Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program

FEGLI 2004 Open Season Basics

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Life Insurance Means Peace of Mind for You and Your Family

Almost everyone needs life insurance; how much is for you to decide. Through the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program, you have several choices in selecting the amount of life insurance that's right for you.

FEGLI Basics

What is Basic insurance?
What is the Extra Benefit?
What is Option A?
What is Option B?
What is Option C?
What is Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance?
What if I want to change my life insurance coverage?

Open Season Basics

Who's eligible to participate in this Open Season?
When is new Open Season coverage effective?
When do I start paying for new coverage?
What if I want coverage now and don't want to wait for this Open Season's delayed effective date?
Why is there a delayed effective date?
What are the pay and duty status requirements?
Where do I submit my FE–2004 Election Form?

For more information Click here for the FEGLI Program Booklet.

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What Is Basic insurance?

Basic insurance provides term life insurance at group rates. For Federal employees, the Federal Government pays one–third of the cost of your Basic insurance. For U.S. Postal Service employees, the U.S. Postal service pays 100% of the cost of your Basic insurance. If you are eligible, you are automatically covered under Basic insurance, unless you waive this coverage.

Your Basic Insurance Amount (BIA) is equal to the greater of (a) your annual rate of basic pay rounded up to the next even $1,000 plus $2,000, or (b) $10,000.

Basic insurance includes an Extra Benefit and Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage.

What Is the Extra Benefit?

Basic insurance also provides an Extra Benefit to employees under age 45, at no additional cost. This Extra Benefit doubles the amount of Basic insurance payable if you die when you are age 35 or younger. The Extra Benefit decreases 10% each year until there is no Extra Benefit if you die at age 45 or older.

What Is Option A?

If you have or elect Basic, you may elect Option A – Standard which provides $10,000 of life insurance coverage. You pay the full cost of this insurance. Your cost is based on your age.

AD&D coverage in the amount of $10,000 is automatically included at no additional cost.

What is Option B?

If you have or elect Basic, you may elect Option B – Additional in an amount equal to one, two, three, four or five times your annual rate of basic pay, after rounding it up to the next even $1,000. You pay the full cost of this insurance. Your cost is based on your age.

AD&D coverage is not included under Option B.

What is Option C?

If you have or elect Basic, you may elect Option C – Family in one, two, three, four or five multiples of coverage. Option C provides insurance coverage on your spouse and your eligible dependent children. Each multiple is equal to $5,000 on your spouse and $2,500 on each of your eligible dependent children. You pay the full cost of this insurance. Your cost, which covers all eligible family members, is based on your age.

AD&D coverage is not included under Option C.

For example, if you elect three multiples, that means that if your spouse dies, you would receive $15,000 (3 times $5,000). If one of your eligible dependent children dies, you would receive $7,500 (3 times $2,500).

Each multiple is a unit.

For example, if you elect two multiples, that means you have two multiples on your spouse and two multiples on your eligible dependent children. You cannot elect a number of multiples for your spouse that is different from the number of multiples for your eligible dependent children.

To be eligible, dependent children must be unmarried and under age 22, or if age 22 or over, incapable of self–support because of a mental or physical disability that existed before the child reached age 22. Eligible dependent children include your natural children, adopted children, stepchildren (if they live with you in a regular parent–child relationship), recognized natural children, and foster children (if they live with you in a regular parent–child relationship). Grandchildren are not covered unless they qualify as foster children.

Stillborn children are not covered.

If you have any questions about eligible family members, please consult your human resources office. That office is responsible for determining eligibility.

Option C benefits are paid to you; you cannot designate a beneficiary.

What is Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance?

Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance provides funds in the event of a fatal accident or an accident that results in the loss of a limb or eyesight. For benefits to be paid, the death or loss must occur not more than one year from the date of the accident and be a direct result of bodily injury sustained from that accident, independent of all other causes.

AD&D insurance is automatically included in Basic insurance at no additional cost. It is equal to your Basic Insurance Amount (BIA), and does not include the Extra Benefit.

AD&D insurance is also automatically included in Option A in the amount of $10,000 at no additional cost. Option B and Option C do not include AD&D insurance.

Accidental death benefits are paid in addition to other FEGLI benefits that may be payable. AD&D coverage stops when your employment ends. It does not carry into retirement.

For more information on AD&D insurance, including exclusions, please see the FEGLI Program Booklet.

What if I want to change my life insurance coverage?

If you waived Basic insurance or did not elect Optional insurance when you were first hired, or you simply want different coverage than you have now, you have three opportunities to make changes: During an Open Season, by providing medical information, or by experiencing a life event.

Open Season

A FEGLI Open Season is relatively rare. The last one was in 1999. That's why it's important to take advantage of your Golden Opportunity right now! The FEGLI 2004 Open Season ends on September 30th.

You can elect Basic and whatever optional coverage you'd like to have, up to the maximum available with no medical questions to answer and no physical examinations needed. There are two other ways to increase your coverage, shown below. But as you'll see, your choices and coverage levels are limited.

No one knows when the next Open Season will be, so take advantage of this Open Season TODAY!

