Can Kids Be Riders On Your Insurance Through Your Job?

Your kids can be riders on your Insurance through your job. Typically an Insurance Policy  through your job will cover your kids into the age of 25 in some cases 22 years old. You just need to be cognizant of the fact that this  policy will not last your children’s entire life but there are other  policies out there that can do that. These policies are however pretty decent when it comes to taking care of your young children in case of your untimely death. Main thing to know is it won’t last your entire life but your kids can be covered as well as your spouse. Also, for yourself when your Insurance Policy through your job expires, it will also expire on your children and spouse as well.

Purpose of Life Insurance Through Your Job

The purposes of Life Insurance through your job is for an employer to be able to offer its employee’s life insurance coverage. Some people get it mixed up thinking it will last for their entire life, but it does not. This policy will only last you as long as you work for the organization that you work for and the cost of it will go up over the time you are there. Most Life Insurance policies through your job stay the same from age 18-40, and once you reach the age 40, it goes up every five years. However, when you get to age 65-75, it gets astronomical to the point where you’re forced to drop it. In most cases like for the Federal Government for example after the age of 65 not all the coverage goes away just 75% goes away. This is not a problem if you are working the job or you die while you are working it ends up being a good thing, the issue arises when you think this is all the coverage you have, and it will last for the rest of your life. On average more than 95% of people die in retirement and not during their working years. So, while Life Insurance through your job is cool, it’s always good to get other insurance coverage outside of it.

Life Insurance Through Your Job Pre or Post Tax

Life Insurance Policies are not paid for with before-tax dollars. The reason for this is when your beneficiaries can get the check for your Life Insurance that money is already taxed and they don’t have to pay taxes on that money. So, if you have a $100,000 Life Death Benefit and you pass and your heirs are given that check there are no taxes due. However, if you were to pay for the premiums with pre-tax dollars, taxes would have to be paid, so Life Insurance companies don’t bother with that, they only do post-tax dollars. .

Life Insurance Through Your Job Can Be Expensive If You Are Healthy

 

The reason Life Insurance through your job can be expensive if you’re healthy is because Life Insurance through your job is a policy where anybody that works for the company or organization can get the coverage without any medical questions being asked. You can currently have cancer, diabetes, vastly overweight, multiple heart surgeries or even diagnosed with HIV. Anything that is looked at by most carriers as a red flag and will cause a decline but Life Insurance through your employer it’s okay. So, if you suffer from any of these ailments mentioned then your Life Insurance through your job is perfect for you because you wouldn’t be able to get coverage elsewhere. However, if you are a person that runs a marathon, works out everyday, eating well and have no health issues you will be paying the same premium as someone that does suffer from one of those ailments. You then have to ask yourself if that is the case how much are you paying for their risk? Because insurance company creates price based on the risk of the group and you end up paying the price for them. On the other hand, if you go out and get your own policy for example with the preferred rating you will be able to pay half the cost of what you are getting or pay the same amount and get double the coverage. This is one way in which your Insurance through your job can affect the healthy individual.

How Does FEGLI Work?

How Does FEGLI Work?

How Does FEGLI Work?

The Federal Employee Group Life Insurance (FEGLI)  policy falls in a category called “Group Term.” Group Term is a life insurance policy offered by employers to their employees.  You are covered for a set amount of coverage usually related to your salary, for as long as you work and continue to pay your premium in retirement.  To be eligible for the FEGLI program all you have to do is work for the Federal Government. Health is not an issue at all if you sign up when you first start employment. This makes it very attractive to those people with existing health problems.

If you want to take a deeper dive to learn more about what FEGLI is.

When you begin working for the Federal Government, you are automatically enrolled in the program. The plan that you get automatically is the “Basic” Plan which covers your salary plus 2 thousand dollars. The federal government partially pays for a portion of this. If you work for the Postal service, your Basic is completely free. The Basic plan also offers double the coverage for employees under the age of 35 with no additional cost. “Option A” is an option to add $10,000 of insurance. “Option B” allows you to add a multiple of your salary to the insurance amount, up to five times.

Option B has very different pricing than the other options. Pricing is based on your current age and adjusts every five years. This 5-year adjustment is for ages ending in 5 and 0. This can get very costly the older you become as the premiums jump significantly doing your 50’s. An example of this is

Mary Age 50 making $100,000 a year

At 50 pays $55 a pay

At 55 pays $100 a pay

At age 60 pays $220 a pay  

Option C is the part of the plan that provides protection for your spouse and children. The protection is in multiples of $5,000 and $2,500. The spouse multiples are for $5,000 and the children $2,500. You can get up to 5x for each multiple.

You can increase FEGLI options during certain life events (Marriage, Childbirth, Adoption, etc.) as well as open enrollments. Open enrollments, however, are very rare and this should not be something that an employee waits for. In fact, one just passed in 2016. So the next one is likely far off.

The way to be proactive in this regard is to consult with a professional to see what your options are outside the government employee coverage. You can enroll in a private plan at any time no matter the life circumstances.