Life insurance in retirement

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Q. I am thinking of retiring with in the six-month time frame. I am currently 70 years of age. My question is regarding life insurance. I am under CSRS.

A. Assuming that you are asking about Basic life insurance, when you retire you’d have the following options:

No reduction. The face value of your insurance on the day you retire wouldn’t be reduced. If you choose that option, you’d pay $2.13 per month for each $1,000 of coverage.

50 percent reduction. The face value of your insurance would be reduced by 1 percent a month until it reached 50 percent. If you elected that option, you’d pay $71 cents per month for each $1,000 of coverage.

75 percent reduction. The face value of your insurance would be reduced by 1 percent per month until it reached 25 percent of its face value. If you elected that option, you wouldn’t pay anything for that coverage.

Note: Anyone who retires before age 65 continues to have full coverage and pay the standard premiums for that coverage. The options and premiums cited above only apply at age 65 (if retired) or when retired (if after age 65).

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Reg Jones was head of retirement and insurance policy at the Office of Personnel Management. Email your retirement-related questions to fedexperts@federaltimes.com.

5 Comments

  1. Elaine Lumsden on

    According to the Office of Personnel Management, the 75% Reduction of your Basic coverage reduces 2% each month until it reaches 25% of its pre-reduction amount. Your Basic is free (no premium) once the reductions begin and remains free until your death.

    • To find out, you’ll have to write OPM. Here’s the address: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Retirement Operations Center, Post Office Box 45, Boyers, PA 16017.

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