You might lose your FEGLI life insurance coverage, but only under certain circumstances. You can lose coverage if:
* you leave government for any reason other than retirement;
* you go to another government job that doesn’t provide FEGLI coverage;
* you are in a non-pay status for more than 12 months;
* your annuity is terminated; or
* your pay or annuity after all other deductions are taken is too small to pay the premiums.
The first two reasons are the most likely to cause a loss of coverage—if you resign from the government or if you take a government job where FEGLI isn’t available, e.g., the District of Columbia government, or can’t be offered to you, e.g., if you accept a temporary or intermittent position or a term appointment in the government that is expected to last one year or less.
If your insurance coverage stops, you get a cost-free 31-day extension of coverage and you have a right to convert any coverage you have under Basic and Options A and B to an individual policy without having to provide any evidence of medical insurability. However, if you buy that policy you’ll be paying 100 percent of the individual rates not a portion of the group ones. Exactly how much you will end up paying will depend on several factors: how much insurance you apply for; the type of policy you want; your age; and your risk category on the day your group insurance ends.
You can have this policy written for any amount equal to or less than the total amount of coverage you had when your group policy was terminated. However, you must make application for the policy within 31 days after your coverage stops.
If you go back to work for an agency where you are eligible for FEGLI coverage, you may reenroll under certain conditions. First, you may reenroll during an open season (a fairly rare occurrence) as long as you are found to be medically insurable. Second, you may do so if a life event has changed your situation, e.g., you get married or have a child. On the other hand, once a retiree has lost FEGLI coverage, it’s rarely possible to enroll again.
