Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance
Federal Employee's Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) consists of Basic life insurance coverage and three options. In most cases, if you are a new Federal employee, you are automatically covered by Basic life insurance and your payroll office deducts premiums from your paycheck unless you waive the coverage. In addition to the Basic, there are three forms of Optional insurance you can elect. You must have Basic insurance in order to elect any of the options. Unlike Basic, enrollment in Optional insurance is not automatic -- you must take action to elect the options.
The cost of Basic insurance is shared between you and the Government. You pay two-thirds of the total cost and the Government pays one-third. Your age does not affect the cost of Basic insurance. You pay the full cost of Optional insurance, and the cost depends on your age.
The Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI), which is a private entity that has a contract with the Federal Government, processes and pays claims under the FEGLI Program.
For more information you may visit the OPM Life Insurance page. You can use the FEGLI Calculator at this site to determine the face value of various combinations of FEGLI coverage; calculate premiums for the various combinations of coverage; see how choosing different Options can change the amount of life insurance and the premium withholdings; and see how the life insurance carried into retirement will change over time. A fillable FEGLI election form, Standard Form 2817, Life Insurance Election, may be obtained from OPM's Standard Forms page.