It’s that time of year again!

For employees who already have optional life insurance, October is their window of opportunity to increase their coverage without proving insurability (no medical history statement required).

Benefit-eligible employees actively employed before September 1, 2024, can increase coverage amounts (in increments of $10,000) by up to $20,000 without proving insurability, provided the coverage amount does not exceed six times their annual salary, or $800,000. Keep in mind that this opportunity does not apply to spouse and child(ren) coverage (see FAQs). If an employee wishes to maintain their current level of coverage, no action is required.

Remind Employees to Check Their Email

In late September, MOSERS will email eligible employees instructions on how to increase coverage. If eligible, they will find a personalized letter in their Document Express online mailbox outlining their optional life insurance coverage options. Please encourage them to read it carefully. If no valid email address is on file, MOSERS will mail a letter.

All MOSERS members have access to Document Express. Employees may use ESS and go to MOSERS or log in to myMOSERS and follow the prompts. Remind your employees that they must have a valid email address on file with MOSERS to create an Online ID and password. If an employee cannot enroll online, they may contact a MOSERS benefit counselor for assistance.

Instructions for Increasing Coverage

If your employee wishes to increase their optional life insurance coverage amount, have them access their MOSERS Member Homepage through ESS or log in to myMOSERS between October 1 and October 31, 2024 (midnight). On the MOSERS Member Homepage, the employee must click the Update Now button and follow the steps to increase coverage.

Confirmation of Election

If an employee increases their coverage, we will post a confirmation letter to Document Express, which they can access by logging in to myMOSERS. We will send an email notification once it is posted and ready to be viewed. If the employee opted out of electronic delivery, we will send a confirmation letter in the mail reflecting any changes to their coverage.

Important Details

• We will provide eligible employees with their current 2024 coverage amount and monthly premiums, as well as their new 2025 premiums.
• Any new elections in October will go into effect on January 1, 2025, if they meet the “actively at work” requirement. More information is available in the Life Insurance Handbook.
• Term life insurance proceeds are paid to the designated beneficiary(ies) when the employee dies. There is no cash or loan value.
• Employees can use the Optional Life Insurance Calculator to research premiums on their own.

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

Updating Beneficiaries

The Annual Benefit Statement employees receive from MOSERS includes their primary life insurance beneficiary designation. If an employee has had a life event that may affect this information, such as a marriage, divorce, or death, please encourage them to update their beneficiary designations as soon as possible. Beneficiary designations can be updated online by following these steps:

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

The new beneficiary designations will become effective upon receipt by MOSERS.

Optional Life Insurance FAQs

Q: Can employees 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. Employees can complete and submit the form electronically by logging in to myMOSERS at any time during 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 employees continue their optional life insurance into retirement?

A: Yes. If they retire directly from active employment or within 65 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 employees purchase (or increase) coverage for their spouse or dependent child in October?

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

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

Eligible dependent child(ren) can be enrolled at any time without proof of insurability by submitting an Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form. Dependent changes can be requested at any time, 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 biological children, dependent stepchildren and grandchildren, adopted children, and children for whom the member is the court-appointed legal guardian, provided they live 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 handicaps 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 The Standard Insurance Company for continued coverage. (The Continued Dependent Life Insurance for a Disabled Child form is available in our Online Library or can be requested from a MOSERS benefit counselor.)

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

A: If they have a family status change (including 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. They must complete an Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form within 31 days of the event and submit proof of family status change. Otherwise, the employee must submit the Medical History Statement along with the Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form and be approved by The Standard Insurance Company for the coverage to be effective.