Insurance FAQs Life

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First of all, Basic and any Optional insurance is payable no matter where your death occurs. The only amount in question is the Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage payable under Basic and Option A. AD&D coverage is payable if you receive bodily injuries solely through violent, external, and accidental means (with some exceptions) and if, as a direct result of the bodily injuries, independently of all other causes, and within one year afterwards, you lose your life, limb, or eyesight. One of the exceptions is if your death or loss is caused directly or indirectly by war (declared or undeclared), any act of war, armed aggression, or insurrection, in which you are, at the time bodily injuries are sustained, in actual combat. The Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance decides whether to pay AD&D only after the death or loss has occurred and after thoroughly studying the facts surrounding the situation. We can't give definitive answers beforehand.

No. Someone with a power of attorney cannot sign a Designation of Beneficiary form on behalf of an insured federal employee or annuitant.

Portability is a provision in Public Law 105-311, the Federal Employees Life Insurance Improvement Act, which was enacted October 30, 1998. It applies only to FEGLI Option B insurance, which provides coverage in multiples of 1 to 5 times an employee's annual salary. Employees that met certain requirements were eligible to continue Option B insurance following separation from Government service. The portability provision was a three-year demonstration project. It expired April 24, 2002, and is no longer available. Your agency should not give any employees a Portability Notice or other portability information. For more detailed information refer to Benefits Administration Letter 02-206 of April 26, 2002[119 KB].

To continue life insurance benefits as an OWCP compensationer, you must have carried FEGLI for the 5 years of service immediately before the beginning date of compensation or, if you had it less than 5 years, for the full period(s) of service during which you were eligible to be insured. This coverage is subject to the same conditions as those of a civil service retiree. Please see your human resources office if you are receiving compensation benefits.

If you separate from service to enter the military you are considered to be in a nonpay status for FEGLI Purposes. As long as you have reemployment rights under USERRA, you can keep your FEGLI coverage for up to 12 months, or until 90 days after your military service ends, whichever date comes first. This coverage is free. At the end of 12 months (or 90 days after the military service ends), the coverage terminates. You also get the 31-day extension of coverage and the right to convert. Public Law 110-181, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, enacted January 28, 2008, authorizes the continuation of FEGLI coverage for an additional 12 months for Federal employees called to active duty whose coverage terminated after the law's enactment. The law allows employees who enter on active duty or active duty for training in one of the uniformed services for more than 30 days to continue their FEGLI for up to 24 months. FEGLI coverage is free for the first 12 months. However, employees must pay both the employee and agency share of the premiums for their Basic coverage, and also pay the entire cost (there is no agency share) for any Optional insurance they may have for the additional 12 months of coverage. See more details in BAL 08-203. At the end of 12 months, or 90 days after your military service ends, whichever date comes first your former agency must complete an Agency Certification of Insurance Status (SF 2821) and a Notice of Conversion Privilege (SF 2819). If a claim needs to be filed while you are still covered under FEGLI, you or your survivors should contact your former employing agency.

To inquire about how much coverage you have under the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program, contact OPM's Retirement Office by emailing retire@opm.gov or calling 1-888-767-6738. The phone lines are open from 7:30 am to 7:45 pm (Eastern Standard Time). It is a busy phone number so we encourage you to call early in the morning or after 5:00 pm when the phone lines are less busy. You will need to provide your retirement claim number (CSA) or Social Security Number.   Please note: For privacy reasons, the response to an email request for information on FEGLI coverage will be mailed to the address on file with the OPM Retirement Office. It will not be sent back via email.

If your pay is too low to allow a withholding for life insurance premiums and your human resources office expects this to last for more than six months, you will have a choice. You can choose either to terminate some or all of your insurance coverage or to continue the coverage and pay the premiums directly. (See your human resources office for more details).

No. Coverage for employees does not reduce based on age. The post-age 65 reductions can only affect retirees.

