So, you changed your Federal Employees Group Life Insurance a year ago in the open season and the changes have not yet been made. When will those changes to FEGLI become effective?
The answer is “soon”.
FEGLI changes made in last September’s open season were not immediately effective. The effective date for changes that are made in the rare FEGLI open seasons is a little over one year from the end of the open season. Changes made in the 2016 open season will be effective the first day of the first pay period that begins on or after October 1, 2017. If your pay period begins on Sunday, October 1, 2017, that is when your changes will become effective. If your pay period begins on Sunday, October 8, 2017, that is when your changes will become effective.
Your agency is required to provide you with a copy of Standard Form 2817, Life Insurance Election, which shows the effective date of your new coverage in Section 6. A copy of this form should also be filed in your Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF).
However, you should also take steps to verify that the new coverage is in place. Check your leave and earnings statement for the pay period when the change is supposed to be effective. You might also want to check to be sure the correct premium amount is being withheld. You can confirm premiums by using the FEGLI Calculator or the FEGLI premium tables; both of these can be found on the FEGLI web page at www.opm.gov/life.
