Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI): Basic, A, B and C

FEGLI is the federal government's group term life insurance program for employees and retirees. Eligible new employees are automatically covered by Basic insurance, which the employee pays two-thirds of and the government one-third, unless they waive it. Three Optional coverages (A, B and C) are available only if you elect them, and you pay their full age-based cost. FEGLI builds no cash value, and it can continue into retirement.

This guide gives the mechanics. For how FEGLI compares with private insurance, start with life insurance for federal employees. Facts below come from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), checked October 2026. OPM states that FEGLI began on August 29, 1954, and covers over 4 million employees and retirees plus many family members.

The four pieces

You must hold Basic to elect any option. Optional coverage is not automatic: most people elect it on form SF 2817, and some agencies allow electronic elections. Ask your human resources office.

The Extra Benefit

The Extra Benefit doubles your Basic amount at no added cost through age 35. Starting on the 36th birthday it decreases 10% each year until age 45, after which it is gone. OPM's example: a 40-year-old with a $48,000 Basic amount gets a 50% boost, so $72,000.

What it costs (employee rates)

OPM lists these rates, effective the first pay period on or after October 1, 2021, and warns they may change:

Basic is a level, composite rate: a 25-year-old pays the same as a 64-year-old retiree, which makes it relatively costly for the young but funds a post-65 benefit. Option B, by contrast, steps up with age, which is why many people reexamine it in their 50s.

A hypothetical example

Say a 52-year-old with a $96,000 salary has a Basic amount of $98,000 and elects Option B at 5 times pay ($480,000). Basic costs about $34 a month ($98 x $0.3467). Option B at the 50-54 rate of $0.217 per $1,000 costs about $104 a month. That is roughly $138 for about $578,000 of coverage. At 60, Option B alone would run about $416 a month at $0.867 per $1,000. This is arithmetic on OPM's published rates, not a quote.

Accidental death

Basic and Option A include accidental death and dismemberment coverage; see accidental death and dismemberment and Life insurance vs AD&D insurance for how those benefits work. Check the FEGLI booklet for the exact payments.

FEGLI in retirement

Unlike most employer plans, FEGLI can continue after you retire, if you meet OPM's requirements for continuing coverage (generally, being covered for a minimum period before retiring and retiring on an immediate annuity). Retirees choose how much of Basic to keep, and OPM's rates show the trade-off:

Optional coverage can also continue, but the options follow their own reduction and payment rules, and OPM notes that annuitants who choose No Reduction for Options B or C continue paying at rates that rise from age 65 (for example, Option B at $1.040 per $1,000 at 65 to 69 and $6.240 at 80 and over). Decide this before you retire, because many choices are locked in at retirement.

Adding or changing coverage later

Open seasons for FEGLI are infrequent; OPM's materials show the most recent in 2016. Outside an open season, changes generally require a qualifying life event or evidence of good health. Newly eligible employees have a short window after appointment to elect options without such evidence (60 days, per OPM's rules for new hires). So if you want Option B, decide early.

Beneficiaries

If you name no beneficiary, OFEGLI pays in an order of precedence set by law (starting with the spouse, then children and others), not necessarily the person you would choose. To designate, use Standard Form 2823. OPM stresses these points:

1. Only the insured can sign it, and two witnesses must sign.
2. Your employing office must receive it before you die. A form delivered on a weekend or federal holiday counts only from the next workday.
3. Employees check with their agency (the office holding the Official Personnel Folder) to see who is on file; retirees check with OPM's Retirement Operations Center.
4. A trust can be designated using OPM's instructions, useful for minor children.

Your FEGLI designation is separate from designations for your Thrift Savings Plan and retirement lump sums, so check each. See how to choose a life insurance beneficiary.

Claims

For an employee's death, report it to the employing agency's human resources office, which sends the claim form (FE-6). For an annuitant's death, report it to OPM. Claims are paid by the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI), a private entity under contract; the status line is 1-800-633-4542, available after 30 days from submission. Send a certified copy of the death certificate with the form. A spouse or child death under Option C uses form FE-6DEP.

If you leave federal service

Coverage generally ends shortly after you separate, with a right to convert to an individual policy without a health review. Conversion premiums are typically high; compare keeping group life insurance when you leave a job and private term.

Key takeaways

• Basic is automatic with a 2/3 employee, 1/3 government cost split; Options A, B and C must be elected and are age-rated.
• Basic equals pay plus $2,000 rounded up to the next $1,000, doubled for those 35 and under and tapering to zero by 45.
• Retirees can keep coverage, and the Basic reduction chosen at retirement drives long-term cost.
• Open seasons are rare, so decide on Optional coverage when first eligible.
• Keep your SF 2823 beneficiary form current; OPM will not tell you who is on file.