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PLAN

DESCRIPTION

SERVICEMEMBERS’ GROUP LIFE INSURANCE (SGLI)

For members of the uniformed services.
Can be converted to VGLI (Veterans’ Group Life Insurance)

• Group life insurance. Provides $400,000 of automatic coverage unless the servicemember elects to reduce coverage by $50,000 increments or cancel it entirely. Premiums are based on coverage amount, not age. When converted to VGLI, premiums are based on the amount of coverage and age, with rates rising every five years.
• Includes Traumatic Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (TSGLI), which provides financial assistance to servicemembers during recovery from a serious traumatic injury. Servicemembers eligible for SGLI are insured for traumatic injury protection up to $100,000 unless they decline SGLI coverage.
• Can insure your spouse and children for Family Group Life Insurance (FGLI). You can buy up to $100,000 of coverage on your spouse with premiums based on age and amount of coverage. Each dependent child automatically is covered for $10,000 at no cost.
• Servicemembers should first maximize SGLI protection, and then buy additional coverage from a commercial life insurance company if SGLI provides less insurance coverage than you require. If you are buying additional coverage, make sure the additional coverage does not have a war clause.
• REMAINS IN EFFECT AT NO COST FOR 120 DAYS WHEN THE SERVICEMEMBER LEAVES ACTIVE DUTY. Can be converted to VGLI without proof of good health within 240 days of separation from active duty, usually with an increased premium. VGLI is renewable term insurance and may be converted to a commercial life insurance policy from a participating company at any time. If the servicemember for whom you care is declared 100-percent permanently and totally disabled by the VA at the time of discharge (not 100-percent due to unemployability), SGLI can be extended at no cost for up to 24 months, but the servicemember must contact the Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (OSGLI) to elect the extension.

SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS INSURANCE (S-DVI)
Available for veterans who have service-connected disabilities who are otherwise in good health.

• Provides up to $10,000 of coverage as either temporary or permanent insurance.

Veterans must apply within two years from the date the VA notifies them they have been granted a new service-connected disability. Premiums are based on the veteran’s age, type of insurance (temporary or permanent), and amount of coverage.

TRAUMATIC SERVICEMEMBERS' GROUP LIFE INSURANCE (TSGLI)

• Provides payment to any member of the uniformed services covered by SGLI who sustains a traumatic injury that results in certain severe losses. Pays a benefit between $25,000 and $100,000, depending on the loss directly resulting from the traumatic injury (must be applied for through the branch of service to which the servicemember belongs).
• You may receive free financial planning services with the VA in receipt of a TSGLI payment.
• To request a TSGLI application benefit form from your branch of service, visit www.benefits.va.gov/insurance/forms/TSGLIForm.htm

TERM INSURANCE

• Provides only a death benefit in most cases.
• Covers you for a period or term equal to a specified number of years or until you reach a specified age. Beneficiaries receive payment only if you die during the policy term.
• Provides the largest immediate death benefit for the lowest initial outlay for adults under age 45. After age 45, premiums generally rise sharply.
• Many term policies offer the ability to convert to permanent life insurance. Some life insurance companies charge a fee for this flexibility. Conversion can be a good benefit for those who desire long-term insurance coverage.

PERMANENT INSURANCE (WHOLE LIFE OR UNIVERSAL LIFE POLICIES)

• Combines a death benefit with a cash value.
• The specified period of coverage is usually up to age 121. You may cancel your coverage and redeem at least part of your accumulated cash value at any time.
• Might allow you to borrow or withdraw some of your cash value as long as premiums continue to be paid. However, this reduces the death benefit and can result in the policy terminating earlier than planned.

ABOUT PREMIUMS

The amount you pay for a life insurance contract can vary widely among life insurance companies. Compare similar policies based on your age, the coverage amount, and the type of policy and its features. Premiums are based on your insurability and risk class — generally determined by the following factors.

AGE

• Younger individuals generally pay lower premiums as they tend to be healthier and have longer to pay premiums before they are likely to die.

GENDER

• Women have a longer life expectancy than men and sometimes pay lower premiums.

LIFESTYLE

• Your use of nicotine and alcohol, as well as your avocations, might affect your premiums.

MEDICAL HISTORY and PHYSICAL CONDITION

• Your blood pressure and cholesterol levels can affect your premiums. If you have a chronic illness or family history of diabetes, heart disease, or cancer, you likely will pay higher premiums.

OCCUPATION

• If your job involves risk or travel to dangerous locations, you generally pay more for life insurance.

TO LOWER PREMIUM COSTS

• Exercise, eat well, and do not smoke.
• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Purchase life insurance at a young age to get a lower rate.
• Purchase the appropriate amount of life insurance and consider using a combination of term insurance and permanent insurance to meet short-term and long-term financial needs.

BENEFIT

DESCRIPTION

DEPENDENCY
AND INDEMNITY
COMPENSATION (DIC)

• Spouse receives the benefit for life (unless remarried prior to age 57).
• Child receives the benefit until age 18 (or 23, if a full time student).
• Benefit is exempt from federal income tax.
• Additional considerations might apply for children with special needs, to include permanently dependent children with Medicaid eligibility. For more information, check with your state Medicaid office.
• For more information, visit the VA website.

