Military service comes with valuable benefits, including automatic enrollment in a military life insurance policy. Through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), every active duty servicemember is covered under Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI). This low-cost term life insurance provides reliable SGLI coverage for your family during service. After separation, you can continue protection through Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI), ensuring financial security beyond active duty. Together, SGLI and VGLI make it easier for servicemembers and veterans to maintain affordable life insurance throughout their careers and retirement. Understanding how SGLI and VGLI work together helps you make informed decisions about your military life insurance coverage.
What is Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance?
SGLI provides automatic life insurance coverage to all full-time, active duty servicemembers. The maximum coverage amount is $500,000, though servicemembers could opt for a lesser amount of coverage. If you pass away while on active duty, SGLI can be a balm for your loved ones while they cope with the changes that come after a loved one’s death. While you can decline coverage if you desire to pursue life insurance from a commercial company or forego insurance entirely, SGLI only costs a maximum of $30 per month, and premiums are automatically deducted from your paycheck, so it’s truly a set-it-and-forget-it enrollment. Further, Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI) provides temporary financial assistance to servicemembers injured while serving for an additional .
What is Family SGLI?
Family SGLI (FSGLI) is available to the spouses and dependent children of servicemembers covered by SGLI. For spouses, coverage maxes out at $100,000, with premiums dependent on the age of the spouse – that said, coverage is still relatively cheap, ranging from $4.50 to $45 per month. Children receive $10,000 in coverage, free of charge. Once a servicemember separates, spouses and children lose their coverage, though spouses are provided an opportunity to convert their FSGLI to commercial coverage, provided they do so within 120 days of the servicemember’s separation. For families, understanding how SGLI and VGLI coverage transition after service can help avoid gaps in protection and keep loved ones financially secure.
What is Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI)?
SGLI is only available to active duty military members, with coverage expiring 120 days after a servicemember’s last day on active duty. This means that if you want life insurance coverage into your retirement, you’ll have to find another option. Fortunately, the VA provides one: Veterans’ Group Life Insurance. It is similar to SGLI, in that you can enroll at the same amount of coverage upon separation, though premiums are more expensive than those required for SGLI.
Further, you must enroll within one year and 120 days of separation to receive coverage. If you miss the deadline, you’ll no longer be eligible for VGLI and will need to seek life insurance elsewhere. If you submit your enrollment within the first 240 days of separation, you can get VGLI without submitting proof of good health, making it an excellent option for veterans with preexisting conditions that might prevent them from obtaining coverage elsewhere. Many veterans also explore VA loans for military families to secure affordable housing after service.
SGLI and VGLI are term life insurance.
Note that SGLI, FSGLI, and VGLI are all group life insurance programs – they provide coverage to a group of individuals: servicemembers, family members, and veterans. They are also term life insurance policies, with the length of the term being tied to either the servicemember’s length of service (SGLI and FSGLI) or five years (VGLI). Individuals with VGLI coverage will experience a premium rate increase every five years, though coverage will automatically renew every five years provided premiums are paid.
Note that because all of these programs provide term coverage, the death benefit only becomes available upon the insured’s death. There is no additional flexibility to access the death benefit for loans or withdrawals as one might find with a permanent life insurance policy. That said, term life insurance policies are often cheaper than permanent policies, and may be a better fit for your financial situation (especially VGLI for veterans with preexisting conditions).
Want to adjust your coverage?
Active duty servicemembers can alter their level of SGLI coverage (or their spouse’s level of FSGLI coverage) by visiting the SGLI Online Enrollment System available via milConnect. Spouses and children can be added and beneficiaries can be adjusted online. Veterans can apply for and manage their VGLI policies through the Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance using the Prudential website.
Every year, we recommend confirming the beneficiaries listed on your policy; make sure their names and contact information are accurate and up to date. A Last Will and Testament will not override the individual(s) listed on a life insurance policy, meaning that death benefit funds could go to the wrong person if the information on your policy is outdated. Other times to consider checking on your beneficiary designations are when you get married or divorced, have a child, or experience another large life change. Managing your SGLI and VGLI policies ensures continued protection for you and your family, both during and after your military service.
Life Insurance is made easy with SGLI and its automatic enrollment when you are on active duty, but a little bit more effort is required after your separation from service to ensure the continuation of coverage through VGLI. Spouses are able to convert existing FSGLI coverage to whole life coverage from a commercial carrier, but you may be interested in shopping around to see whether you can find better pricing and/or coverage through a different company.
Sponsor
Navy Mutual has been serving the military community for over 145 years, and their life insurance products are available to active duty servicemembers, retirees, veterans, and family members. Learn more about their coverage options and get a quote online today!
About the Author
Aj Smit is the author of the book Red Thread: Weaving an Embodied Life of Joy, speaker, glitter enthusiast, and professional weaver of Joy. She is a military spouse in S. Korea with a pup and houseplants galore. Aj has led various Red Tents, retreats, and workshops internationally over the last ten years to help others discover how to weave creativity and curiosity into their lives. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram at @TheJoyWeaver and TheJoyWeaver.com.
