Life Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)

Insured by MetLife, Life and AD&D insurance help provide for your beneficiary’s well-being in the event of a serious accident or death. This benefit is paid to your designated beneficiary(ies).

• Basic Life Insurance: The Commonwealth offers $5,000 of Basic Life Insurance.
• Optional Life Insurance: You may buy additional coverage of up to eight times your annual salary, to a maximum benefit of $1.5 million. You pay the full cost of this benefit.

This is term insurance, which means that it is in effect for as long as you are eligible for coverage through your employment, and premium rates increase as you age. It has no cash value. Benefits are paid to your beneficiary(ies), so it is important to keep your beneficiary designation up to date.

Optional Life Insurance

You must be enrolled in basic life insurance in order to be eligible for optional life insurance.

• New State Employees: You may enroll in optional life insurance within 10 days of employment without providing evidence of insurability.
• Current Employees During the Year: State employees actively at work may apply for the first time or apply to increase their coverage at any time during the year. After you apply, you will receive instructions for completing an evidence of insurability application for MetLife’s review and approval. The GIC will determine the effective date if MetLife approves your application.

• Optional Life Insurance After Retirement: Retirees can only continue their optional life insurance benefit if it is in place on their retirement date. If you make no change to your optional life coverage at retirement, you will be responsible for the retiree optional life insurance premium, which can be substantial. Optional life insurance rates significantly increase when you retire, and continue to increase based on your age. You may decrease, but cannot increase, your amount of life insurance after you retire. If you decrease your coverage and then later wish to increase it, the increased amount will be subject to evidence of insurability. This coverage is called “term” insurance; this means there is no cash value associated with it. Optional life insurance premiums increase as you age. You can check the amount of your optional life insurance on your annual benefit statement.

Current Employees with a Qualified Family Status Change

If you experience a qualified family status change during the year, you may enroll in or increase your optional life insurance amount without providing proof of insurability. You must provide the GIC with proof of your status change within 60 days. Total optional life insurance coverage is limited to up to four times your salary.

Optional Life Insurance Non-Smoker Benefit

At initial enrollment or during Annual Enrollment, if you have been tobacco-free, you are eligible for reduced non-smoker optional life insurance rates. Tobacco-free means you have not smoked cigarettes, cigars or a pipe, used snuff or chewing tobacco or any nicotine delivery system for the previous 12 months. You will be required to periodically recertify your non-smoking status in order to qualify for the lower rates. Changes in smoking status made during Annual Enrollment take effect the July 1st following the Annual Enrollment period.

Optional Life Insurance Rates (including AD&D)

GIC Benefit Rates

Additional Resources

MetLife Life Insurance Plan Design Summary