§8708 Government Contributions

Summary

Employers must pay one-half of the life insurance cost that is taken from an employee’s pay for each pay period the employee is covered under a life insurance policy bought by OPM. That employer payment must come from the same appropriation or fund used to pay the employee. If the employee is paid by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, that officer may make the payment from House accounts. If the employee is an elected official, the payment must come from the funds used to pay other salaries for that office. When a person keeps life insurance after retiring or while getting work-related compensation for disease or injury, OPM must pay one-half of the amount taken from the person’s annuity or compensation for each period of coverage, using annual appropriations for that purpose. Those payments only apply to people who retire or begin receiving compensation after December 31, 1989, and they stop for months after the calendar month in which the person turns 65. If a retiree chooses the second coverage option, the government’s contribution will equal what it would be if the retiree had chosen the first option. The United States Postal Service must pay these contributions for people who retire from USPS after December 31, 1989, or who begin receiving compensation after that date if their last job was with USPS.