FEGLI Life Insurance Death Benefit: How Much Your Family Receives
How FEGLI Death Benefits Are Calculated
Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance pays a death benefit based on which coverage tiers the employee carried and their age at death. Basic, Extra Benefit, Option A, and Option B can stack; Option C covers the employee's family members and does not pay when the employee dies.
Basic Coverage
Every federal employee enrolled in FEGLI carries Basic coverage unless they explicitly waived it. The death benefit equals the employee's annual basic pay, rounded up to the next $1,000, plus $2,000.
For an employee earning $85,000:
- Round up to $86,000
- Add $2,000
- Basic benefit: $88,000
Basic coverage also includes an automatic accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) component. If the death was accidental, the Basic benefit doubles.
The Extra Benefit (Age-Based Multiplier)
For employees age 35 or under, the Extra Benefit doubles the Basic amount at no additional premium cost. The multiplier declines by 10% per year from age 36 to 45, reaching zero at 45. This is not a separate enrollment — it attaches automatically to Basic coverage.
An employee who dies at age 32 with $88,000 in Basic coverage receives an additional $88,000 from the Extra Benefit, for a combined Basic payout of $176,000.
Option A (Standard)
A flat $10,000 lump sum, with its own AD&D rider that adds another $10,000 for accidental death. Option A is inexpensive but the payout is fixed regardless of salary.
Option B (Additional)
The employee selects 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 multiples of annual basic pay (rounded to the next $1,000). An employee earning $85,000 with 5x Option B coverage receives up to $430,000 from this tier alone. No AD&D coverage attaches to Option B.
Option C (Family)
Option C covers the employee's spouse and eligible dependent children — it pays when a covered family member dies, not when the employee dies. If the employee is the one who dies, Option C terminates and pays nothing to survivors. This catches people off guard: Option C is not a death benefit for the employee's family to collect.
What the Total Payout Looks Like
For a 40-year-old GS-13, Step 5 employee ($108,885 base pay) enrolled in Basic + Option A + 5x Option B who dies of natural causes:
| Tier | Calculation | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $109,000 + $2,000 | $111,000 |
| Extra Benefit | 50% of Basic (age 40) | $55,500 |
| Option A | Fixed | $10,000 |
| Option B | 5 × $109,000 | $545,000 |
| Total | $721,500 |
For an accidental death at the same age, add $111,000 (Basic AD&D) and $10,000 (Option A AD&D) for a total of $842,500.
Who Receives the FEGLI Payout
If the employee filed a Designation of Beneficiary on SF 2823, the named beneficiary receives the proceeds. If no SF 2823 is on file — and most federal employees never file one — the statutory order of precedence under 5 U.S.C. § 8705 controls:
- Surviving spouse
- Children and descendants of deceased children, as provided by statute
- Parents (in equal shares)
- Estate executor or administrator
- Next of kin under state law
A valid court order from a divorce decree can override this order for a former spouse, but only if the employing agency received and certified the order before the employee's death. An outdated SF 2823 naming an ex-spouse remains legally binding even after divorce — OFEGLI pays whoever the form names.
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How to File the Claim
The claim form is FE-6, filed directly with OFEGLI (the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance, administered by MetLife). Do not send it to OPM — FEGLI and OPM retirement benefits are handled by completely separate offices.
You will also need a certified death certificate and the agency's SF 2821 verification of the employee's coverage and salary. Agency HR typically prepares SF 2821 and forwards it to OFEGLI, but confirming this was actually done prevents silent delays.
OFEGLI processes complete claims in 10 to 14 business days — often the fastest payout among all federal death benefit channels.
If you are coordinating FEGLI alongside the FERS death benefit, TSP, unpaid compensation, and health insurance continuation, the Federal Employee Death Benefits Claims Guide maps out every form and every agency in the order they should be filed.
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