U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

When you die, the law requires that the Office of Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) pay life insurance benefits as shown below:

1. If you assigned ownership of your life insurance, OFEGLI will pay benefits:
   • First, to the beneficiary(ies) designated by your assignee(s), if
   • Second, if there is no such beneficiary, to your assignee(s).

2. If you did not assign ownership and there is a valid court order, OFEGLI will pay benefits in accordance with that court order.

3. If you did not assign ownership and there is no valid court order, OFEGLI will pay benefits:
   • To the beneficiary(ies) you designated;
   • If you did not have a valid designation of beneficiary or the beneficiary predeceased you and there are no other surviving designated beneficiaries, to your widow or widower;
   • If none of the above, to your child or children, with the share of any deceased child distributed among descendants of that child;
   • If none of the above, to your parents in equal shares or the entire amount to your surviving parent;
   • If none of the above, to the court-appointed executor or administrator of your estate;
   • If none of the above, to your next of kin as determined under the laws of the State where you lived.

If you want payment to be made differently than listed in item 3 above, and you have not assigned your life insurance and a valid court order is not on file, you should designate a beneficiary. However, if you are satisfied with the order of payment listed in item 3, you do not need to make any designation.

If there is a valid court order on file, you cannot change or submit a designation of beneficiary unless the person(s) named in the court order agrees in writing or unless the court order is modified or voided.

You cannot designate beneficiaries if you have assigned your insurance. Only the assignee(s) may designate beneficiaries.

If item 3 applies to you and you have named more than one beneficiary, the share of any beneficiary who dies before you die is distributed equally among the surviving beneficiaries or entirely to the survivor. If none of the beneficiaries survive you, payment reverts to the other persons listed in item 3.

If item 3 applies to you and you have a designation of beneficiary that the Office of Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) cannot use to pay benefits, OFEGLI will pay benefits according to the next most recent designation. If there is no designation that can be used, OFEGLI will follow the order of precedence shown in item 3. Standard Form (SF) 2823, the Designation of Beneficiary, gives detailed instructions about how to prepare the form and what is or is not acceptable based on the law and regulations.

If you had a designation of beneficiary in effect when you retired, it remains in effect during your retirement unless you change or cancel it (see How To Designate a Beneficiary). You do not need the consent of anyone to change your beneficiary. If the name or address of a beneficiary changes, we ask that you submit another designation form to show the correct information. If a designated beneficiary dies before you do, his or her rights and interests in your insurance benefits end.

Remember that unless you change or cancel your designation, the person named — such as a former spouse — will receive your life insurance after your death.

If your life insurance stops for any reason (see Termination of Life Insurance), any designation of beneficiary you previously filed is void 31 days after your coverage stops. If you later reacquire insurance as an employee, you must file a new form with your employing office if you want your new insurance benefits paid to a designated beneficiary.

If any person otherwise entitled to payment fails to make a claim within one year after your death or if payment to such person is prohibited by Federal statute or regulation, payment may be made in the order shown in item 3 above as if that person had died before you. If, within two years after your death, no claim has been made by any person entitled to payment as explained above, payment may be made to a claimant who in the judgment of the Office of Personnel Management is equitably entitled to the insurance. If such payment is made, no one else can claim the payment.

If less than $7,500 life insurance is payable, the Office of Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) will make payment by check. However, if $7,500 or more is payable, OFEGLI will open a money market account in the name of the person who is payable and will mail a checkbook to the payee. The payee may close the account immediately or may write checks for any amount from $250 up to the entire balance in the account at any time. There is no charge for checks and the balance in the account earns interest from the day it is opened. At the time such a payment is made, the Office of Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) will give the payee complete details about the account. You cannot make any payment arrangements in advance of your death.