All employees, except certain appointed officials, are required to join the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS). As a member of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System, you contribute, along with the State of Maine, to both retirement and life insurance benefits. Your state group life insurance benefits are outlined below.

The State Group Life Insurance Program allows eligible state employees who have just been hired to acquire group life insurance for themselves and their qualifying dependents without having to show evidence of insurability. This program, administered by the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS), provides up to three types of life insurance coverage: basic, supplemental, and dependent.

Basic Life Insurance - pays a monetary benefit to your beneficiaries in the event of your death. Basic life insurance coverage is available to you if you are in an "eligible" employment category. If you are eligible but choose not to participate in the State Group Life Insurance Program, please select "Refused" on the Application for Coverage Form.

If you are eligible and choose to participate in the Group Life Insurance Program, the amount of your basic coverage will equal your annual gross salary rounded up to the next highest $1,000. As your salary increases or decreases, your insurance coverage will change accordingly. Any change in the level of your insurance will take effect each April 1, providing you have one full calendar year of Group Life coverage with the same employer. Therefore, no matter when you receive a salary adjustment during the year, your associated life insurance adjustment will not occur until the following April 1.

If you are eligible for basic life insurance, your coverage will begin automatically on the first day of the month following one full month of employment. To ensure that your coverage will begin at that time, you must complete the Application for Coverage Form and submit it within 31 days of your first day of work.

An employee with basic coverage automatically has dismemberment insurance as well. Dismemberment insurance provides coverage in the event of certain physical losses.

Once you have basic life insurance coverage, you may also purchase Supplemental Life Insurance. Supplemental insurance is only available for, and the cost paid by, participants, not dependents, in multiples of your basic coverage as follows:

Supplemental One equals one times basic. (This doubles your basic coverage.)

Supplemental Two equals two times basic. (This triples your basic coverage.)

Supplemental Three equals three times basic. (This quadruples your basic coverage.)

Once you have basic life insurance coverage, you may also purchase life insurance for your dependents. Dependent Life Insurance is available under one of two plans: Dependent Plan A or Dependent Plan B. By law, you may not purchase insurance for a dependent spouse or child in excess of 50% of your own coverage. Therefore, the following guidelines apply:

To be eligible to buy Dependent Plan A coverage (which covers a spouse in the amount of $5,000), you need to be insured for at least $10,000.

To be eligible to buy Dependent Plan B coverage (which covers a spouse in the amount of $10,000), you need to be insured for at least $20,000.

If your basic life insurance coverage is too low for you to purchase the dependent coverage you want, you can buy supplemental insurance to boost your own coverage.

Dependent insurance—covering all your dependents—is available for a flat premium rate, regardless of how many dependents you have. The only variation in price depends on whether you choose Plan A or Plan B. If you do not have any dependents at this time, you will be able to acquire dependent insurance in the future without having to file an Evidence of Insurability form if you apply for dependent insurance within 31 days of acquiring your first eligible dependent.

It is important for you to designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries to receive your policy’s benefit in the event of your death. Otherwise, your benefit may go to someone not of your choosing. You may designate as many beneficiaries as you want by filling in Item #12 of the State Group Life Insurance Program’s Application for Coverage form. If you need more room, please attach additional sheets of paper and make sure you include all the information requested. If you attach additional sheets naming more beneficiaries, each attached sheet must be signed, witnessed, and dated in order to be legally binding. A witness cannot be a designated beneficiary.

In the case of dependent insurance, you (the insured employee) are automatically the beneficiary; you may not name anyone else as the beneficiary of dependent insurance.

You have the right to change your beneficiary designation(s) at any time without the consent of any person or beneficiary. To change your beneficiary, contact your payroll clerk or call the State Group Life Insurance Program and ask for a Designation of Beneficiary for Group Life Insurance Form. It’s advisable to review your beneficiary designation(s) from time to time, especially if you marry, divorce, or have a child, or if your beneficiary marries, divorces, dies, or have a change of name.

 

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