Retirement & Financial Planning Report

You might lose your FEGLI life insurance coverage 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—if you resign from the government or if you take a government job where FEGLI isn’t available, such as with another level of government, or if you take a federal job where it can’t be offered to you, such as if you accept a temporary or intermittent position or a term appointment 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 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 an amount equal to or less than the total amount of coverage you had when your group policy was terminated. You must apply within 31 days after your coverage stops.

If you go back to work in a federal job 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.

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FERS Retirement Guide 2022