Airmen can now manage life insurance online

Airmen can now manage life insurance online

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- Airmen no longer need paper forms to manage their Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, thanks to the new SGLI Online Enrollment System, or SOES.

SGLI provides automatic life insurance coverage of $400,000 to service members when they enter the service. Members with SGLI also get automatic coverage for their dependent children and non-military spouses under the Family SGLI program.

Notification emails containing the SOES link and other helpful information will be sent out to Total Force Airmen on their birthday month reminding them to update their SGLI information.

Total Force Airmen who are deploying, separating and retiring (including those on the permanent disability retired list and the temporary disability retirement list) should update their elections and coverages before out processing. They can log into SOES using their common access card or Department of Defense self-service, or DS Logon.

"This new system gives total force Airmen with full-time SGLI coverage the ability to make online changes to their insurance and beneficiary information at any time without having to complete a paper form or visit their military personnel flight," said Lt. Col. Gerald Cullens, the Air National Guard advisor for force management integration at the Pentagon.

Veterans Affairs has been working with the Department of Defense, Defense Manpower Data Center, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and the military services to develop the new system.

Transitioning from the paper-based system to the electronic process is expected to save the DOD about $12 million a year by reducing errors and overpayments. SOES also helps to eliminate unclear designations and missing or incomplete forms.

SOES is available through DMDC's milConnect web application at http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect. After signing in, click on "SOES" under the "Benefits" tab. The VA website under Life Insurance http://www.benefits.va.gov/insurance/sgli.asp has more information.

Airmen can also visit myPers (https://mypers.af.mil/), select "Any" from the dropdown menu and enter "SOES" in the search menu. Individuals who do not have a myPers account can request one by following these instructions (http://www.afpc.af.mil/myPers).