MetLife FEGLI Claim: How OFEGLI Processes Federal Life Insurance Payouts
OFEGLI Is MetLife's Federal Life Insurance Division
When people search for "MetLife FEGLI claim," they're looking for the right place to send their federal life insurance paperwork. The answer is OFEGLI — the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance — which is a specialized administrative unit within Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife).
OFEGLI is not part of OPM. It's not a government agency. MetLife has administered FEGLI under a group contract with OPM since the program's inception. When a federal employee dies, the claim goes to MetLife's OFEGLI unit, not to OPM or to any general MetLife claims department.
Where to Send Your Claim
Mail the completed FE-6 package to:
OFEGLI P.O. Box 6080 Scranton, PA 18505-6080
For questions about an existing claim, call OFEGLI at 1-800-633-4542 (Monday–Friday, 8:30 AM–4:00 PM ET).
Do not send FEGLI claims to OPM's retirement office in Boyers, PA. OPM handles survivor annuities and the BEDB — not life insurance. Sending FE-6 to OPM instead of OFEGLI risks delaying the claim.
Do not send claims to MetLife's general life insurance claims department either. FEGLI is a federal program with its own processing unit. General MetLife agents won't be able to help with a federal group life claim.
What OFEGLI Needs
A complete FEGLI claim package consists of three documents:
- Form FE-6 (Claim for Death Benefits) — completed by the claimant
- Certified death certificate — must include cause of death (OFEGLI uses this to determine Accidental Death & Dismemberment eligibility)
- Form SF 2821 (Agency Certification of Insurance Status) — completed by the employing agency's HR office, certifying the employee's FEGLI coverage level and beneficiary of record
If the employing agency has already prepared SF 2821, you can submit all three documents together directly to OFEGLI. If the agency hasn't completed SF 2821 yet, submit your FE-6 and death certificate to the agency HR office — they'll attach SF 2821 and forward the complete package.
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Payment Timeline
OFEGLI adjudicates and pays claims within 10 to 14 business days once they receive a complete package. The reported 10-to-14-business-day window is shorter than OPM's average processing times for monthly survivor-annuity and lump-sum claims. Unpaid compensation and Social Security follow separate timelines.
Payment is made in a single tax-free lump sum. There's no income tax withholding, no estate tax for most estates, and no option to receive installments. The check (or electronic transfer) goes to the designated beneficiary or the first eligible person in the statutory order of precedence.
When Claims Get Complicated
Most FEGLI claims are straightforward. But a few situations add processing time:
No beneficiary designation on file. OFEGLI pays according to the statutory order of precedence under 5 U.S.C. § 8705. If there's a surviving spouse, they receive the proceeds. If not, OFEGLI must verify the next tier of eligible recipients, which takes additional documentation.
Contested designations. If a former spouse is named on an old SF 2823 that was never updated, or if a court order directs proceeds to a specific person, OFEGLI must review the legal documents before paying. This review can delay payment.
Accidental death investigation. If the death certificate indicates an accident, OFEGLI evaluates whether the AD&D benefit applies (doubling Basic and Option A payouts) and may request additional documentation.
Missing SF 2821. Without the agency's certification, OFEGLI can't verify what coverage the employee carried. If the agency is slow to complete SF 2821, the entire claim stalls regardless of how quickly you filed FE-6.
FEGLI Stands Alone
FEGLI is completely independent of your OPM survivor annuity, TSP account, unpaid compensation, and Social Security claims. Filing with OFEGLI doesn't affect those channels, and delays at OPM don't delay OFEGLI. File both tracks simultaneously.
The Survivor's Death Benefits & Claims Guide sequences all six claim channels in parallel, showing which forms go where and which agency pays first, so you capture the fastest money while the longer claims process.
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