Employees: Submit the designation form to your human resources office.  If you do not know how to contact your human resources office, you can ask your supervisor or your Agency Benefits Officer. Annuitants: Submit the designation form to: Office of Personnel Management, Retirement Operations Center, P.O. Box 45, Boyers, PA 16017-0045. Compensationers: 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, submit the designation form to your human resources office. If you are on compensation and are separated from your agency or have been receiving compensation for 12 months or more, submit the designation form to OPM's Retirement Office at the address on page 3. Important: 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, if there is no designation.

You can find instructions on pages 2 and 3 of the Designation of Beneficiary form itself. If you need help, call MetLife at 1-800-633-4542.

 If you are a Federal RETIREE or compensationer: OPM's Retirement Office is the only office with access to your FEGLI life insurance records.  Your FEGLI records are not available online.  You can contact Retirement at 1-888-767-6738 or retire@opm.gov. The phone lines are open Monday through Friday 7:30 am to 7:45 pm eastern time. The phone lines can get extremely busy so we recommend calling early in the morning or late in the evening when the lines are less busy. Have your retirement claim number (CSA/CSF) or social security number handy. If you wish to change your FEGLI life insurance beneficiaries, complete this form and mail it to OPM's Retirement Office at the address on page 3: www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf2823.pdf If you are a Federal EMPLOYEE: Contact your human resources office.  The office that maintains your Official Personnel Folder (OPF) or its equivalent is the only office with access to your FEGLI life insurance records. If you do not know what office that is or how to contact them, check with your supervisor. You can also look on a copy of your most recent Standard Form 50, Notification of Personnel Action, to determine the coverage you currently have:

1. In Block 27 on that form, there is a 2-character code that represents your current coverage and a definition of the code. 
2. You can look up the codes and their translation at http://archive.opm.gov/insure/life/reference/handbook/sf50tbl.asp 
3. You can then use the FEGLI Calculator to determine the current value of your FEGLI by inputting your current age, salary and type(s) of FEGLI coverage. 

If you wish to change your FEGLI life insurance beneficiaries, complete this form and submit it to your human resources office: www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf2823.pdf

Increasing life insurance:  FEGLI life insurance open seasons are extremely rare and none are currently scheduled.  Your agency and OPM's website will announce when there is a life insurance open season coming up.  The most recent FEGLI open seasons were held in 2004 and 1999. Outside of an open season, eligible employees can enroll or increase their coverage by taking a physical exam or with a Qualifying Life Event. For more information about the physical exam, please see SF 2822. FEGLI life events are marriage, divorce, death of spouse, or acquisition of an eligible child.  With a life event, you can enroll or increase coverage in Basic, Option A, up to five multiples of Option B, and/or up to five multiples of Option C.  You must submit an SF 2817 to your human resources office within 60 days after the life event. Reducing or cancelling life insurance: You can reduce or cancel your FEGLI life insurance at any time, without waiting for an open season.   If you are an employee, submit an SF 2817 to your human resources office, signing only for the coverage you want to keep.   If you are retired, there is no form; you must write a signed letter to OPM's Retirement Office stating clearly the reduction or cancellation you want to make.  Be sure to include your signature, annuity number (CSA/CSF) or social security number, and your phone number.  Send the letter to:

• Office of Personnel Management 
• Retirement Operations Center 
• P.O. Box 45 
• Boyers, PA 16017-0045

Please note that you cannot enroll, increase coverage, or restore cancelled coverage after you have retired. Changing beneficiaries: You can change beneficiaries at any time, without waiting for an open season.  Submit an SF 2823 to your human resources office, or to OPM's Retirement Office if you have retired.  The address for OPM's Retirement Office is on page 3 of the form.

Yes, Public Law 110-417, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act, allows new FEGLI life insurance election opportunities for certain employees. The new election applies if you are a civilian employee eligible for FEGLI who is deployed in support of a contingency operation as defined by section 101 (a) (13) 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 FEGLI election form within 60 days after the date of notification of your deployment in support of a contingency operation. Contact your employing agency human resources office for more information. More details available in BAL 08-204 and BAL 12-201.