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United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Benefits

Benefits enrollment is not retroactive, and it cannot be made effective the day you enter on duty as you must have been in a pay status during some part of the pay period which precedes the one in which your enrollment becomes effective. Once this requirement has been met, your enrollment will become effective on the first day of the first pay period that beings after your employing office receives and processes your enrollment request.


Insurance Programs

As a new employee of the FAA, you may be eligible to enroll in:

Health Insurance

Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program

FEHB provides comprehensive health insurance.

  • FEHB Handbook
  • Eligibility
  • To determine the best plan for you, use these tools:
  • To enroll as either "Self", "Self Plus One" or "Self & Family", complete and submit a Standard Form (SF) 2809 (PDF) within the Entrance on Duty System (EODS). You have 60 days to enroll as a new employee.
  • Typically, coverage starts at the beginning of the next pay period after your SF2809 has been processed.
  • If you have questions regarding your health benefits please reach out to:
    • Within your first 60 days of employment: Your Servicing HR Specialist
    • After your first 60 days of employment: the Benefits Operations Center (BOC) 1-855-322-2363

Dental and Vision Insurance

Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP)

FEDVIP provides comprehensive dental insurance and vision insurance.

Flexible Spending Accounts

Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (known as FSAFEDS)

FSAFEDS allows you to set aside money from each paycheck for out-of-pocket health care and dependent care expenses before taxes are deducted, lowering your income tax. As you incur these expenses, you can then receive reimbursement from that pre-tax money.

  • FSAFEDS general information
  • Eligibility – if you are eligible for FEHB, you are eligible to enroll in FSAFEDS.
  • Health Care FSA eligible family members are the same as FEHB.
  • Dependent Care FSA eligible family members are:
    • Children under age 13
    • Children age 13 or over who are physically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves
    • Other dependents who are physically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves
  • To enroll in a Health Care FSA and/or a Dependent Care FSA, visit the FSAFEDS website.
  • You have a maximum of 60 days to enroll as a new employee. However, September 30th is the last day to enroll for the current benefit period.
  • Coverage begins the day after FSAFEDS accepts your election.

Life Insurance

Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Program (FEGLI)

FEGLI provides group term life insurance.

  • FEGLI Program Handbook (PDF)
  • FEGLI Calculator
  • Eligibility (PDF)
  • You are automatically enrolled in Basic Insurance and you have 60 days to elect Optional Insurance. To enroll in Optional Insurance or waive Basic Insurance, complete and submit an SF 2817 (PDF) within the Entrance on Duty System (EODS).
  • You have 60 days to apply using the abbreviated underwriting application. After 60 days, you must wait one full year after you sign the Waiver of coverage to apply using the full underwriting application and FEGLI has the final approval of your acceptance.
  • You have 60 days to apply using the abbreviated underwriting application. After 60 days, you must wait one full year after you sign the Waiver of coverage to apply using the full underwriting application and FEGLI has the final approval of your acceptance.
  • Coverage becomes effective:
    • Basic insurance – starts the first day you are in a pay and duty status,
    • Optional Insurance – starts the day after your HR staffing specialist receives your election and you are in a pay and duty status.
    • If you do not want any life insurance coverage, you must complete and submit an SF2817 waiving coverage, within the Entrance on Duty System (EODS).
    • You may cancel or reduce your life insurance coverage at any time.

Long Term Disability Insurance

Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP)

FLTCIP offers insurance that helps cover the costs of certain long term care services. This includes assistance with daily activities or supervision due to severe cognitive impairment.

  • FLTCIP general information
  • Eligibility – if you are eligible for FEHB, you are eligible to enroll in FLTCIP.
  • Apply for FLTCIP
  • You have 60 days to apply using the abbreviated underwriting application. After 60 days you must apply using the full underwriting application.
  • If your application is approved, coverage begins the first day of the first month after approval.
  • Your spouse, parents, step parents, adult children, same sex domestic partners are also eligible to apply, even if you do not.

Note: For information on all Benefits programs, see OPM's Guide Overview.

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Designation of Beneficiaries

A completed and signed Designation of Beneficiary form is a legal document outlining how benefits (for example, from your life insurance) will be paid in the event of your death. You may complete 4 different beneficiary forms. If you are satisfied with having your benefits distributed according to the Order of Precedence, you do not need to fine any designations. If you do, it's important to ensure your designations are current. A designation will still be valid even if your relationships or family situation has changed. The form(s) may be completed at any time.

Important: All forms require two witnesses to your signature. Anyone can sign as a witness as long as they are not named as a beneficiary.

Each of the following programs has its own form for designating beneficiaries. Beneficiary forms should be sent to the appropriate contact for processing per the forms instructions. For any form instructing 'send to insured's employing agency', forms should be sent to your Servicing HR Specialist for processing within your first 60 days of employment and to the Benefits Operations Center (BOC) after 60 days of employment.

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Retirement

If you were first hired in a covered federal government position after December 31, 1986, you are under the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). The amount of your contribution depends on when you were first hired.

FERS is a retirement plan that provides benefits from three different sources:

An overview of FERS (PDF) is available on the OPM website.

Important: Your contribution into FERS is dependent on when you were first hired. If you were first hired into the federal government after December 31, 2013, your retirement system is FERS-FRAE and your contribution is 4.4% (4.9% for Air Traffic Controllers) of your salary.

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Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees and members of the uniformed services.

The (TSP) is a defined contribution plan, meaning that the retirement income you receive from your (TSP) account will depend on how much you and the FAA put into your account during your working years and the earnings accumulated over that time.

For general information and several helpful calculators:

Here are the major features of the (TSP) for FERS employees:

  • You may elect to contribute any dollar amount or percentage (1% to 100%) of your basic pay up to the Internal Revenue Code elective deferral contribution limit which is set annually.
  • You will automatically receive a 1% contribution from the FAA.
  • Depending on the percentage you contribute, you may also receive matching contributions from the FAA.
    • The first 3% of your pay that you contribute will be matched dollar for dollar.
    • The next 2% will be matched 50 cents on the dollar.
    • Contributions above 5% of your pay will not be matched.
      Note: If you stop making regular employee contributions, matching will also stop.
  • You may have two different types of money in your account:
    • Traditional (pre-tax) – you defer paying taxes on your contributions and earnings until you withdraw them
    • Roth (after-tax) – you pay taxes on your contributions and, if you meet certain IRS requirements, your earnings are tax-free at withdrawal

Note: For tax implication details, refer to the tax publication on the (TSP) website

  • You can transfer or rollover eligible distribution to the (TSP). It is suggested you review the potential tax liability before choosing a method.
  • You have a wide variety of investment funds to choose
  • You can allocate your funds daily, that is tell the (TSP) how you want your money invested
  • You can make interfund transfers, which means that you may redistribute all of part of your account among the different funds
  • You can apply and receive loans
  • You can receive financial hardship or age-based in-service withdrawals while you are still actively employed in Federal service.

Note: For more information on the above topics visit the (TSP) website.

To enroll in (TSP):

  • Complete and submit the (TSP)-1 (PDF) form, within the Entrance on Duty System (EODS). You are limited to the amount you contribute up to the elective deferral limit which may change each year.
  • Catch-up contributions – If you are age 50 or older, you are eligible to contribute more than the elective deferral limit. The catch-up contribution limit and the elective deferral limit may be found on the (TSP) website. To enroll in the catch-up contribution, complete the (TSP)-1-C (PDF) form.

Note: to maximize your contributions while maximizing your matching contributions refer to the (TSP) calculator "How Much Can I Contribute?"

To transfer or rollover your (TSP)

Use a (TSP)-60 (PDF) to request a transfer or to complete a rollover of tax-deferred money from an eligible retirement plan into the traditional (non-Roth) balance of your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account. Funds received by the (TSP) will not be invested until a properly completed Form (TSP)-60 has been received.

Note: The (TSP)-60 requires a (TSP) account number prior to submission.

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Last updated: Wednesday, December 4, 2024