SF 2818 How to Fill Out: FEGLI Continuation of Coverage Form for Retirees

The Form That Locks Your Life Insurance for the Rest of Your Life

Standard Form 2818 — Continuation of Life Insurance Coverage as an Annuitant or Compensationer — is a one-page form that determines exactly how much FEGLI coverage you carry into retirement and what you pay for it. Every election you make on this form is effectively permanent: you can decrease coverage later, but you can never increase it.

The current edition is dated February 2012. If your HR office hands you a copy with "May 2001" in the revision block, request the current version — the May 2001 edition is obsolete.

Before You Pick Up the Pen

You should have three things in hand before completing SF 2818:

1. Your latest SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your current annual basic pay and FEGLI coverage codes
2. A copy of your current SF 2823 (Designation of Beneficiary) so you can verify your beneficiary records before the election locks
3. Your five-year enrollment dates for Basic, Option A, Option B, and Option C, confirmed by your HR office — if any coverage falls short of five years and was not held since your first opportunity to enroll, it will be cancelled at separation regardless of what you write on SF 2818

The Sections That Matter

Items 1–6: Identifying Information

Standard biographical data: name, date of birth, Social Security number, retirement date, employing agency, and agency code. No decisions here, but get the retirement date right — it's the anchor for when reductions begin if you retire after 65.

Item 7: Basic Insurance Amount

This is where your BIA is calculated: annual basic pay rounded up to the nearest $1,000, plus $2,000. Your HR office typically pre-fills this, but verify it against your final SF-50. If your salary changed in the last pay period before retirement (a within-grade increase, a locality adjustment), the BIA should reflect the final salary, not the prior one.

Item 8: Basic Insurance Reduction Election

This is the most consequential section on the form. You check one box:

• 75% Reduction: Coverage drops to 25% of BIA, becomes free after 65. This is the default.
• 50% Reduction: Coverage drops to 50% of BIA, premiums continue at $0.75 per $1,000/month after 65.
• No Reduction: Coverage stays at 100% of BIA, premiums continue at $2.25 per $1,000/month after 65.

If you carry a partial Living Benefit (Form FE-8, accelerated benefit for terminal illness), OPM requires No Reduction. You cannot elect 75% or 50% while a Living Benefit is active.

Items 9–11: Optional Coverage Elections

Option A (Item 9): Keep or cancel. There's no reduction election — Option A automatically reduces to $2,500 after 65 and becomes free. Your only choice is whether to carry it at all.

Option B (Item 10): For each multiple (1 through 5), you designate Full Reduction or No Reduction. You can split: two multiples on No Reduction, three on Full Reduction. If you leave this blank, OPM applies Full Reduction to all multiples.

Option C (Item 11): Same structure as Option B — each multiple can be Full Reduction or No Reduction. Coverage ends automatically upon divorce for the spouse component.

Item 12: Signature

Sign it yourself. OPM will reject SF 2818 if signed by a power of attorney. No witnesses are required.

Common Filing Errors

Using the wrong form. SF 2818 is for continuing group coverage into retirement. SF 2819 (Notice of Conversion Privilege) is for converting to a private individual policy — a completely different action. Some employees confuse the two and end up converting their coverage when they intended to continue it. Conversion terminates your group coverage permanently.

Missing the five-year rule. Writing "No Reduction" for Option B on SF 2818 doesn't override the five-year requirement. If you haven't held Option B continuously for five years and did not enroll at your first opportunity, the HR office should catch it during processing — but errors happen. Verify your enrollment dates independently before submitting.

Not updating SF 2823 first. SF 2818 locks your coverage elections, but it doesn't change your beneficiary designation. If your SF 2823 still names an ex-spouse from 15 years ago, that's generally who OPM pays unless a qualifying court order applies. File a new SF 2823 before or at the same time as SF 2818.

Assuming you have time to change your mind. Retirees get one narrow window: 30 days after receiving their first regular annuity payment, they can change a reduction election to a greater reduction (e.g., from No Reduction to 75%). After that window closes, the election is permanent. You cannot change from a greater reduction to a lesser one at any point.

When and Where to Submit

Submit SF 2818 to your agency HR office as part of your retirement application package. As of July 1, 2026, OPM requires all retirement applications to go through the Online Retirement Application (ORA) platform — paper applications are no longer accepted. Your HR office handles the SF 2818 submission through ORA.

File during the 1-to-3-month period before your planned separation date to give your HR office time to process and catch any errors before your last day.

The FEGLI Decision Guide provides a field-by-field walkthrough of SF 2818 with examples, error flags, and a pre-submission checklist to make sure nothing gets missed.

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