Lower life insurance premiums for govt employees, retirees

Following the decrease in costs for health insurance premiums, government employees and retirees will experience lower costs in life insurance premiums while maintaining the same life insurance coverage.

Secretary of Finance Larrisa Larson shares that the 2018 life insurance policy will show a six percent decrease.

“Much like the recent decrease in our government health insurance premium, we have worked to decrease costs of enrolling in our life insurance program. Governor Torres expressed that the administration continues to work towards making health insurance as well as life insurance more affordable for our employees as we work towards raising our wages to match stateside levels. We are pleased that the cost is lowering while the benefits remain the same and look forward to offering improved options moving forward,” Larson said.

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres added that the decreasing cost of insurance policies is a small step toward improving the government Group Health and Life Insurance program.

“A decrease in costs, especially in terms of the government’s health and life insurance is beneficial for everyone on the program. We are happy that our government employees and retirees will be saving a little more. In the recent past, I mentioned that more changes are needed to address enrollment costs and healthcare needs so we are still looking at our options. I thank Secretary Larson and her team for their diligence in searching for more viable plans for our government,” Torres said.

Secretary Larson said there are two decreases: one for active (bi-weekly allotment) and the other for retirees (semi-monthly allotment).

“For active employees the rates actually decreased from $0.75 per $1,000 to $0.70 per $1,000. For retirees, the decrease is from $0.81 per $1,000 to $0.76 per $1,000. The basic life insurance coverage for retirees remains at 1.8 times the reduced pension, which is 75 percent of annual income, rounded up to the nearest $1,000, and not to exceed $90,000 with a minimum benefit of $5,000. Active employees will continue to be covered at 1.8 times their base salary rounded to the nearest $1,000 and not to exceed $90,000,” she added.

The decrease in premiums will be effective February 1, 2018.

For those interested in making changes to their policies or for more information on the Government Group Health and Life Insurance, call 664-1100. (PR)