Understanding Your Fegli Life Insurance Coverage

If you're a federal employee or annuitant in the United States, you may be eligible for Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), the largest group life insurance program in the world, covering over 4 million federal employees, retirees, and their families. To determine your FEGLI life insurance coverage, you can access your records through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Federal annuitants can obtain their Verification of Life Insurance (VOLI) by logging into Retirement Services Online, sending an email request to [email protected], or calling 1-888-767-6738. Federal employees can contact their human resources office or refer to their Standard Form 50 to identify their current coverage. The FEGLI Calculator is also available to help calculate the current value and premiums of your FEGLI coverage.

Accessing your FEGLI coverage information

If you are a federal employee, there are three ways to access your FEGLI coverage information:

• Log on to Retirement Services Online to view and print a Verification of Life Insurance (VOLI). Your VOLI will show which types of FEGLI coverage you have, your amount of coverage before reduction, your post-65 reductions, and your amount of coverage after reductions are complete.
• Email [email protected] to request that your VOLI be mailed to you. Be sure to include your retirement claim number (CSA/CSF) in your email.
• Call 1-888-767-6738 to request that your VOLI be mailed to you. Phone lines are open Monday through Friday from 7:40 am to 5:00 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 ready.

Your FEGLI beneficiary records are not available online. If you wish to change your FEGLI life insurance beneficiaries, complete the relevant 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.

In Block 27 on that form, there is a 2-character code that represents your current coverage and a definition of the code. You can look up the SF50 codes and what they mean. 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.

Calculating the current value of your FEGLI

To determine the current value of your Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), you can use an online FEGLI calculator. This calculator will help you understand the costs and coverage of your insurance both now and in the future, including when you are a retiree.

To use the calculator, you will need to input variables such as your current age, salary, and type(s) of FEGLI coverage. You can also use the calculator to determine the face value of various combinations of FEGLI coverage and calculate the premiums for these combinations. This will allow you to see how choosing different options can change the amount of life insurance and the premium withholdings.

For example, let's say you have a salary of $84,500. Your Basic Insurance Amount (BIA) would be $87,000 ($84,500 rounded up to the nearest $1,000, plus $2,000). FEGLI costs 15 cents per $1,000 of your BIA, so in this case, the coverage cost would be $13.05 every two weeks.

It's important to note that FEGLI is term insurance and does not build up any cash or paid-up value. Therefore, you cannot borrow from FEGLI insurance. Additionally, once you retire or turn 65 (whichever comes later), your life insurance cost and coverage will decrease significantly unless you choose a reduction plan to keep a larger proportion of your insurance.

Changing FEGLI beneficiaries

To determine what FEGLI life insurance you have, Federal annuitants or compensationers can access their FEGLI coverage information in three ways:

• Log on to Retirement Services Online to view and print a Verification of Life Insurance (VOLI). Your VOLI will show which types of FEGLI coverage you have, your amount of coverage before reduction, your post-65 reductions, and your amount of coverage after reductions are complete.
• Email [email protected] to request that your VOLI be mailed to you. Be sure to include your retirement claim number (CSA/CSF) in your email.
• Call 1-888-767-6738 to request that your VOLI be mailed to you. The phone lines are open Monday through Friday from 7:40 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Time. Have your retirement claim number (CSA/CSF) or social security number handy.

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.

To change your FEGLI life insurance beneficiaries, complete the SF2823 form and submit it to your human resources office: www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf2823.pdf. You can also request a paper copy of this form from your servicing Human Resources Office.

If you are a Federal annuitant or compensationer, you can mail the completed form to OPM's Retirement Office at the address on page 3: www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf2823.pdf.

It is important to keep your beneficiary designation up to date. If you marry or divorce, complete a new form. If your beneficiary's address changes, complete a new form as well.

Decreasing FEGLI coverage

To determine what FEGLI life insurance coverage you have, there are different processes depending on your employment status. If you are a Federal employee, you should contact your human resources office. If you do not know how to get in touch with them, check with your supervisor. You can also look at a copy of your most recent Standard Form 50, Notification of Personnel Action, where you will find a 2-character code in Block 27 that represents your current coverage. You can then look up the SF50 codes and what they mean.

If you are a Federal annuitant or compensationer, the OPM's Retirement Office is the only office with access to your FEGLI life insurance records. There are three ways to access your FEGLI coverage information:

• Log on to Retirement Services Online to view and print a Verification of Life Insurance (VOLI). This will show you which types of FEGLI coverage you have, your amount of coverage before and after reductions, and your post-65 reductions.
• Email [email protected] to request that your VOLI be mailed to you. Be sure to include your retirement claim number (CSA/CSF) in your email.
• Call 1-888-767-6738 to request that your VOLI be mailed to you. The phone lines are open Monday through Friday from 7:40 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Time. Try 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 ready.

You can also use the FEGLI Calculator to determine the current value of your FEGLI by inputting your current age, salary, and type(s) of FEGLI coverage.

You may decrease your FEGLI coverage at any time. To make a change to your FEGLI coverage, you must complete an SF 2817, Life Insurance Election form – this cannot be done using Employee Express. You pay the full cost for all Optional insurance coverage. Remember that FEGLI is term insurance, so it has no cash or paid-up value, and you cannot borrow from FEGLI insurance.

Determining the face value of FEGLI coverage

The Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program was established on August 29, 1954, and is the largest group life insurance program in the world, covering over 4 million federal employees, retirees, and their family members. Most employees are eligible for FEGLI coverage, which provides group term life insurance.

Basic Life Insurance Coverage

As a new federal employee, you are typically automatically covered by Basic life insurance, and your payroll office deducts premiums from your paycheck unless you waive the coverage. Basic life insurance is effective on the first day you enter a pay and duty status. The cost of Basic insurance is shared between you and the government. You pay 2/3 of the total cost, while the government pays 1/3. Your age does not affect the cost of Basic insurance.

The face value of Basic life insurance is calculated based on your annual basic rate of pay, rounded up to the nearest $1,000, plus $2,000. For example, if your annual salary is $35,260, the rounded-up amount plus $2,000 equals $38,000 in coverage.

Optional Insurance Coverage

In addition to Basic life insurance, there are three forms of Optional insurance that you can elect: Option A (standard optional insurance), Option B (additional optional), and Option C (family optional insurance). You must have Basic insurance to be eligible for any of the Optional insurance options. Enrollment in Optional insurance is not automatic; you must actively elect the options you want within 31 days of becoming eligible. You pay the full cost of Optional insurance, and the amount depends on your age.

Option A provides a flat amount of $10,000 in additional coverage.

Option B allows you to choose a multiple of your annual basic rate of pay, ranging from 1 to 5 times your salary.

Option C is designed for family coverage, insuring your spouse for up to 5 multiples of $5,000 and/or eligible children for up to 5 multiples of $2,500.

Determining Your FEGLI Coverage

To determine the face value of your FEGLI coverage, you can use the FEGLI Calculator. This online tool allows you to input your current age, salary, and type(s) of FEGLI coverage to calculate the current value of your coverage. Additionally, you can refer to your Standard Form 50, Notification of Personnel Action. In Block 27 of this form, there is a 2-character code that represents your current coverage, and you can look up the corresponding definition to understand your coverage details.

If you are a federal annuitant or compensationer, you can access your FEGLI coverage information through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Retirement Office. They can provide you with a Verification of Life Insurance (VOLI) document, which outlines your FEGLI coverage type(s), amounts before and after reductions, and other relevant details.

Frequently asked questions