How Much FEGLI Actually Costs. FEGLI Rates

FEGLI (life insurance) prices can be very sneaky.

They come right out of your paycheck and the price often goes up without an announcement.

And to be frank, few people actually know what they are paying and if it is worth it.

But now you’ll know.

Break It Down

FEGLI has 4 different parts and the pricing works a little differently for each.

Here is a summary of the 4 parts:

	Biweekly Cost	Coverage Amount
Basic	$0.16 per $1,000 of coverage	Your Base Salary rounded up to nearest thousand plus $2,000
A	Price changes as you age. It starts at $0.20 under age 40 and increases every 5 years and is $6.00 once you are 60+	$10,000 (this amount never changes)
B	Price changes as you age. It starts at $0.02 per $1,000 of coverage under age 40 and increases every 5 years until it maxes out at $2.88 per $1,000 of coverage for age 80+.	A Multiple of 1-5x your Base Salary
C	Price changes as you age. It starts at $0.20 per multiple under age 35 and increases every 5 years until it maxes out at $7.80 per multiple for age 80+.	Coverage on Family: Spouse: $5,000 per multiple (up to 5 multiples Children: $2,5000 per multiple (up to 5 multiples)

Note: The cost of FEGLI often changes once you retire. Also, if you want more details on FEGLI pricing, here is the OPM reference guide. Also, USPS pays the full premiums for FEGLI Basic for its active employees.

Check Now

Now is the time to pull out your pay stubs to see what you are currently paying for your FEGLI. And if you want to see what it is costing every year then just multiply what comes out of your paycheck by 26 (as there are 26 pay periods in a year).

For example, if you are currently paying $23/pay period for FEGLI basic then it is costing you $598/year ($23 x 26 pay periods).

The Elephant in The Room

The cost for FEGLI Basic, A, and C will never be a massive dollar amount because they are simply limited in how much coverage they can provide for you.

Part B, however, can get quite expensive simply because you can get up to 5x your salary in coverage and the cost of coverage goes up as you age.

For example, if you are 60 years old and your salary is about 100k and you had 5x multiple for FEGLI B then you’d pay about $5,200/year in premiums! And the price would only go up even more if you chose to keep it as you aged.

Now I am not saying that Part B isn’t ever worth the price but it is certainly something to keep your eye on over time.

Cost of FEGLI In Retirement

This article focuses on the price of FEGLI while you are working but once you are retired the rules and prices change.

Here is a helpful calculator from OPM that will help you figure out how your FEGLI will work in retirement.

The Full Guide

If you want to understand FEGLI on a deeper level to truly understand how much coverage you should have you are going to want to check out this article.

It covers FEGLI on a deeper level so you can get the most out of it.

Get a Free Copy of our New E-Book on the TSP!

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Dallen J. Haws, CFP®, MBA

CEO and Lead Planner

Dallen is one of the most sought after federal retirement experts in the country.

He routinely speaks/consults with thousands of federal employees about their benefits and retirement. He is a self-professed nerd about helping those under FERS to maximize benefits, reduce taxes, and retire confident.

He is a regular contributor to Govexec and FedSmith and many other federal employee new sites.

When he is not perfecting retirement plans, you can find him training for triathlons or going on adventures with his family.

Common Questions

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One thing we found that clients really appreciate is that no other financial advisor is able to help them with their federal benefits as well as the rest of their financial lives like we can.

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