SGLI Is a Starting Point: Measure What Your Family Would Actually Need
Compare SGLI with your mortgage, debts, income replacement, and childcare needs before deciding whether to add personal coverage.
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) is one of the best deals a service member will ever get. Up to $500,000 of coverage costs about $25 a month, plus $1 for traumatic injury protection. But a good price doesn't answer the real question: would $500,000 do the job your family needs it to do?
START WITH WHAT THE MONEY HAS TO COVER
Write down four numbers: 1. Debts that should disappear: mortgage, car loans, credit cards. 2. Income to replace: your take-home pay times the number of years your family would depend on it. 3. Future costs: childcare, college, and a cushion for your spouse to adjust. 4. Final costs: funeral and estate expenses not covered by military benefits.
AN EXAMPLE
An E-6 with a spouse, two children, and a $320,000 mortgage carries the full $500,000 of SGLI. Paying off the house leaves $180,000. If the family needs $45,000 a year of support, that money lasts about four years, not the 15 or 20 years until the kids are grown.
SGLI HAS AN END DATE
SGLI stays in force for 120 days after you separate, then it ends. You can convert to Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI), but VGLI premiums rise as you age. Coverage you own outright follows you into civilian life at a price set when you bought it.
QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE ADDING COVERAGE
- How many years would my family need my income? - Does my spouse have coverage of their own, or only FSGLI? - What happens to our plan when I separate or retire? - Would I still qualify for coverage if my health changed?
YOUR NEXT STEP
Keep your SGLI. Then compare your family's real number against $500,000. If there's a gap, a personal policy can fill it and stay with you after the uniform comes off.
This guide is for education only and is not legal, tax, or investment advice. Coverage is subject to underwriting.