FEGLI Conversion After Resigning

The Conversion Deadline

When your FEGLI coverage terminates at separation, you receive a free 31-calendar-day extension of coverage. You can convert eligible coverage to an individual policy through an approved private carrier without a medical exam; the carrier may ask limited health questions if you want to qualify for a lower premium.

The usual deadline is 31 days after you receive the Notice of Conversion Privilege (SF 2819), or 60 days after coverage terminates, whichever comes first. If your agency did not give you the notice or you could not convert for reasons beyond your control, OPM allows you to request a belated conversion within six months after you first became eligible; retroactive premiums may apply.

What You Can Convert

You can convert Basic Life Insurance, Option A (Standard Optional Insurance), and Option B (Additional Optional Insurance) to individual policies.

Option C (Family Optional Insurance) does not convert as a family policy. If you choose not to convert Option C, each family member covered under it may convert their own coverage to an individual policy when the FEGLI coverage ends after separation.

The Conversion Process

Your former agency's HR office initiates the process by completing SF 2821 (Agency Certification of Insurance Status) and providing you with SF 2819 (Notice of Conversion Privilege). SF 2819 lists approved insurance carriers that participate in the FEGLI conversion program and includes the application instructions.

The process:

1. Obtain SF 2819 from your agency HR before or immediately after your last day
2. Select a carrier from the approved list on the form
3. Complete the conversion election on SF 2819 and send it to the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) by the deadline shown on the notice
4. The selected private insurer issues an individual whole-life policy at its published rates. No medical exam is required; it may ask limited health questions if you want a lower premium.

Your former agency provides the notices, and OFEGLI processes the conversion election. The individual policy is issued by the private insurer you select.

What Conversion Costs

FEGLI group rates are subsidized. Individual policy premiums may be much higher because the government contribution and group pricing end; the insurer sets the premium based on factors including age and risk class.

For many separating employees — especially those under 50 — a private term life policy through a standard carrier (with medical underwriting) is significantly cheaper than converting FEGLI to whole-life. The conversion option matters most for people who have health conditions that would make private underwriting difficult or impossible.

If You're Pursuing Postponed Retirement

Employees who qualify for postponed retirement under MRA+10 rules can reinstate FEGLI when their annuity starts, provided they had FEGLI coverage for the 5 years of service immediately before separation, or for their full service period if shorter. If that describes you, conversion may be unnecessary — you just need to bridge life insurance coverage during the postponement gap.

Under deferred retirement, FEGLI is permanently lost. Conversion is your only path to carrying any form of that coverage forward.

Don't Wait for Your Last Day

The conversion deadline can run while separation paperwork is being processed. If you're planning to resign, request SF 2819 and SF 2821 from your HR office during your notice period. If you do not receive SF 2819, OPM has a belated-conversion process with specific eligibility rules.

The Leaving Federal Service Early toolkit includes a FEGLI Conversion Timeline tracker that maps out the 31-day window alongside your other separation deadlines.

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