If your loved one was a federal employee, a federal retiree, or a member of the military, their life insurance probably wasn't a policy from a company you'd recognize from TV ads. Federal civilian workers are covered by FEGLI (Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance), and service members are covered by SGLI (Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance). To claim FEGLI, you file Form FE-6 with MetLife's Office of FEGLI. To claim SGLI, you file Form SGLV 8283 with Prudential's Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance. Both programs pay quickly once the paperwork is complete, usually within a few weeks.

This guide walks through both claims from start to finish: what the coverage is worth, which forms to use, who to call, and what happens when no beneficiary was named.

What FEGLI covers

FEGLI is the largest group life insurance program in the world, covering most federal civilian employees and retirees. The government contracts with MetLife to pay claims, so even though the coverage came through a federal job, the check comes from an insurance company.

Coverage comes in layers:

• Basic insurance. The employee's annual salary rounded up to the next $1,000, plus $2,000. Most federal employees have this automatically unless they waived it.
• Option A. A flat $10,000 of additional coverage.
• Option B. Additional coverage equal to 1 to 5 times annual salary.
• Option C. Coverage on the employee's spouse and children, paid to the employee. When a family member of a living employee dies, the claim uses a different form (FE-6 DEP).

Retirees can keep FEGLI into retirement, though many elect reductions that shrink the coverage over time. Don't assume the payout equals the working-years amount; the claim process will confirm the real figure.

How to file a FEGLI claim

1. Order certified death certificates. You'll need at least one for the FEGLI claim itself, and more for banks and other accounts. Our guide on how to order death certificates covers how many to get.
2. Report the death to the right office. If the person was still working, contact the human resources office at their agency; HR certifies the coverage and starts the claim package. If the person was retired, call the Office of Personnel Management's Retirement Office at 1-888-767-6738. OPM verifies the coverage and forwards everything to MetLife.
3. Complete Form FE-6, Claim for Death Benefits. Each beneficiary files their own FE-6. The form asks for the deceased's information, your relationship, and how you want to be paid. You can download it from OPM's website or file through MetLife's FEGLI claim portal.
4. Submit and follow up. Send the FE-6 and a certified death certificate to the Office of FEGLI (OFEGLI) at MetLife. Questions go to OFEGLI at 1-800-633-4542.

Once OFEGLI has a complete claim, payment typically arrives within a few weeks. Delays almost always trace back to a missing death certificate, an incomplete form, or a beneficiary dispute.

Who receives FEGLI money: the order of precedence

FEGLI follows a strict order of precedence set by federal law:

1. The beneficiary named on the most recent designation form (SF 2823)
2. If none, the widow or widower
3. If none, children in equal shares (with a deceased child's share going to that child's descendants)
4. If none, the parents
5. If none, the executor or administrator of the estate
6. If none, the next of kin under the laws of the state where the person lived

A common surprise: an old designation form on file beats a newer will. If your parent named someone on SF 2823 decades ago and never updated it, that designation controls. If you believe a designation is outdated or contested, contact OFEGLI before the claim pays out.

What SGLI covers

SGLI covers active-duty service members, reservists, and members of the National Guard. Coverage is available in $50,000 increments up to $500,000, and most service members carry the maximum.

Two related programs matter for families:

• VGLI (Veterans' Group Life Insurance). Veterans can convert SGLI to VGLI after leaving the service. If your loved one separated from the military years ago and kept coverage, the claim is a VGLI claim, filed with the same office and largely the same process.
• FSGLI (Family SGLI). Covers the spouse and children of a service member, with spousal coverage up to $100,000. A service member claiming for a covered family member uses Form SGLV 8283A.

Families of those who die on active duty may also receive a separate $100,000 death gratuity paid directly by the military. That payment is not SGLI and does not reduce the SGLI payout.

How to file an SGLI claim

1. For active-duty deaths, work with the casualty assistance officer. The military assigns one to the family, and the branch files its own report of the death (DD Form 1300) with the insurer. The casualty assistance officer will help you complete the claim.
2. Complete Form SGLV 8283, Claim for Death Benefits. Each beneficiary files one. For VGLI deaths after separation, the family files the same form directly.
3. Send it to OSGLI. The Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance is run by Prudential on the VA's behalf. Reach them at 1-800-419-1473 with questions or to confirm coverage.
4. Choose how you want to be paid. Beneficiaries can take a lump sum or 36 equal monthly installments. Lump sums are often placed in an interest-bearing account with checkbook access instead of a single paper check, so read the payout paperwork closely and move the money where you want it.

SGLI beneficiaries were named through the service member's enrollment system, and the same order of precedence used by FEGLI applies when no one was named: spouse, then children, then parents, then the estate, then next of kin.

How fast the money arrives

Both programs are faster than most private insurers. SGLI claims are often paid within one to two weeks after OSGLI receives the completed claim and the service branch's report. FEGLI claims usually pay within a few weeks of OFEGLI receiving a complete package. Neither payout is subject to probate when a living beneficiary is named, and the money goes directly to the beneficiary, not to the estate.

If the estate itself is the payee (because no beneficiary survived), the money must flow through the estate. That usually means opening an estate bank account to receive it, and possibly probate.

Federal insurance is rarely the only asset

A federal or military career leaves a trail of benefits beyond life insurance: the Thrift Savings Plan, unpaid salary or annuity payments, survivor annuities, VA benefits, and often private policies or old bank accounts on top. Families routinely miss some of them because there's no single list.

That's the problem Sunset works on. Sunset searches thousands of financial institutions to find the deceased's accounts and policies, prepares the probate paperwork if any assets require it, provides an FDIC-insured estate account to receive funds, and handles transfers to heirs. More than 10,000 families have used Sunset to settle estates, and it's free for families. If you're claiming FEGLI or SGLI right now, our guide to how life insurance claims work covers the private-policy side, and Sunset can take the rest of the estate off your plate.

FAQ

How long does a FEGLI payout take?

Most FEGLI claims pay within a few weeks once OFEGLI receives a complete claim: the FE-6 form, a certified death certificate, and the agency or OPM certification of coverage. Incomplete paperwork is the most common cause of delay.

How much does SGLI pay out?

SGLI coverage is sold in $50,000 increments up to a maximum of $500,000, and most service members carry the maximum. The exact amount depends on the coverage the service member elected, which OSGLI confirms during the claim.

What happens if no beneficiary was named?

Both programs use an order of precedence: surviving spouse first, then children, then parents, then the estate's executor or administrator, then next of kin. If the money goes to the estate, it may need to pass through probate before reaching heirs.

Are FEGLI and SGLI payouts taxable?

The death benefit itself is not taxable income to the beneficiary. Interest earned on the payout after the date of death (for example, in an installment option or an interest-bearing payout account) is taxable.

What is the difference between SGLI and VGLI?

SGLI covers people currently serving. VGLI is the coverage veterans can convert to after separation so they stay insured as civilians. Death claims for both are filed with OSGLI using Form SGLV 8283.

Settling an estate involves more than one insurance claim. Sunset finds the assets, prepares the probate documents, opens the estate account, and moves the money where it belongs, free for families.