SURVIVOR BENEFIT
PLAN (SBP)

• No cost while on active duty.
• Once you retire, you can choose to buy SBP coverage up to certain limits. You can limit this to only your children, which reduces the cost significantly. However, if you’re married, you must have spousal consent.
• Additional considerations might apply for children with special needs, to include permanently dependent children with Medicaid eligibility. For more information, check with your state Medicaid office.
• Spouse receives the benefit for life (unless remarried prior to age 55).
• Reduced by amount of DIC benefit for spouse.
• Child may receive benefit until age 18 unless he or she is married or on active duty or until age 22 (if a full-time student).
• Benefit is taxable for federal income tax purposes.
• Additional considerations might apply for children with special needs to include permanently disabled children with Medicaid eligibility. For more information, check with your state Medicaid office.
• For more information, visit the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) website.

SOCIAL SECURITY
SURVIVOR BENEFITS
(IF QUALIFIED)

• Spouse receives a survivor’s benefit at age 60 (unless remarried). Benefits may begin as early as 50 years of age if the spouse is disabled. Spouse receives a parent’s benefit until youngest child is age 16 (unless the spouse is remarried prior to age 60).
• Child receives the benefit until age 18 (19 if a full-time student). Child can receive benefits at any age if disabled prior to age 22 and remains disabled.
• Benefit may be taxed for federal income tax purposes or reduced depending on other sources of income.
• For more information, visit the Social Security Administration (SSA) website .

DEATH GRATUITY BENEFIT

• One-time $100,000 death benefit paid to servicemembers’ survivors, both active duty and reserve components.
• Benefit is exempt from federal income tax.
• For more information, contact the branch of service casualty headquarters or visit the Military Compensation website.

OPTIONS

DESCRIPTION

TRICARE
PRIME

• Active duty servicemembers (ADSMs) automatically are covered at no cost and are seen in military treatment facilities (MTFs). Active duty family members (ADFMs) as well as retirees and their family members under the age of 65 also may be seen in MTFs if space is available.
• No enrollment fee, annual deductible, or copayments for care by TRICARE network providers for family members of ADSMs enrolled in Prime.
• Copayments remain for ADFMs and retirees and their family members with TRICARE Prime for prescription drugs, inpatient care, and Prime Point of Service (POS) — in-community providers — claims.
• In addition to the above copayments, retirees and their family members have an annual enrollment fee plus in-community network copayments.
• The POS option of a TRICARE Prime enrollee self-referring for care has deductibles of $300 a person or $600 a family and 50 percent cost shares.

TRICARE
EXTRA

• Allows TRICARE Standard beneficiaries to select a network physician, hospital, or other medical provider listed in the TRICARE Provider Directory for a 5-percent cost share discount.
• No requirement to enroll.
• Expenses include deductibles and cost-shares.

TRICARE STANDARD
No requirement to enroll.

• The TRICARE default option for ADFMs and retirees and their family members without enrollment to another TRICARE plan.
• Allows military retirees and their dependents and ADFMs to seek an authorized provider of choice.
• Greatest flexibility in the choice of providers. Most services do not require prior authorization.
• Expenses include deductibles and cost share of the allowable charges. TRICARE allowable charges are the maximum amounts TRICARE is allowed to pay and are tied by law to Medicare’s allowable charges. You are only responsible for your cost share of the allowable charge if you see a provider in the TRICARE network.
• Most expensive of the top three options yet provides the greatest choice of providers.

TRICARE FOR LIFE (TFL)

• Requires enrollment in Medicare Part B.
• Provides lifetime health care for Medicare-eligible servicemembers and their Medicare-eligible family members.
• Covers most out-of-pocket costs after Medicare has paid its share.
• If the servicemember for whom you care is Medicare-eligible and has TRICARE, the servicemember must take Medicare. If the servicemember rejects Medicare Part B, his or her TRICARE benefits are suspended until he or she enrolls in Medicare Part B. While on Medicare, the family will pay the single amount for TRICARE PRIME. Notify DEERS of the servicemember’s Medicare eligibility to update TRICARE.

ACTIVE DUTY SERVICEMEMBERS

• In some cases, severely injured, ill, or wounded servicemembers might qualify for Medicare while still on active duty and awaiting medical retirement.
• Generally, if you are eligible to enroll in Medicare Part B (which has monthly premiums of about $100 a month per person), you must enroll in Part B to maintain coverage under TRICARE.
• Active duty servicemembers who are eligible for Medicare are allowed a special enrollment period for their remaining time on active duty. People in this situation must request an active duty certificate of creditable coverage from the Defense Manpower Data Center Support Office to use the special enrollment period. But they must enroll in Medicare Part B before they retire from active duty to avoid a break in medical coverage.

RETIRED SERVICEMEMBERS

• If Medicare eligibility is established after retirement, you must enroll in Part B to retain health care coverage under TRICARE. (For details on how the coverage works, see the section on What’s TRICARE See DoD’s TRICARE and Medicare Under-65 Fact Sheet for additional details on the effects of failing to enroll on time.

TRICARE RETIREE DENTAL PROGRAM (TRDP)

• Military retirees and their family members and survivors are eligible to buy coverage under the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program (TRDP). If they enroll within 120-days of retirement, the 12-month wait period for crowns, onlays, bridges, partial or full dentures and orthodontics is waived. The program is administered under a TRICARE contract with Delta Dental.
• See the fact sheet for details on coverage, deductibles, etc.
• Premiums vary based on your location and the number of family members you want to cover. Visit www.trdp.org/retirees/premiums.html to enter your ZIP code and to see your premium.