Federal employees have a wide range of benefits available to them and their families. Let’s take a minute to break down the eligibility requirements for dependent children.
Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program:
A child is covered under a self-and-family enrollment until age 26. If a child loses coverage, they can enroll in temporary continuation of coverage for up to 36 months. You or your child must apply to convert to a non-group plan within 31 days after the child’s eligibility ends. There is a 31-day temporary extension of coverage at no cost for this conversion, even if the child has the option of temporary continuation of coverage. If the child opts for temporary coverage, they can later convert to a nongroup plan when the temporary coverage ends (unless it ends by cancellation).
Federal Dental and Vision Insurance Program:
Eligibility: Children must be unmarried and under age 22. If they are 22 or older, they must be incapable of self-support due to a mental or physical disability that began before age 22. This same rule applies under the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Option C family coverage.
Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA):
Benefits end when the child marries or turns 18. Benefits can continue until age 22 if the child is a full-time student, unmarried, and hasn’t completed four years of post-high school education. They can also continue if the child is incapable of self-support due to a physical or mental disability.
Child Survivor Retirement Annuity Benefits:
Benefits generally end when the child turns 18 or marries. They can continue after age 18 if the child is incapable of self-support due to a disability incurred before age 18 or is a full-time student. If benefits stop because the child turns 18, they can be resumed if the child is unmarried and becomes a full-time student before turning 22. Benefits that end due to marriage cannot be resumed if the marriage later ends in divorce or death, but they may continue, in some cases, if the marriage is annulled.
For more information regarding your benefits, visit OPM.gov.
