FEGLI Option C: is family coverage worth it?
Worth it while you have children at home, because one premium covers all of them. Weak as spouse cover: the most it ever pays on a spouse is $25,000, and the price climbs steeply after 55.
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What it actually pays
One multiple of Option C is $5,000 on your spouse and $2,500 on each eligible child. Carry five and you have $25,000 on a spouse and $12,500 on every child. That is the ceiling; there is no larger election.
Eligible children are your unmarried dependent children under 22, adopted children and recognised stepchildren living with you, plus an unmarried child of any age who cannot support themselves because of a disability that started before 22.
Option C has no accidental death and dismemberment cover, and it insures family members only. Nothing in it pays out on your own death.
What it costs at every age
The premium is set by your age band, not your family's, and it steps up every five years like the other options.
| Your age | 1 multiple | 5 multiples | 5 per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $0.43 | $2.17 | $26 |
| 35–39 | $0.52 | $2.60 | $31 |
| 40–44 | $0.80 | $4.01 | $48 |
| 45–49 | $1.15 | $5.74 | $69 |
| 50–54 | $1.80 | $8.99 | $108 |
| 55–59 | $2.88 | $14.41 | $173 |
| 60–64 | $5.27 | $26.33 | $316 |
| 65–69 | $6.13 | $30.66 | $368 |
| 70–74 | $8.30 | $41.49 | $498 |
| 75–79 | $12.48 | $62.40 | $749 |
| 80 and over | $16.90 | $84.50 | $1,014 |
Monthly figures, converted from OPM's biweekly rates.
Where it earns its keep
- One price, every child. A family with four children pays exactly what a family with one pays. No private policy prices that way.
- No underwriting on the family. A child with a serious medical history is covered at the same rate as anyone else's child.
- It is cheap while you are young. Five multiples under 35 costs $26 a year, which is the price of covering a funeral no parent wants to think about.
That is the honest case for Option C: it is not income replacement, it is money in the week after something unthinkable, without a claim form to a private insurer or a fundraiser.
Where it falls short
As spouse cover, the numbers stop working. The maximum is $25,000, which does not replace a second income, clear a mortgage, or pay for childcare while a widowed parent goes back to work.
$25,000 of spouse cover, per $1,000 insured
- Under 35
- $0.09 a month
- 45–49
- $0.23 a month
- 55–59
- $0.58 a month
- 60–64
- $1.05 a month
Past 55, a healthy spouse can often be insured privately for a fraction of that per thousand, and for a benefit ten times the size. If your spouse's income matters to your household, Option C is not the answer to it, at any number of multiples.
Size the real gap firstThe DIME method shows what your family would actually need.What happens in retirement
You elect one of two paths, the same pair Option B uses:
- Full Reduction: the coverage falls 2% a month from 65 until it reaches zero, and you pay nothing.
- No Reduction: the coverage stays and you keep paying, at $6.13 a month per multiple at 65 to 69 and $16.90 by 80.
Keeping Option C into your eighties means paying over a thousand dollars a year for at most $25,000 on a spouse. Very few situations justify it.
How to decide in two minutes
- Children at home and you are under 50? Carry it. The price is trivial and the cover is real.
- Youngest child past 22? The children's half is doing nothing. Re-price what is left against what you are paying.
- Spouse earns money the household needs? Insure them properly, separately. Option C is a supplement at best.
- Spouse has health problems? Keep Option C. Guaranteed cover with no underwriting is worth paying over the odds for.
Changes go on form SF 2817 through your HR office, and you can reduce or drop multiples at any time.
Common questions
How much does FEGLI Option C pay?
Each multiple pays $5,000 on your spouse and $2,500 on each eligible child. You can carry up to five multiples, so the maximum is $25,000 on a spouse and $12,500 on each child.
Who counts as an eligible child under Option C?
Your unmarried dependent children under 22, including adopted children and recognised stepchildren living with you, plus an unmarried child of any age who cannot support themselves because of a disability that began before 22.
Is Option C priced on my age or my spouse's?
Yours. A spouse's age, health and smoking status have no effect on the premium, which is why the coverage is worth more to families where the spouse would be expensive to insure privately.
Does Option C cost more for more children?
No. One premium covers every eligible child, so the value rises with each child and falls to nothing when the youngest turns 22.
What happens to Option C when I retire?
You elect Full Reduction, where the coverage drops 2% a month until it reaches zero and you pay nothing, or No Reduction, where you keep the coverage and pay the age-banded premium for life. At 80 and over that is $16.90 a month per multiple.
Can I add Option C after a baby is born?
Yes. A birth or adoption is a qualifying life event, and it opens a 60-day window to elect Option C without a medical exam.
Sources
- OPM — FEGLI premium rate tables, Option C
- OPM — FEGLI Handbook, Option C eligibility and reductions
- OPM — SF 2817, Life Insurance Election
Rates are OPM's employee rates effective from the first pay period on or after October 1, 2021, checked on September 24, 2026. Monthly figures are the biweekly rate times 26, divided by 12.