The month of October is your window of opportunity to evaluate your optional life insurance needs and decide if you would like to enroll or increase coverage without proving insurability (no medical questions). Want help deciding how much coverage you need? If the answer is yes, use the Decision Support Tool as a guide to determine how much life insurance coverage you need. If you wish to maintain your current level of coverage, no action is required.

2024 Open Enrollment Opportunity

Once every four years, MOSERS, along with The Standard Insurance Company, offers optional life insurance open enrollment for actively employed MOSERS members. The open enrollment period allows you to enroll in new coverage or increase coverage amounts without proving insurability (no medical questions):

• If you currently have coverage, you can increase it in increments of $10,000 up to $100,000.
• If you don’t have optional life insurance through MOSERS, this is your chance to enroll. You may elect coverage amounts in increments of $10,000 up to $100,000.

To be eligible for the life insurance open enrollment, you must be actively employed in a MOSERS benefit-eligible position before September 1, 2023. This enrollment offer applies to member coverage only (not spouse or child coverage). If you have been previously denied coverage by The Standard or you are already carrying the maximum* coverage, you are not eligible to add coverage.

*The maximum amount of optional life insurance coverage is six times your annual salary or $800,000, whichever is less.

  Check Your Email

In late September, MOSERS sends instructions via email to eligible members explaining how to increase coverage or how to enroll if you are not already. You may view your email notification in your Document Express online mailbox by logging in to myMOSERS. Please read it carefully. If there is no valid email address on file, we will send a letter in the mail.

Please note: All MOSERS members have access to Document Express. You may use ESS and go to MOSERS or log in to myMOSERS and follow the prompts. To create a MOSERS Online ID and password, you must have a valid email address on file with MOSERS. If you cannot enroll online, please contact a MOSERS benefit counselor at (800) 827-1063 or (573) 632-6100 for assistance.

  Instructions to Enroll or Increase Coverage

If you wish to enroll in optional life insurance or increase coverage, log in to myMOSERS during the month of October. Once logged in, simply click on the Update Now button, and follow the steps.

Once you have elected your coverage options, we will post your confirmation letter in Document Express, which you can access by logging in to myMOSERS. We will send an email notification alerting you when it is posted and ready to be viewed; you may then save it to your computer or print it. If you opted out of electronic delivery, we will send a confirmation letter in the mail reflecting any changes to your coverage.

  Important Details

• To aid in your decision, we will provide your current 2023 coverage amount and monthly premiums, as well as your 2024 premiums if you enroll in or increase coverage.
• Any elections made in October will take effect on January 1, 2024, if you meet the “Actively-at-Work” requirement. More information is available in the Basic & Optional Life Insurance Handbook.
• Term life insurance proceeds are paid to your beneficiary(ies) when you die. It has no cash or loan value.
• You can use the Optional Life Insurance Calculator on the Life Insurance webpage to determine the premiums for yourself and your spouse.

MOSERS life insurance is not available to employees of the Department of Conservation or state regional universities (except State Technical College of Missouri & Lincoln University).

  Updating Your Life Insurance Beneficiaries

If you or your beneficiaries have had a life change that may affect this information, such as a divorce or death, we encourage you to update your beneficiary designations as soon as possible. For your convenience, you may quickly and easily update your 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.

  Optional Life Insurance FAQs

A: Yes. 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 life insurance review periods, you must maintain at least $10,000 of optional life insurance coverage.

A: Yes. If you retire directly from active state 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 you. You may retain up to $60,000 in optional life insurance, provided you had at least that amount while actively employed. You may retain all your coverage until age 62 if you 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. You may reduce your optional life coverage amount after you retire, but you may not increase it.

A: You may increase or add coverage on your spouse anytime but must prove insurability. To do so, you must complete and submit the following forms by logging in to myMOSERS:

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

You may request dependent child coverage at any time without proof of insurability by submitting an Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form. 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 your child from live birth to age 26. This includes biological children, dependent stepchildren and grandchildren, adopted children, and children for whom you are the court-appointed legal guardian, provided they live with you. 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 you for support are also eligible for dependent coverage. However, you must provide proof that your child is disabled and be approved by The Standard Insurance Company for continued coverage. (You may request a Continued Dependent Life Insurance for a Disabled Child form from a MOSERS benefit counselor.)

A: Yes. If you are an eligible employee, you may increase or add coverage on yourself at any time, but you must prove insurability outside the month of October. To do so, you must complete and submit the following forms by logging in to myMOSERS:

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

Additionally, if you have a family status change (includes marriage, divorce or legal separation; the birth of a child; adoption of a child; or death of a spouse or child) and already have optional life insurance coverage, you may be eligible to apply for additional optional life insurance coverage for yourself without proving insurability. Additional coverage must be in $10,000 increments, not to exceed $100,000. If you do not have optional life insurance coverage and have never been denied coverage by The Standard Insurance Company, you may add coverage in increments of $10,000 up to $30,000 for yourself without proving insurability. You must apply within 31 days of the event and submit proof of the event for the coverage to be effective.