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Revised FEGLI Designation of Beneficiary Form
Benefits Administration Letter 01-219 describes the revised April 2001 edition of Standard Form 2823, FEGLI Designation of Beneficiary. This form is available online in an Adobe Acrobat fillable edition, and the BAL provides instructions for ordering paper copies. Previous editions of this form should NOT be used, but current designations on file using the earlier versions remain valid and do not have to be redone.
Added October 26, 2001
September 11 Crisis FAQs Posted
We have posted a page of FAQs on all aspects of benefits entitlements of Federal employees or annuitants and their families who were killed or injured in the September 11 terrorist attacks. These FAQs include a series of FEGLI related questions and answers.
Added September 19, 2001
FEGLI Benefits for Reservists Called to Active Duty
Employees who are put in a nonpay status while on military duty can keep their Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) coverage for up to 12 months. This coverage is free. At the end of 12 months in nonpay status, the coverage terminates. Employees get a free 31-day extension of coverage and have the right to convert to a nongroup policy.
If a Federal employee with FEGLI is called-up to active military duty and is killed, death benefits are payable to the employee's beneficiaries. Accidental death and dismemberment benefits are also payable under Basic insurance (and Option A, if the employee had that coverage) unless the employee was in actual combat at the time. Accidental death benefits are in addition to regular death benefits. Even if accidental death benefits are not payable, regular death benefits ARE payable.
When an employee who has been on military duty returns to active Federal service, he or she gets back whatever types of life insurance he or she had before going into nonpay status (as long as the position is not excluded from coverage).
See Compensation Memo 2001-09 of September 14, 2001, Rights and Benefits of Reservists Called to Active Duty. The above is item 8 in Attachment 1 to that letter.
Added September 18, 2001
Benefits Officers Meeting at OPM
A Benefits Officers Network meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, September 20, 2001, at 1:30 PM in the OPM Campbell Auditorium. The major focus of this meeting will be FERCCA at 1 Year. Please note that due to heightened security, all non-OPM employees entering the Thedore Roosevelt Building (OPM HQ) will be required to show ID, will have to pass through metal detectors, and will have their bags, purses, briefcases, and packages scanned. Please allow ample time to enter the building.
Added September 13, 2001
Benefits for Victims of the World Trade Center and Pentagon Tragedies
Benefits Administration Letter 01-112 of September 12, 2001, gives a brief status report on the actions that OPM is taking to assist and expedite the receipt of benefits to Federal employees and their families that were affected by the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the plane crash in Pennsylvania.
To assist us in getting information to the right people as quickly as possible, we would like you to notify us immediately if your agency had employees in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, or in the Pennsylvania crash that were killed, injured, or are missing.
We would like to establish contact persons at each agency that employs individuals affected by the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Please provide us with the names, telephone, and fax number of your agency contacts. You can fax the information to us at (202) 606-1108. If the names of contacts are not yet available, please let us know if you have employees affected and provide the contact information later.
Added September 13, 2001
New Version of Standard Form 2818 Available
A new version of Standard Form 2818, Continuation of Life Insurance Coverage as a Retiree or Compensationer, is now available. We revised the form extensively to incorporate the Option B and Option C Election Notices (which now become obsolete), to change several other procedures, to use plain language and to reflect the current premiums. This is a very significant revision. It is extremely important to stop using previous editions of the SF 2818 . Use of the old form will delay retirement processing. Employees must complete the new form. See BAL 01-217 of August 29, 2001.
We have also updated the on-line FEGLI Handbook to include the new processing instructions. The chapter on Annuitants and Compensationers was updated extensively, and a small change was made in the Coverage chapter.
Updated August 31, 2001
Notifying OWCP When an Employee is Not Eligible to Continue FEGLI as a Compensationer
We have developed a new procedure for notifying the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) when an employee clearly is not eligible to continue FEGLI as a compensationer. We have not previously had such as procedure, and as a result OWCP continues to withhold premiums and the individual is not given conversion rights. See BAL 01-216 of August 21, 2001.
Added August 22, 2001
New FEGLI Handbook Chapter
We've added a Table of FEGLI Legislation to the Handbook. This table documents the laws and regulations affecting the FEGLI program since the original act in 1954.
Added May 8, 2001
Registration Ends Soon for Federal Benefits Conference
The 10th Federal Benefits Conference — 2001: A Benefits Odyssey — is scheduled for June 5-8, 2001, in Norfolk, Virginia. Registration ends Friday, April 27.Updated April 24, 2001
Certifying the SF 2821
Remember in Block #10, Annual Basic Pay, that the salary of a part-time employee MUST reflect the tour of duty. Do not put in the full-time rate for a part-time employee.
Added April 24, 2001
Coverage Ends After 12 Months LWOP
By law the insurance as an employee ENDS after 12 months of nonpay status. At that time the employing agency must:
- Complete the SF 2821, Agency Certification of Insurance Status.
- Give the employee the SF 2819, Notice of Conversion Privilege.
- Give the employee the Portability Notice, if applicable. (See BAL 99-212)
The life insurance coverage ends whether or not the employee is notified. To ensure that the employee has the opportunity to convert his/her insurance, the SF 2821 and the SF 2819 need to be completed in a timely manner. Added April 24, 2001
Option C Cancellation Can Be Retroactive
If an employee cancels Option C because there are no eligible family members, the effective date is retroactive to the end of the pay period in which there stopped being any eligible family members. See 5 Code of Federal Regulations 870.505(b)
Added April 24, 2001
FEGLI Option B Withholding Rates and Age Bands
Payroll Office Letter P-00-12, "FEGLI Option C Withholding Rates and Age Bands", dated June 27, 2000, advised you that we would review the need for new Option B age bands and withholding rates, and that if changes were necessary, they would be made no sooner than April 24, 2001. Benefits Administration Letter 01-314 of March 30, 2001, is a notification that we will NOT make any changes to Option B during calendar year 2001.
[ BAL 01-314]
Added March 30, 2001
New Lets Talk Benefits Video Now Available
The Let's Talk Benefits video introduces new employees to their Federal benefits with a special emphasis on the initial decisions they need to make within prescribed timeframes. Through realistic scenarios, viewers will see three new Federal employees "talk benefits" with human resource professionals and knowledgeable co-workers. As they seek and find the basic information they need to make important initial decisions about their new health insurance, life insurance, retirement and Thrift Saving Plan (TSP) benefits, the viewers (your agency's new Federal employees) will learn with them, as they prepare to make the same decisions. [ BAL 01-102]
Added February 23, 2001
New SF 2817 Hard Copy Now Available
A revised copy of the SF 2817, Life Insurance Election, has been available on our web site since June 2000. This version is now available in hard copy also. See BAL 01-206. Added February 21, 2001
OFEGLI has Moved
The Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) moved to a new location effective February 20. They now have a new mailing addresses and a new FAX number. See the announcement on our FEGLI home page. Updated February 21, 2001
New Guide to FEGLI Publications and Forms
We have posted a new guide to FEGLI publications and forms which provides consolidated information sheets on each form and publication with information on the use of the item and how to obtain both electronic and paper copies. Added January 3, 2001
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