§ 870.205 Amount of Optional insurance

5 CFR 870.205(a)(a) Option A coverage is $10,000. Effective for pay periods beginning on or after October 30, 1998, Option A cannot exceed this amount. Exception: This does not apply to annuitants who retired with a higher amount of Option A before the removal of the maximum on Basic insurance (the first pay period beginning on or after October 30, 1998).

5 CFR 870.205(b)(1)(b)(1) Option B coverage comes in 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 multiples of an employee's annual pay (after the pay has been rounded to the next higher thousand, if not already an even thousand). Effective for pay periods beginning on or after October 30, 1998, there is no maximum amount for each multiple. If an employee's pay is “capped” by law, the amount of the Option B insurance is based on the capped amount, which is the amount the employee is actually being paid. It is not based on the amount the employee's pay would have been without the pay cap.

5 CFR 870.205(b)(2)(2) The amount of Option B coverage automatically changes whenever annual pay is increased or decreased by an amount sufficient to raise or lower pay to a different $1,000 bracket.

5 CFR 870.205(c)(c) Effective April 24, 1999, Option C coverage comes in 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 multiples of the following amounts: $5,000 on the death of a spouse and $2,500 on the death of an eligible child. Payments are made to the insured individual.