The Ultimate Guide to Designating Your FEGLI Beneficiaries
The Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) enables federal employees to benefit from a basic or comprehensive life insurance plan. As the largest group insurance plan, the FEGLI program has helped thousands of families after the passing of the primary federal employee in a household. Many new federal employees struggle to understand the FEGLI policies for designating beneficiaries. The Federal Educators can guide you on how FEGLI beneficiary designation works.
Standard FEGLI Beneficiary Designation
If a federal employee does not nominate group members eligible for FEGLI, the group life insurance benefits the following group members per the standard order of precedence.
Federal Employee’s Widow or Widower
If a federal employee passes away without nominating a valid beneficiary, their FEGLI benefits automatically pass on to their widow or widower.
Federal Employee’s Children
If a federal employee passes away without nominating a valid beneficiary, and their partner/spouse is also not alive, the FEGLI benefits automatically pass on to their children equally.
Federal Employee’s Parents
On the passing of a federal employee with no spouse and children, the FEGLI benefits automatically pass on to their parents equally. If one of the parents is deceased, the entire share goes to the surviving parent.
Federal Employee’s Estate Administrator
In rare cases, when a federal employee with no surviving family members passes away, the FEGLI benefits pass on to the employee’s designated administrator or executor.
Federal Employee’s Next-of-Kin
If none of the above priorities are met on the passing of a federal employee, the FEGLI benefits pass on to the employee’s next of kin. However, the state where the employee lived at the time of death determines the distribution of the FEGLI shares to fulfill this condition.
How to Avoid the Order of Precedence to Take Effect?
If you wish to surpass the standard order of precedence (as described above) and want the FEGLI benefits to cover your designated members, you must nominate the beneficiaries. Designating FEGLI beneficiaries invalidates the standard order of precedence. All the FEGLI benefits must pass on to the designated member or members after your passing.
What Happens When a Designated Beneficiary Dies?
If a designated beneficiary passes away before the federal employee, the FEGLI benefits pass on to the rest of the designated beneficiaries equally. Federal employees often nominate sole beneficiary members to benefit from the FEGLI plan. In such cases, the entire FEGLI share goes to the sole beneficiary.
How to Ensure FEGLI Benefits Pass on to Your Family?
As a federal employee, you should designate your family members as FEGLI beneficiaries. To ensure the benefits pass on to your designated family members, you must nominate your family members at the time of choosing the FEGLI plan. Some employees need to pay more attention to the importance of immediate nomination. When they pass away, their family or loved ones suffer due to the standard order of precedence.
The Federal Educators have helped many federal employees choose their FEGLI plans wisely. If you need assistance nominating your desired beneficiaries, call us today at (813) 755-7037 or visit our official website for more information.
