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Title 5 — Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-73

§8707 Employee deductions; withholding

Title 5 › Part PART III— - EMPLOYEES › Subpart Subpart G— - Insurance and Annuities › Chapter CHAPTER 87— - LIFE INSURANCE › § 8707

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

When you have group life or accidental death and dismemberment insurance bought by the Office of Personnel Management, your employer must take your share of the cost out of your pay while you are covered. If your insurance continues after you retire or while you get workers’ compensation, the cost is taken from your annuity or compensation, except in some cases where no deductions are taken after the month you turn 65. If you retired or began receiving compensation on or before December 31, 1989, the insurance continues at no cost to you (except as another rule may say). The amount taken is 66 2/3 percent of the plan’s level cost for each $1,000 of your basic insurance, rounded to the nearest half-cent. If your pay or annuity is too small to cover the deduction, you can keep the insurance by arranging to pay that amount into the Employees’ Life Insurance Fund through your agency or retirement system. If an agency fails to withhold the right amount, it may forgive collecting the unpaid money if you were not at fault and collecting would be unfair; but the agency must still send the unpaid amount plus its required contributions to the Office of Personnel Management for the insurance fund.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §8707

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Subject to subsection (c)(2), during each period in which an employee is insured under a policy purchased by the Office of Personnel Management under section 8709 of this title, there shall be withheld from the employee’s pay a share of the cost of the group life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance.
(b)(1)Subject to subsection (c)(2), whenever life insurance continues after an employee retires on an immediate annuity or while the employee is receiving compensation under subchapter I of chapter 81 of this title because of disease or injury to the employee, as provided in section 8706(b) of this title, deductions for insurance shall be withheld from the employee’s annuity or compensation, except that, in any case in which the insurance is continued as provided in section 8706(b)(3)(A) of this title, the deductions shall not be made for months after the calendar month in which the employee becomes 65 years of age.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, insurance shall be so continued without cost (other than as provided under section 8706(b)(3)(B)) to each employee who so retires, or commences receiving compensation, on or before December 31, 1989.
(c)(1)The amount withheld from the pay, annuity, or compensation of each employee subject to insurance deductions shall be at the rate, adjusted to the nearest half-cent, of 66⅔ percent of the level cost as determined by the Office for each $1,000 of the employee’s basic insurance amount.
(2)An employee who is subject to withholdings under this section and whose pay, annuity, or compensation is insufficient to cover such withholdings may nevertheless continue insurance if the employee arranges to pay currently into the Employees’ Life Insurance Fund, through the agency or retirement system that administers pay, annuity, or compensation, an amount equal to the withholdings that would otherwise be required under this section.
(d)If an agency fails to withhold the proper amount of life insurance deductions from an individual’s salary, compensation, or retirement annuity, the collection of unpaid deductions may be waived by the agency if, in the judgment of the agency, the individual is without fault and recovery would be against equity and good conscience. However, if the agency so waives the collection of unpaid deductions, the agency shall submit an amount equal to the sum of the uncollected deductions and related agency contributions required under section 8708 of this title to the Office for deposit to the Employees’ Life Insurance Fund.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 2094(a) (1st par.).Aug. 17, 1954, ch. 752, § 5(a) (1st par.), 68 Stat. 738.Sept. 23, 1959, Pub. L. 86–377, § 4(b), 73 Stat. 701. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–311, § 6(1)(A), substituted “Subject to subsection (c)(2), during” for “During”. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 105–311, § 6(1)(B), substituted “Subject to subsection (c)(2), whenever” for “Whenever”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105–311, § 6(1)(C), designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). 1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–427 designated first sentence of existing section as subsec. (a) and substituted “a policy purchased” for “a policy of insurance purchased” and “the employee’s pay a share of the cost” for “the pay of the employee his share of the cost”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96–427 added subsec. (b). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–427 designated second sentence of existing section as subsec. (c) and inserted reference to pay, annuity, or compensation of each employee. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 96–427 added subsec. (d). 1978—Pub. L. 95–454 substituted “Office of Personnel Management” and “Office” for “Civil Service Commission” and “Commission”, respectively. 1967—Pub. L. 90–206 struck out reference to the Civil Service Commission’s function of determining the amount to be withheld for group insurance and substituted provisions setting a rate of 66⅔ percent of the level cost of each $1,000 of insurance as determined by the Commission for provisions setting a limit of 25 cents biweekly for each $1,000 of group life insurance and directing the withholding of the amount from employees paid on other than a biweekly basis at a proportional rate adjusted to the nearest cent.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1998 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 105–311 effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after Oct. 30, 1998, see section 11(d) of Pub. L. 105–311, set out as a note under section 8701 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1980 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 96–427 effective Oct. 10, 1980, with the amendment to have no effect in case of an employee who died, was separated, or retired before Oct. 10, 1980, see section 10(a) of Pub. L. 96–427, set out as a note under section 8701 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1978 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 95–454 effective 90 days after Oct. 13, 1978, see section 907 of Pub. L. 95–454, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1967 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 90–206 effective on first day of first pay period which begins on or after sixtieth day following Dec. 16, 1967, see section 405(a) of Pub. L. 90–206, set out as a note under section 8704 of this title. Retroactive Effect of 1967 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 90–206 to have no effect in case of an employee who died, was finally separated, or retired prior to Dec. 16, 1967, see section 405(c) of Pub. L. 90–206, set out as a note under section 8704 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 8707

Title 5 — Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73