The cost of life insurance coverage through MOSERS depends on your age. Please use the Optional Life Insurance Calculator to determine what your monthly premium will be in retirement. Please keep in mind the following regarding life insurance in retirement:

• You may retain up to $60,000 in coverage if you are a member of MSEP.
• You may retain all of your optional coverage until age 62 if you are a general state employee who retired under the “Rule of 80” (MSEP 2000) or the “Rule of 90” (MSEP 2011). At age 62, your coverage will automatically reduce to a maximum of $60,000.
• To keep your optional coverage, you must submit the Retain/Change Optional Life Insurance form (available in  myMOSERS). Use the same form to reduce or terminate your coverage at any time.
• Please note that you have 60 days from your retirement date to port or convert (continue) any remaining optional life insurance through The Standard.
• You cannot increase your coverage after retirement.

No, you cannot add or increase life insurance through MOSERS once you have retired. Below are the guidelines.

Basic Retiree Coverage After Retirement

• If you retire within 60 days of leaving state employment, the state will continue to provide you with $5,000 of coverage at no cost to you.
• If you wish to do so, you have 60 days from your retirement date to port or convert any remaining basic life insurance through The Standard Insurance Company.

Optional Life Insurance and Retaining Coverage After Retirement

If you retire within 60 days of leaving state employment, or retire directly from active employment, you may be eligible to retain some of your optional life insurance coverage.

• You may retain up to $60,000 in coverage if you are a member of MSEP. Your coverage cannot exceed the amount your carried while actively employed.
• You may retain all of your optional coverage until age 62 if you are a general state employee who retired under the “Rule of 80” (MSEP 2000) or the “Rule of 90” (MSEP 2011). At age 62, your coverage will automatically reduce to a maximum of $60,000.

Please feel free to contact a MOSERS benefit counselor if you have more questions or you can view our Life Insurance page.

As an actively employed MOSERS member, you receive basic life insurance equal to one times your annual salary at no cost to you. Your employer pays the premium. The only time your basic life insurance coverage increases is if your salary increases. However, as an active member, you may be able to purchase additional optional life insurance coverage for yourself and your dependents.

To do so, complete and submit the Enrollment/Change-Optional Life Insurance form at myMOSERS and also the Standard Medical History Statement.

MOSERS offers an Annual Life Insurance Review Period every October for member coverage. The review period gives eligible members the chance to increase their own optional coverage in increments of $10,000 without completing additional medical history forms. We will notify you each September if you are eligible. A family status change, such as marriage, also allows you to apply to increase your coverage within 31 days of an eligible life event without proving insurability. You may be eligible to purchase optional life insurance any other time during the year, but you will need to submit evidence of insurability.

Unfortunately, the answer is no. If you retired under MOSERS without any MOSERS life insurance, you cannot add it later. Below are the guidelines.

MOSERS offers basic life insurance of one times their annual salary at no cost to active employees. MOSERS members can purchase additional optional life insurance while actively working.

Basic Retiree Coverage After Retirement

• If you retire within 60 days of leaving state employment, the state will continue to provide you with $5,000 of coverage at no cost to you.
• If you wish to do so, you have 60 days from your retirement date to port or convert any remaining basic life insurance through The Standard Insurance Company.

Optional Life Insurance and Retaining Coverage After Retirement

If you retire within 60 days of leaving state employment, or retire directly from active employment, you may be eligible to retain some of your optional life insurance coverage.

• You may retain up to $60,000 in coverage if you are a member of the MSEP. Your coverage cannot exceed the amount your carried while actively employed.
• You may retain all of your optional coverage until age 62 if you are a general state employee who retired under the “Rule of 80” (MSEP 2000) or the “Rule of 90” (MSEP 2011). At age 62, your coverage will automatically reduce to a maximum of $60,000.

Once you terminate coverage in retirement, it cannot be reinstated. You cannot increase your coverage after retirement.

You may reduce your optional life coverage amount after retirement; however, you can NOT increase your coverage amount after retirement. Please visit our Life Insurance page in the Retiree section of our website for more details. 

When you move into a new age bracket, the premiums go up. To decrease your optional life insurance, please complete an Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form and submit it to MOSERS. You can complete the form and submit it electronically by logging in to myMOSERS This can be done any time throughout the year. Remember, to be eligible for future annual review periods, you must maintain at least $10,000 of optional life insurance coverage.

No, you cannot increase your coverage after retirement. If you retire within 60 days of leaving employment, you can retain your coverage in retirement up to $60,000. However, you may retain all of your optional coverage until age 62 if you are a general state employee who retired under the “Rule of 80” (MSEP 2000) or the “Rule of 90” (MSEP 2011). At age 62, your coverage will automatically reduce to a maximum of $60,000.

To keep your optional coverage, you must submit the Retain/Change Optional Life Insurance form (available at myMOSERS. Use the same form to reduce or terminate your coverage at any time.

Please note that once you terminate coverage, it cannot be reinstated. You have 60 days from your retirement date to port or convert your remaining optional life insurance through The Standard.

Use the Optional Life Insurance Calculator to determine your monthly premium.

For more information please see our Life Insurance page.

You can find it online by logging into myMOSERS. After logging in, click Forms, select Enroll/Chg Opt Life Ins and then submit your information from there. Or, you can contact a benefit counselor and ask them to mail you an application. If you would like more information on optional life coverage, please see our Life Insurance page. 

Your life insurance through MOSERS is term-life insurance, which means it has no cash value and you cannot borrow against it. However, if you are terminally ill with a life expectancy of less than 12 months, you may be eligible to receive a portion of your life insurance benefit (Accelerated Benefits) prior to your death, provided you meet certain conditions. For more information, please see the Life Insurance page on our website and the Accelerated Benefit Instructions.