It’s that time of year again! The month of October is your employees’ window of opportunity to increase their optional life insurance coverage without proving insurability. Eligible employees can increase their coverage (in increments of $10,000) by up to $20,000 without proving insurability provided the coverage amount does not exceed 6 times their annual salary or $800,000.  Please note this review period does not apply to spouse and child(ren) coverage (see FAQs). If your employees wish to maintain their current level of coverage, no action is required.

Updating Their Beneficiaries

Included on your employees’ Annual Benefit Statement is their primary life insurance beneficiary designation. If your employees have had a life change that may affect this information, such as a marriage, divorce, or death, please encourage them to update their beneficiary designations as soon as possible. For your employees’ convenience, they may quickly and easily update their beneficiary designations online by following these steps:

• Log in to myMOSERS.
• Click on Forms then Life Insurance Beneficiaries in the top menu.
• Follow the instructions for completing and submitting the online form.

The new designation form will become effective upon receipt at MOSERS.

Remind Employees to Check Their Email

In late September, MOSERS sends instructions via email to eligible members explaining how to increase coverage. They may view their notification in their Document Express online mailbox. Please encourage them to read it carefully. If there is no valid email address on file for them, MOSERS will send a letter to them in the mail.

Note: All MOSERS members have access to Document Express. They may use ESS and go to MOSERS. Or log in to myMOSERS and follow the prompts. To create their MOSERS Online ID & password they must have a valid email address on file with MOSERS. If they cannot enroll online, please have them contact a MOSERS benefit counselor at (800) 827-1063 for assistance.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Annual Term Life Insurance Review, your employees must:

• Be actively employed in a MOSERS benefit-eligible position before Septemeber 1, 2022
• Be currently insured with less than the maximum amount of optional life insurance coverage (the lesser of six times their annual salary or $800,000).

Online Election Method

If your employee wishes to increase their optional life insurance coverage amount, have them go to their MOSERS Member Homepage through ESS or log in to myMOSERS between October 1 and October 31, 2022 (midnight). On their MOSERS Member Homepage, they will need to simply click on the Learn More button and follow the steps to increase their coverage.

Confirmation of Their Election

If they increase their coverage, their confirmation letter will be posted to their Document Express, which they can access by logging in to myMOSERS.They will receive an email notification alerting them when it is posted and ready to be viewed; they may then save it to their computer, or print it. If they opted out of electronic delivery, they will receive a confirmation letter in the mail reflecting any changes to their coverage.

Important Details

• To aid in their decision, they will be provided with their current 2022 coverage amount and monthly premiums, as well as what their new 2023 premiums will be if they opt for the increase.
• Any new elections in October will go into effect on January 1, 2023, as long as they meet the “Actively-at-Work” requirement. More information is available in the Life Insurance Handbook.
• Term life insurance proceeds are paid to their beneficiary(ies) when they die. It has no cash or loan value.
• They can use the Optional Life Insurance Calculator to determine the premiums for themselves.

MOSERS’ life insurance is not available to employees of the Department of Conservation or universities (except State Technical College of Missouri & Lincoln University), because those employers provide their own life insurance benefits.

Optional Term Life Insurance FAQs

Q: Can they decrease or terminate their optional life insurance coverage?

A: Yes. They must complete an Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form and submit it to MOSERS. The form can be completed and submitted electronically by logging in to myMOSERS. This can be done at any time throughout the year. Remember, to be eligible for future annual review periods, they must maintain at least $10,000 of optional life insurance coverage.

Q: Can they continue their optional life insurance into retirement?

A: Yes. If they retire within 60 days of leaving state employment, the state will continue to provide $5,000 in basic life insurance coverage at no cost to them. They may retain up to $60,000 in optional life insurance, provided they had at least that amount while actively employed. They may retain all their coverage until age 62 if they retire under the “Rule of 80" in MSEP 2000 or under the “Rule of 90” in MSEP 2011. At age 62, the coverage amount will automatically reduce to $60,000. They may reduce or terminate their optional life coverage amount after they retire, but they may not increase it.

Q: Can they purchase (or increase) coverage for their spouse or dependent child during the annual review?

A: They may increase coverage on a spouse at any time, but will need to prove insurability. To do so, they must complete and submit the following forms by logging in to myMOSERS:

• The Standard Medical History Statement
• Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance

Dependent changes for eligible children can be requested at any time without proof of insurability, not just during October. The coverage amount will remain $10,000 per child with a premium of $2 per month, regardless of the number of insured children. For coverage purposes only, a child is defined as the member's child from live birth to age 26. This includes dependent stepchildren and grandchildren, adopted children, and children for whom the member is the court-appointed legal guardian provided they are living with the member. Full-time members of the armed forces of any country, regardless of age, are not included in the definition of an eligible child.

Disabled children older than age 26, who are continuously incapable of self-sustaining employment because of developmental, intellectual, or physical disability and are dependent on the member for support, are also eligible for dependent coverage. However, the member must provide proof that their child is disabled and be approved by Standard Insurance Company for continued coverage. (They may request a Continued Dependent Life Insurance for a Disabled Child form from a MOSERS benefit counselor.)

Q: Can they enroll in the Optional Life Insurance Plan if they are currently not enrolled?

A: If they have a family status change (includes marriage, divorce or legal separation; birth of a child; adoption of a child; or death of a spouse or child), they may be eligible to apply for up to $30,000 of optional life insurance coverage, in $10,000 increments, for themselves without proving insurability. Those previously denied coverage or already carrying the maximum coverage are not eligible. They must complete an Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form within 31 days of the event and submit proof of family status change. Otherwise, to enroll in the Optional Life Insurance Plan, they will need to submit the online Medical History Statement along with the Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form and be approved by The Standard Insurance Company.

Q: Can they increase their optional life insurance coverage by MORE than $20,000 if they don’t have a family status change as described above

A: As a MOSERS member, they may increase coverage on themselves at any time, but they must prove insurability. To do so, they must complete and submit the following forms by logging in to myMOSERS:

• The Standard Medical History Statement
• Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance