
The Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program was established by the Federal Government in 1954. It is the largest group life insurance program in the world, covering over 4 million Federal employees and retirees, as well as many of their family members. Most employees are eligible for FEGLI coverage, which provides group term life insurance. Basic life insurance coverage is shared between the employee and the government, with the employee paying 2/3 of the total cost and the government paying 1/3. Employees are automatically enrolled in Basic Life Insurance unless they choose to waive it.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) |
| Who is eligible | Most federal employees |
| Who is covered | Employees, retirees, and family members |
| Cost | The employee pays 2/3, the government pays 1/3 |
| Cost calculation | Based on the annual basic rate of pay, rounded up to the nearest $1,000, plus $2,000 |
| Coverage | Group term life insurance |
| Cash value | None |
| Options | Option A (standard optional insurance), Option B (additional optional), and Option C (family optional insurance) |
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What You'll Learn

The Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program
The Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program was established by the Federal Government on 29 August 1954. It is the largest group life insurance program in the world, covering over 4 million Federal employees and retirees, as well as many of their family members.
Most employees are eligible for FEGLI coverage, which provides group term life insurance. This means it does not build up any cash value or paid-up value. FEGLI consists of Basic life insurance coverage and three options. If you are a new Federal employee, you are automatically covered by Basic life insurance and your payroll office deducts premiums from your paycheck unless you waive the coverage. The cost of Basic insurance is shared between you and the Government: you pay 2/3 of the total cost and the Government pays 1/3. Your age does not affect the cost of Basic insurance.
Basic life insurance is 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, this would be rounded up to $36,000, plus $2,000, equalling $38,000. Basic Life Insurance is effective on the first day you enter a pay and duty status. New employees have 31 days from the date of their appointment to elect additional Optional Insurance or to waive coverage entirely. Employees must be enrolled in Basic Life in order to elect Optional Insurance.
There are three types of Optional Insurance available to employees: Option A (standard optional insurance), Option B (additional optional), and Option C (family optional insurance). Option A insurance provides $10,000 of additional coverage. Option B insurance coverage comes in 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 multiples of your annual basic rate of pay. Option C coverage insures your spouse for up to 5 multiples of $5,000 and/or eligible children for up to 5 multiples of $2,500. You pay the full cost of Optional insurance, and the cost depends on your age.
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Basic life insurance coverage
Most employees are eligible for FEGLI coverage and are automatically enrolled in Basic Life Insurance unless they choose to waive it. Basic Life Insurance is effective on the first day you enter a pay and duty status. New employees have 31 days from the date of their appointment to elect additional Optional Insurance or to waive coverage entirely. Employees must be enrolled in Basic Life Insurance in order to elect Optional Insurance. The cost of Basic Life Insurance is shared between the employee and the government, with the employee paying 2/3 of the total cost and the government paying 1/3. Your age does not affect the cost of Basic Life Insurance.
Basic life insurance is 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, this would be rounded up to $36,000 plus $2,000, giving you a total of $38,000 in coverage.
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Optional Insurance
Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) is the largest group life insurance program in the world, covering over 4 million federal employees and retirees, as well as many of their family members. Most employees are eligible for FEGLI coverage and are automatically covered by Basic Life Insurance unless they choose to waive it.
Employees have 31 days from the date of their appointment to elect additional Optional Insurance or to waive coverage entirely. There are three types of Optional Insurance available: Option A (standard optional insurance), Option B (additional optional), and Option C (family optional insurance).
Option A insurance provides $10,000 of additional coverage. Option B insurance coverage comes in 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 multiples of your annual basic rate of pay. Option C coverage insures your spouse for up to 5 multiples of $5,000 and/or eligible children for up to 5 multiples of $2,500.
The cost of Basic Life Insurance is shared between the employee and the government, with the employee paying 2/3 of the total cost and the government paying 1/3. You pay the full cost of Optional Insurance, and the cost depends on your age. The FEGLI Calculator allows you to determine the face value of various combinations of FEGLI coverage, calculate premiums for the various combinations of coverage, and see how choosing different options can change the amount of life insurance and the premium withholdings.
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How to waive coverage
Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) is the largest group life insurance program in the world, covering over 4 million federal employees and retirees, as well as many of their family members. Most employees are eligible for FEGLI coverage and are automatically covered by Basic Life Insurance unless they choose to waive it.
Basic Life Insurance is effective on the first day you enter a pay and duty status. New employees have 31 days from the date of their appointment to elect additional Optional Insurance or to waive coverage entirely. Employees must be enrolled in Basic Life Insurance in order to elect Optional Insurance. To waive coverage, employees must submit a completed Life Insurance Election Form, SF-2817, to their servicing Human Resources Office within 31 days of their appointment.
There are three types of Optional Insurance available to employees: Option A (standard optional insurance), Option B (additional optional), and Option C (family optional insurance). Option A insurance provides $10,000 of additional coverage. Option B insurance coverage comes in 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 multiples of your annual basic rate of pay. Option C coverage insures your spouse for up to 5 multiples of $5,000 and/or eligible children for up to 5 multiples of $2,500.
The cost of Basic Life Insurance is shared between the employee and the government, with the employee paying 2/3 of the total cost and the government paying 1/3. Employees are strongly encouraged to submit the SF-2823 Designation of Beneficiary form. Basic life insurance is 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, your basic life insurance coverage would be $36,000 plus $2,000, equalling $38,000.
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How to enrol
Basic life insurance is part of the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program, which was established in 1954 and is the largest group life insurance program in the world, covering over 4 million federal employees and retirees, as well as many of their family members.
Most federal employees are eligible for FEGLI coverage and are automatically enrolled in Basic Life Insurance unless they choose to waive it. Basic Life Insurance is effective on the first day you enter a pay and duty status. New employees have 31 days from the date of their appointment to elect additional Optional Insurance or to waive coverage entirely. Employees must be enrolled in Basic Life Insurance in order to elect Optional Insurance.
To enrol, employees must submit a completed Life Insurance Election Form, SF-2817, to their servicing Human Resources Office. Employees are also strongly encouraged to submit the SF-2823 Designation of Beneficiary form.
The cost of Basic Life Insurance is shared between the employee and the government, with the employee paying 2/3 of the total cost and the government paying 1/3. Basic life insurance coverage is 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, your coverage would be $36,000 plus $2,000, or $38,000 total.
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Frequently asked questions
The Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program was established by the Federal Government on August 29, 1954. It is the largest group life insurance program in the world, covering over 4 million Federal employees and retirees, as well as many of their family members. Basic life insurance coverage is shared between the employee and the government, with the employee paying 2/3 of the total cost and the government paying 1/3.
The government pays 1/3 of the total cost of basic life insurance for federal employees.
The employee pays 2/3 of the total cost of basic life insurance.

































