Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program (FEGLI)
What does this Program offer?
The FEGLI Program offers group term life insurance.
Key FEGLI facts
The FEGLI Program is not part of the annual Federal Benefits Open Season.
- Employees in eligible positions are automatically covered under Basic life insurance, unless they
choose to waive that coverage.
- Employees must have Basic insurance in order to have or elect Optional insurance.
- Employees must take action, within strict time limits, to elect Optional insurance. Coverage is
not automatic.
- The Government pays one-third of the cost of Basic insurance. Enrollees pay 100% of the cost
of Optional insurance.
- FEGLI does not have any cash or paid-up value. You cannot get a loan by borrowing from this
insurance.
- Retirees may be able to continue their FEGLI coverage into retirement, but they cannot elect
FEGLI coverage as a retiree.
- Living benefits are life insurance benefits paid to you while you are still living, rather than paid
to a beneficiary or survivor when you die. You are eligible to elect a living benefit if you are an
employee, retiree, or compensationer covered under the FEGLI Program who has been
diagnosed as terminally ill with a life expectancy of nine months or less, and you have not
assigned your insurance.
What coverage is available?
Basic insurance - your annual salary, rounded up to the next even $1,000, plus $2,000. Basic
insurance includes accidental death and dismemberment coverage for employees (not for retirees).
Optional insurance
- Option A - Standard - $10,000 of insurance. Option A includes accidental death and
dismemberment coverage for employees (not retirees).
- Option B - Additional - 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 times your annual rate of basic pay after rounding it up
to the next even $1,000.
- Option C - Family - coverage for your spouse and all of your eligible dependent children. You
can elect 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 multiples. Each multiple is equal to $5,000 for your spouse and $2,500
for each eligible child.
How much does it cost?
You pay two-thirds of the premium for Basic life insurance and the Government pays one-third. Your
cost for Basic life insurance is $.15 biweekly, per $1,000 of coverage. Your age does not affect the
cost of Basic insurance.
You pay 100% of the premium for Optional insurance. The cost depends on your age, based on
5-year age groups.
Am I eligible to enroll?
Most Federal employees are eligible to enroll in FEGLI unless they are excluded by law or regulation.
Federal retirees are eligible to carry their FEGLI into retirement if they meet the following requirements: eligible to retire on an immediate annuity (including FERS MRA+10 retirement), have not converted the coverage to a private plan, and have been insured under FEGLI for the five years immediately preceding retirement or for all periods of service during which FEGLI was available to them. There is no waiver of this five-year rule.
When can I enroll?
The FEGLI Program does not participate in the annual Federal Benefits Open Season.
If you are a new employee who is eligible for FEGLI, or an employee who has become newly eligible
to enroll, you will be automatically enrolled in Basic. If you do not want Basic, you must file a waiver
with your agency.
As a new or newly eligible employee, you may enroll in Optional insurance within 31 days of
becoming eligible. If you take no action, you will have Basic and will not have any Optional
insurance.
If you are not a new employee or newly eligible, you may enroll in Basic life insurance and, if you
wish, Option A and/or Option B coverage by providing satisfactory medical information at your own
expense using the Request for Life Insurance (Standard Form 2822). You cannot enroll in Option C
this way.
If you already have Basic insurance, you may elect or increase Option B and/or Option C within 60
days of experiencing a qualifying life event (marriage, divorce, death of a spouse or birth or adoption
of children). You cannot enroll in Option A this way.
You may also enroll during a FEGLI Open Season, which is held infrequently. You will receive plenty
of notice when there is a FEGLI Open Season. The most recent FEGLI Open Seasons were held in
2004 and 1999.
How do I enroll?
You may be able to enroll using the Life Insurance Election Form (Standard Form 2817) or through
an agency self-service system such as EBIS. Contact the Human Resources Office of your employing
agency for details on how you can enroll.
Who gets the benefits paid after my death?
When you die, the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI), an administrative
unit of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), will pay life insurance benefits in a particular
order set by law. The FEGLI Program Booklet, available from your Human Resources Office and at
www.opm.gov/insure/life, contains more details.
How does my beneficiary file a claim?
He or she must use a specific form (FE-6) to claim FEGLI benefits, available from your human
resources office or retirement system or at www.opm.gov/insure/life.
How do I get more information about this Program?
Contact your agency Human Resources Office. If you are retired, contact OPM's Retirement
Operations Center at retire@opm.gov or by calling 1-888-767-6738. Neither OFEGLI nor OPM's
Insurance Services Program offices maintain records for active Federal employees or retirees.