Providing medical information

As long as at least one year has passed since the effective date of your last waiver of life insurance coverage, you may provide satisfactory medical information at your own expense using the Request for Life Insurance (SF 2822). The SF 2822 is available only on the FEGLI website. You can download the form at www.opm.gov/insure/life. You and your agency must complete part of the form. Then you take the form to your physician or other medical professional. He or she will examine you, complete the rest of the form, and send the form to the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI).

If OFEGLI approves your request, you will automatically get Basic insurance (unless, of course, you already have Basic). You will have 31 days from the approval date to elect Option A and/or elect Option B or increase your Option B multiples (up to a total of 5) by completing a Life Insurance Election (SF 2817) and submitting it to your human resources office.

You cannot elect Option C or increase your Option C multiples by providing medical information. You can get Option C based on a life event.

Life event

If you already have Basic, you may elect Option B and/or Option C, or increase your multiples of Option B and/or Option C, within 60 days of experiencing a qualifying life event.

A qualifying life event means marriage, divorce, the death of your spouse, or the birth or adoption of a child. You must complete a Life Insurance Election (SF 2817) and submit it to your human resources office. The amount of Option B you may elect due to a life event is limited by the life event. For more information on the number of Option B multiples you may elect due to a life event, please see the FEGLI Program Booklet.

You cannot elect Basic or Option A based on a life event.

Who's eligible to participate in this Open Season?

Most employees are eligible to participate in this FEGLI 2004 Open Season. If you're in a FEGLI–eligible position, you can elect Basic and any or all optional coverage during this FEGLI 2004 Open Season. If you are unsure of your eligibility, please see your human resources office or local personnel office.

Annuitants/retirees are NOT eligible to participate in this Open Season, with one small exception. Annuitants/retirees who are reemployed in a FEGLI–eligible position can participate. If you are an annuitant/retiree who is reemployed in a Federal agency and are unsure whether you are eligible to participate in this FEGLI 2004 Open Season, please see your human resources office or local personnel office.

When is new Open Season coverage effective?

New coverage elected during this Open Season has a delayed effective date.

New coverage becomes effective on the first day of your first pay period that begins on or after September 1, 2005, and that immediately follows a pay period in which you meet the pay and duty status requirements.

For most employees on a biweekly pay period, this will be Sunday, September 4, 2005 (Saturday, September 3, 2005 for most U.S. Postal Service employees).

Please Note:
Benefits will not be paid based on new coverage until that new coverage becomes effective.

When do I start paying for new coverage?

You start paying for new coverage only starting when it becomes effective.

For example, if you elect coverage on the first day of Open Season (September 1, 2004), and you meet the pay and duty status requirements and that new coverage becomes effective on September 4, 2005, you do NOT pay for that new coverage during the period September 1, 2004 to September 3, 2005. You would start paying for coverage on September 4, 2005, which is the first day it is effective.

What if I want coverage now and don't want to wait for this Open Season's delayed effective date?

If you do not want to wait, you can elect coverage without a delayed effective date by providing satisfactory medical information on a Request for Insurance (SF 2822). However, you cannot elect Option C that way.

You can also elect Optional coverage within 60 days of a qualifying life event (e.g., marriage, divorce, birth / adoption of children). However, you cannot elect Basic or Option A that way, and the amount of Option B you can elect with a life event is limited by the life event.

Why is there a delayed effective date?

The 1999 Open Season also had a delayed effective date and it worked very well. The idea behind it is to avoid adverse selection – to avoid people electing increased insurance coverage based on the knowledge that there is a high probability that the insurance will become payable within a year.

What are the pay and duty status requirements?

A full–time employee on a biweekly pay period must be in pay and duty status for at least 32 hours during the pay period right before the one in which the coverage is to become effective.

A full–time employee on a monthly pay period must be in pay and duty status for at least 64 hours during the pay period right before the one in which the coverage is to become effective.

A part–time employee must be in pay and duty status for one–half of the regularly-scheduled tour of duty shown on his/her current SF 50.

An intermittent employee or an employee without a regularly–scheduled tour of duty who is eligible for FEGLI coverage must be in pay and duty status for one–half of the hours customarily worked in a pay period. Employing offices can determine the number of hours customarily worked by totaling the number of hours worked in the calendar year quarter ending September 30, 2004, and dividing that by the number of pay periods in that quarter.

Please note that sick leave, annual leave, donated leave, or any other kind of leave, whether paid or unpaid, does not qualify as pay and duty status. New coverage does NOT begin until you meet the pay and duty status requirements, even if that is after September 2005.

For some employees, new coverage will never begin because they will never meet the pay and duty status requirements.

Where do I submit my FE–2004 Election Form?

If you are making an Open Season election (and your agency does not use electronic FEGLI enrollments), you need to submit the completed, signed hard-copy of your FE–2004 Open Season Election Form to your human resources office or personnel office at your employing agency. Your agency maintains all of your FEGLI records. You need to submit the form to the same office where you would turn in any health benefit forms or other personnel actions.

If you are not sure where your human resources office is, you should ask your supervisor. OPM and OFEGLI do not have the addresses of all HR offices, and cannot process your form. You should not send your form to OPM (unless you are an OPM employee) or to OFEGLI.

Employees in agencies that use an electronic system for FEGLI enrollments (such as the EBIS system for some Department of Defense employees) should not submit a paper copy of the FE–2004. They need to follow the instructions on their electronic systems.

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