Our offices are located in Rockville, Maryland, about 20 miles from Washington, DC. We talk to ALOT of federal employees looking for government employee disability insurance. We know what you have for disability benefits under the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), and we know how to get you more coverage to better protect your income.

You Have Some Coverage Through FERS

As a Federal Employee under the FERS retirement system, you do have a built-in disability retirement annuity.  If you become disabled, you will receive 60% of your income for the first year of disability.  These benefits are fully taxable for both federal and state taxes.  After one year of disability, if you are still disabled, you will receive 40% of your income as long as you are disabled¹.  These benefits are also fully taxable on both the federal and state sides. 

Once the taxes are paid on your benefits of 60% in the first year, you will have significantly less than what you typically earn to maintain you and your loved ones’ lifestyle.  And if you are still disabled after one year and your benefit drops to 40%, you will have even less to maintain that standard of living. 

Supplemental Coverage Options

Guardian offers some great options to supplement the FERS coverage you already have. 

• Employed by the Government for more than one year - If you've been with the government for more than a year, you can supplement your existing FERS coverage. We will assume you have 40% income replacement through FERS and supplement this amount. If you make $100,000 per year, you'd receive $40,000 per year from FERS after a year of disability, and you can buy a supplemental policy that would pay you almost $38,000 more per year in the event you're disabled. 
• Employed by the Government for less than one year - New federal employees who have been employed for less than one year can buy coverage without assuming the 40% from FERS. This means the same person who makes $100,000 can buy $60,000 per year of disability income insurance. 

A Secret to Getting Even More Coverage

If you want even more government employee disability insurance than what the normal supplemental benefit provides, there's a little known way to do this. Guardian^* offers a benefit not available in other policies called the Supplemental Benefit Term rider. 

The Supplemental Benefit Term rider allows you to buy up to an additional $2,500 per month of disability insurance for a maximum of 15 years. When a qualifying total disability occurs, benefits are only payable during the remaining portion of the 15-year term that has not elapsed when the disability begins. This amount is in addition to what you can buy in a standard policy. In the example above, if you make $100,000, and qualify for another $38,000 per year in coverage, this supplemental benefit rider could add up to another $30,000 per year in benefits! In total, that would mean you could have $40,000/year from FERS, almost $38,000/year from your base disability coverage, and another $30,000/year for up to 15 years from the supplemental benefit term rider.

When most carriers tell you that they can't insure you, we know how to get you a policy that really protects your income!

¹https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/types-of-retirement/#url=Disability
* Individual disability income products underwritten and issued by Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America (BLICOA), Pittsfield, MA. BLICOA is a wholly owned stock subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), New York, NY. Product provisions and availability may vary by state.