel coverage even if there is a court order on file.
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The reductions start at the beginning of the 2nd month after your 65th birthday or the beginning of the 2nd month after your retirement date, whichever is later.
For example:
Pierre retired December 31, 1999. He will turn 65 on March 15, 2005. The reductions for his Basic and Optional insurance (if applicable) will start May 1, 2005.
Here's another example:
Selena was 67 years old when she retired on December 31, 1999. Since she was already past 65 when she retired, the reductions for her Basic and Optional insurance (if applicable) will start February 1, 2000.
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Life insurance proceeds are not considered taxable income for the recipients for personal income tax purposes. Interest paid on FEGLI proceeds is reportable as income for Federal Income tax purposes. You may wish to consult your tax advisor for further advice.
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The legal age or age of adulthood for the FEGLI Program is 18, unless the state in which the minor lives has established a lower age of adulthood. In that case, the legal age is the lower age.
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Only Basic insurance is available for a Living Benefit. The Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance cannot pay Optional insurance as a Living Benefit.
A Living Benefit election has no effect on your Optional insurance. Your Optional insurance will not change and you will continue to pay your Optional insurance premiums.
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"Assignment" means that you give ownership and control of your Basic, Option A, and/or Option B life insurance coverage to someone else. This means that the money goes to the assignee, or the assignee's beneficiary(ies) when you die.
The insurance is still on your life and you must continue to pay for the coverage, but someone else "owns" and controls your coverage. You may assign your life insurance coverage to an individual, a corporation, or an irrevocable trust. Your decision to assign your life insurance coverage is irrevocable; you cannot cancel your assignment if you change your mind. You cannot assign Option C.
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Yes, Public Law 110-417, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act allows new opportunities for certain employees. The new election applies if you are a civilian employee in the Department of Defense eligible for FEGLI who is designated as "emergency essential" under section 1580 of Title 10. You may elect Basic, Option A and Option B (up to the maximum of 5 multiples). You must make the election on the
SF 2817 [278 KB] (or its electronic equivalent) within 60 days of the date of the notification of the designation as an emergency essential employee. Contact your employing agency human resources office for more information. See more details in
BAL 08-204 [45 KB].
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No. If you receive an SF 2819, that means that you are
eligible to convert your insurance, but you don't need to — the choice is yours.
IF you qualify to carry your coverage into retirement, you may want to do that and
not convert. Just because you receive an SF 2819 does
not mean that you do not qualify to carry your coverage into retirement. All employees whose current coverage as an employee is terminating (other than by voluntary cancellation) receive a copy of that form — whether or not they qualify to carry coverage into retirement.
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When you return to work after a break in service of less than 180 days, your human resources office will automatically enroll you in the same coverage that you had before you left your prior position. You will have to qualify to elect other coverage (Open Season, physical exam or life event).
When you return to work after a break in service of 180 days or more, your human resources office will automatically enroll you in Basic and the same Optional insurance that you had in your prior position. You will have this coverage the first day you are in pay and duty status. Any previous waiver of insurance is automatically cancelled. Unless you file a new waiver, Basic insurance becomes effective your first day in pay and duty status in a position in which you are eligible for coverage.
You may elect more insurance (if you don't already have the maximum) within 31 days of returning to service in an eligible position, regardless of the coverage you had during previous employment. If you do not make a new election, you will automatically get back whatever Optional insurance you had immediately before your separation. Any coverage that you had previously waived will be waived again.
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Living Benefits payments received on or after January 1, 1997, are not subject to Federal income tax. However, some states have laws, regulations, or rulings concerning the taxability of Living Benefits (also called accelerated death benefits). You should consult a tax advisor or your State's tax department for specific information concerning State income tax laws.
Qualified payments from viatical settlement firms received on or after January 1, 1997 are also not subject to Federal income tax provided the companies meet certain tax exemption qualifications.
If you are considering assigning your insurance to a viatical settlement firm, you should consult a tax advisor to determine if you and the viatical settlement firm meet the tax exemption qualification standards.
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Yes. If you owe money to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, such as an overpayment of annuity, you may assign your life insurance. You cannot assign your insurance, however, to pay a deposit or redeposit to get credit for time during which you did not have retirement deductions withheld from your salary or for a period of service for which you received a refund of your retirement contributions. You must make a deposit and/or redeposit before you can get credit for the service in the computation of your annuity. When you assign your life insurance coverage, the assignee does not receive the money until you die.
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