VGLI after separation: keep it or replace it?
Apply inside 240 days no matter what: that is the window with no health questions. Then, if you are healthy and under about 45, price a private 20-year term policy, because VGLI reprices every five years and a term policy does not.
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The two deadlines
SGLI runs free for 120 days after you separate. VGLI replaces it, and two dates decide what you can get.
- Day 1 to day 240: guaranteed acceptance. No health review, no questions, whatever your record looks like.
- Day 241 to one year and 120 days: you can still apply, but you have to show you are in good health, and you can be declined.
If there is any chance a private carrier would rate you up or turn you down, get the VGLI application in during the first 240 days. You can always cancel it later. You cannot reopen that window.
You can take up to the SGLI amount you carried, to a maximum of $500,000, in $10,000 steps. If you take less, you can add $25,000 one year later and every five years after that, up to $500,000, until you turn 60.
What VGLI costs
The premium depends on two things only: your age band and how much cover you buy. Not your health, not your rating, not tobacco.
| Your age | $400,000 | $500,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 29 and under | $24.00 | $30.00 |
| 30–34 | $32.00 | $40.00 |
| 35–39 | $40.00 | $50.00 |
| 40–44 | $56.00 | $70.00 |
| 45–49 | $76.00 | $95.00 |
| 50–54 | $116.00 | $145.00 |
| 55–59 | $200.00 | $250.00 |
| 60–64 | $340.00 | $425.00 |
| 65–69 | $552.00 | $690.00 |
| 70–74 | $860.00 | $1,075.00 |
| 75–79 | $1,540.00 | $1,925.00 |
| 80 and over | $1,760.00 | $2,200.00 |
Pricing inside a band is linear, so any amount is easy to work out: at 45 to 49 the rate is $1.90 per $10,000 a month, which makes $250,000 cost $47.50.
VGLI against private term
VGLI is renewable term priced in five-year steps. A private policy is level term: one rate, locked, for 20 or 30 years. Same shape of decision as FEGLI Option B.
$400,000 of cover, from 40 to 59
- VGLI at 40–44
- $56 a month
- VGLI at 50–54
- $116 a month
- VGLI at 55–59
- $200 a month
- 20-year term bought at 40
- one locked rate throughout
A healthy 40-year-old non-smoker could expect roughly $21 to $47 a month for $400,000 of 20-year term in 2026, depending on the health class offered. That is below VGLI's rate on day one and a fraction of it by the late fifties.
The comparison flips completely if underwriting would go badly. VGLI asks nothing about your health inside 240 days, and no private carrier will match that.
When to keep VGLI
- Service-connected conditions that would be rated or declined. Sleep apnea, PTSD, heart conditions and cancer histories all price badly, or not at all, in the private market.
- You are already past 50 and uninsured. Private term at that age is expensive too, and VGLI needs no exam inside the window.
- You want coverage for life. VGLI never expires while you pay. Term ends, and renewing afterwards is brutal.
- You are between jobs or waiting on a diagnosis. Take VGLI now, shop later. Nothing stops you cancelling once a private policy is in force.
If you carry a service-connected rating, also look at VALife, the VA's guaranteed-acceptance whole life programme, which covers up to $40,000 and has a waiting period before the full benefit is payable. Check the terms on VA's own page before relying on it.
The 2026 premium holiday
The VA has announced a VGLI premium holiday: no premiums for November 2026, December 2026 and January 2027, with coverage continuing as normal. If you are insured under VGLI, check whether you qualify, and if you pay by allotment or automatic payment, make sure the deductions actually stop.
It does not change the long-run arithmetic. Three free months is worth roughly one month of the 60 to 64 premium.
The conversion trap
VGLI can be converted to a private policy at any time, at standard rates, without proving good health. That sounds like the perfect escape hatch, and there is a catch worth knowing before you count on it: the conversion policy has to be permanent insurance, such as whole life. You cannot convert into term.
Whole life costs several times what term costs for the same death benefit. Conversion is a route for someone who cannot pass underwriting; it is not a cheaper alternative to shopping while you are healthy.
Price your own VGLIYour coverage in every band ahead, and the break-even against a quote.Common questions
How long do I have to sign up for VGLI?
One year and 120 days from separation. Inside the first 240 days there is no health review at all; from day 241 to the deadline you have to prove you are in good health and can be turned down.
How much VGLI coverage can I get?
Up to the amount of SGLI you carried when you left, to a maximum of $500,000, in $10,000 steps. If you took less than the maximum you can add $25,000 one year after joining VGLI and every five years after that, up to $500,000, until you turn 60.
Does VGLI cost more if I smoke or have a disability?
No. The premium depends only on your age and the amount of coverage. Tobacco use, gender, health and your disability rating make no difference, which is what makes it valuable to veterans private carriers would rate up or decline.
Is VGLI cheaper than private term life insurance?
For a healthy veteran under about 45, usually not. A private 20-year term policy locks one rate for two decades while VGLI steps up every five years. For a veteran with health conditions, VGLI is often the cheapest coverage available, or the only one.
Can I convert VGLI to a private policy later?
Yes, at any time, through a participating company and without proving good health. The catch is that the conversion policy has to be a permanent policy such as whole life, which costs far more per dollar of coverage than term.
What happens to SGLI when I separate?
SGLI continues free for 120 days after you leave. VGLI is what replaces it after that, and the clock on the 240-day no-health-review window starts at separation, not at the end of the free period.
Sources
VGLI premiums are the VA's published rates effective July 1, 2025, taken from VA.gov on September 24, 2026. Private term figures are 2026 market samples for healthy non-smokers, not quotes.