- GPM Life
- Serving Your Needs
- Federal Employees
Your Federal Benefits
Understanding what you have, understanding what you need.
Understanding my FEGLI
Federal employees who are eligible for FEGLI are automatically enrolled in the FEGLI Basic insurance program, unless the employee waives this coverage. Basic insurance is your annual basic pay, rounded up to the nearest $1,000, plus $2,000 (called the Basic Insurance Amount). The Government pays 1/3 of the premium cost for Basic Insurance and the employee pays 2/3. The U.S. Postal Service pays the entire cost of Basic Insurance for its employees.
With the Basic Insurance, optional insurance may also be elected. The employee must take action to elect Optional Coverage and pays the full cost.
There are three types of Optional coverage: Option A-Standard, Option B-Additional, and Option C-Family.
- Option A insurance provides $10,000 of coverage.
- Option B insurance coverage is offered in 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 multiples of the employee's annual basic pay.
- Option C coverage insures the employee's spouse and eligible dependent children. It is also offered in up to 5 multiples of coverage. Each multiple is equal to $5,000 for a spouse and $2,500 for each eligible, dependent child.
Get a Personalized Benefit Analysis
Your Personalized Benefit Analysis will provide information on the costs of FEGLI and FERS, specific to you. The analysis will look at your anticipated retirement dates and calculate your anticipated benefit, the cost of the spouse annuity, and your out-of-pocket costs before and during retirement. Additional information is included on your TSP benefits.
Understanding my FERS
The Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) was developed by Congress in 1986, and became effective Jan 1, 1987. Eligible employees who began Federal service on or after Jan 1, 1984 are covered under FERS.
FERS is a retirement plan that provides benefits from three different sources: a Basic Benefit Plan, often referred to as a retirement annuity or pension; Social Security; and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Social Security and the TSP can go with the employee to the next job if they leave the Federal Government before retirement. The Basic Benefit and Social Security parts require a contribution from the employee's pay each pay period, along with a contribution from the government. Once eligible for retirement, the employee receives annuity payments each month for the rest of their life.
The TSP is an account automatically created for you by the agency. Each pay period, the agency automatically deposits an amount equal to 1% of the basic pay earned for the pay period. Employees can also make their own contributions to the TSP account, and the agency will also make a matching contribution. These contributions are tax-deferred.
