A lot of people have life insurance, but that doesn’t always mean they know what it’s meant to cover or whether it would actually do what they expect. For federal employees, those questions often start with the FEGLI and follow them into retirement.
Survey data from June 2025 from the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisers say that 41% of adults are only somewhat or not at all knowledgeable about life insurance, and 75% have no idea what it should cost.
“When FEGLI started, it was really designed to cover people who went off to war, federal employees who were going into World War II,” said Tammy Flanagan, a 30-year veteran in advising federal employees on their federal benefits. In this video (10 min., 58 sec.), Flanagan discusses what retiring federal employees should be thinking about in terms of life insurance — including the Federal Employee’s Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program and private product alternatives.
Video from The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton]