Life insurance is a benefit many people are hesitant to address. It’s important, however, to not only have coverage to support family and organizations you care about, but also to discuss your life insurance coverage with those who would benefit.
U-M provides term life insurance coverage to eligible retirees as part of its retirement benefits package.
For details about U-M’s overall retiree benefits, view the Retiree Life Insurance web page.
Life Insurance After Retirement
Retirees retain U-M term life insurance if they were enrolled in the University Group Term Life Insurance Plan as an active employee.
During retirement the amount of insurance will decrease as your age increases until you reach age 66, at which time coverage at $2,000 becomes effective and will remain in effect for the rest of your life.
Review and Designate Beneficiaries
It’s important to designate a beneficiary for your Life Insurance Plan. If you don’t designate a beneficiary for your U-M life insurance coverage, or if your beneficiaries do not survive you, your benefits will be paid to your survivors/estate in the following order: spouse/other qualified adult, children, parents, siblings, estate.
Your beneficiary can be anyone, such as a family member or friend, a trust, or an organization. You can change your beneficiaries at any time.
To designate a beneficiary for your U-M plan, submit a completed beneficiary designation form to MetLife or call (866) 492-6983 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
Update Your Beneficiaries
Just as important as designating beneficiaries is keeping them updated. Consider updating when you:
- Marry or enter a domestic partnership/civil union
- Divorce
- Have or adopt children
- Experience the death of listed beneficiaries
Don’t forget to review the beneficiaries of your U-M Retirement Savings Plans regularly, as well. For information about how to change your life insurance or retirement plan beneficiaries, visit U-M’s Your Beneficiary page.
Keep Your Address Current
It’s vital to keep your address current with U-M, as the university’s primary means of communicating with retirees is by mail. Having a current address on file also allows U-M to keep you informed of benefits updates.
Follow the steps below to check or update your address:
- Visit wolverineaccess.umich.edu.
- Search for “Employee Self Service” and select the tile.
- Click “Campus Personal Information.”
- Click “Addresses.”
- Click “Current Local.”
- Review “Current Local” address and edit if needed.
You also can call the Shared Services Center - HR Customer Care at (734) 615-2000 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. to receive personal assistance in updating your address.
Remember to update your address with your retirement savings plan providers, as well. Contact TIAA and/or Fidelity Investments to review your personal information in their systems.
