Guides

Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI): eligibility, cost and conversion

VGLI lets separating service members keep up to $500,000 of SGLI as renewable term. Deadlines, 2025-26 VA premium rates, increases, conversion and claims.

4LifeInsurance · Published October 4, 2026

Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) lets a service member who is leaving the military keep up to the amount of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance coverage they held, from $10,000 up to $500,000, as renewable term insurance. Apply within 240 days of separation and there is no health review; apply after that, up to 1 year and 120 days, and you must prove good health. Premiums depend only on age, so VGLI is inexpensive for a veteran in their 20s and 30s and very expensive past 60.

This guide goes deeper than the overview in Life insurance for veterans: VGLI, VALife and more. All figures come from the VA's VGLI page (last updated September 16, 2026) and were checked in October 2026.

Who can get VGLI

You may qualify if you had SGLI while serving and you are within 1 year and 120 days of any of these:

release from an active-duty period of 31 days or more;
retirement or release from the Ready Reserve or National Guard;
assignment to the Individual Ready Reserve or Inactive National Guard (including the U.S. Public Health Service Inactive Reserve Corps);
placement on the Temporary Disability Retirement List.

A member of the Guard or Reserve who had part-time SGLI and suffered an injury or disability on duty that disqualified them for standard rates can also qualify. The amount you can carry is capped at what you held under SGLI, and the overall maximum is $500,000.

The two deadlines

Window after separation	What you need
Within 240 days	Apply with no health questions or evidence of insurability
241 days up to 1 year and 120 days	Apply with proof of good health, which the VA can decline
After 1 year and 120 days	Not eligible to apply, though a lapsed VGLI policy can be reinstated with form SGLV 180

The 240-day window is the part that matters most for veterans with a heart condition, diabetes, cancer history or a service-related illness, because it may be the last time insurers cannot turn you down. Separately, SGLI itself continues free for 120 days after discharge, which is why many people use that time to decide.

What VGLI costs

VGLI premiums are set by age and the amount of coverage, with no adjustment for gender or tobacco use. The VA lists these monthly premiums for $500,000 (rates as of July 1, 2025):

Age	Monthly premium for $500,000
29 and younger	$30
30 to 34	$40
35 to 39	$50
40 to 44	$70
45 to 49	$95
50 to 54	$145
55 to 59	$250
60 to 64	$425
65 to 69	$690
70 to 74	$1,075
75 to 79	$1,925
80 and older	$2,200

Premiums scale in proportion to the amount; $250,000 costs half as much. The premium steps up when you cross into the next age band, so the cost of keeping a fixed amount keeps climbing for life. The VA also announced a VGLI premium holiday: eligible veterans do not pay premiums from November 1, 2026, through January 31, 2027, and coverage continues.

A hypothetical comparison

Say a 38-year-old veteran in good health with two children needs $500,000 for the next 20 years. VGLI at $50 a month will rise to $70 at 40 and keep stepping up, reaching the $250 band by age 55 to 59. A 20-year level term life insurance policy is priced once, at the start, and stays flat. Whether the private policy wins depends on his health class and the quotes he gets; the point is that VGLI's cost curve is rising and a level policy's is not. Use the How much life insurance do I need? to size the need first.

Increasing coverage

If you took less than the maximum, VGLI lets you add $25,000 one year after you get VGLI and then every five years, up to $500,000, until you turn 60. That is a small guaranteed-insurability feature that private term policies do not usually offer without a new application.

Converting VGLI to permanent insurance

VGLI can be converted to an individual policy through participating companies, at standard rates without proof of health, at any time. The steps, per the VA:

Choose a company from the VA's list of participating insurers.
Request a VGLI Conversion Notice letter from the Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (OSGLI).
Give the letter to the agent at the company's local sales office when you apply.

The converted policy must be a permanent form such as whole life insurance. You cannot convert to term, variable or universal life, and riders such as accidental death or waiver of premium are not part of the conversion. Whole life is far more expensive per dollar of coverage than term, so conversion mostly suits veterans in poor health who want lifelong coverage and can afford a smaller amount. See converting term life to permanent: how the conversion option works for how conversion rights work in general.

Beneficiaries and claims

You can name and change beneficiaries online through your Prudential policy account or on form SGLV 8721, mailed or faxed to OSGLI. Keep it current, since the designation controls who is paid; see how to choose a life insurance beneficiary. A beneficiary claims with form SGLV 8283 (Claim for Death Benefits). A terminally ill veteran can request an advance payment with form SGLV 8284.

Is VGLI right for you?

VGLI is strongest when you cannot easily buy private coverage, when you need cover immediately after separation, or when you want a no-questions bridge while you shop. It is weaker as a 30-year plan. A common approach is to apply within 240 days, then shop private term while the VGLI protects you, and drop VGLI once the new policy is in force. Veterans with a service-connected rating may also add VA Life Insurance (VALife): who qualifies, what it costs, the 2-year wait, a small amount of guaranteed whole life.

Key takeaways

VGLI carries up to $500,000 of SGLI into civilian life as renewable term with no health review if you apply within 240 days of separation.
The outer deadline is 1 year and 120 days, and late applicants need proof of good health.
Premiums rise with age bands, from $30 a month for $500,000 under 30 to $690 at 65 to 69 (VA rates as of July 1, 2025).
Conversion is to permanent insurance only, at standard rates without a health review.
Healthy veterans often compare VGLI with private level term before settling in for the long run.

Terms used in this guide

Group life insurance Coverage issued under one master contract to members of a group, usually employees, often at one or two times salary with little or no underwriting. Term life insurance Life coverage for a set number of years, such as 10, 20 or 30, that pays a death benefit only if the insured dies within that period. Evidence of insurability Health and other information an insurer requires to approve coverage, such as medical questions, records or an exam, often for amounts above guaranteed issue. Conversion privilege A term policy feature that lets the owner switch to permanent coverage with the same insurer without new medical underwriting, within set deadlines. Beneficiary The person, trust, charity or estate named to receive a life insurance death benefit or an annuity's remaining value when the insured or owner dies. Whole life insurance Permanent life insurance with fixed premiums, a guaranteed death benefit and guaranteed cash value growth, sometimes boosted by dividends.

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