SGLI Premium Calculator
Rates on this page are the VA schedule effective July 1, 2025. Basic SGLI is $0.05 per $1,000 of coverage per month, TSGLI is a flat $1.00 per month, and FSGLI spouse rates are age-banded. Page content last updated August 2026 against va.gov and benefits.va.gov.
Introduction to SGLI, TSGLI, and FSGLI premium arithmetic
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) is the group term life program that automatically insures nearly every member of the uniformed services under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 19, subchapter III. It is not priced like a commercial policy. There is no underwriting, no medical exam, no tobacco class, and โ for the member's own coverage โ no age rating at all. Every insured member pays the same rate per $1,000 of coverage, and the deduction comes straight off basic pay under 38 U.S.C. ยง1969 rather than being billed to a bank account. That structural simplicity is exactly why an SGLI premium is worth calculating precisely: there is no wiggle room in the answer, so if your Leave and Earnings Statement disagrees with the arithmetic by even a dollar, something is genuinely wrong with your election.
Three separate charges make up what most people loosely call "the SGLI deduction," and conflating them is the single most common source of error. The first is the basic SGLI premium, which scales linearly with the member's elected coverage. The second is the Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI) premium, a flat $1.00 per month that does not scale with coverage โ a member insured for $50,000 pays the same $1.00 as a member insured for $500,000. The third is the Family SGLI (FSGLI) spouse premium, which is the only piece of the calculation that depends on anybody's age, and which is charged in seven age bands rather than as a flat rate. Dependent children are insured for $10,000 each at no cost whatsoever.
The coverage ceiling matters too. Public Law 117-209, the Supporting Families of the Fallen Act, was approved on October 17, 2022 and amended 38 U.S.C. ยง1967(a)(3)(A)(i) by striking "$400,000" and inserting "$500,000." VA implemented the new maximum on March 1, 2023, automatically insuring every eligible member at $500,000 โ including members who had previously reduced or declined coverage. The premium rate itself changed later and independently: effective July 1, 2025 VA reduced the basic SGLI rate from $0.06 to $0.05 per $1,000 and discounted FSGLI spouse rates by 11% to 22% depending on age band. Any calculator still charging six cents per thousand, or applying a flat rate to spouse coverage, is quoting superseded numbers.
How to use this SGLI and Family SGLI premium estimator
Enter your own SGLI election first. It must be a whole multiple of $50,000 between $0 and $500,000, because 38 U.S.C. ยง1967(a)(3)(B) requires the elected amount to be "evenly divisible by $50,000." Declining coverage entirely is a valid election, so $0 is accepted; the estimator then reports a $0.00 deduction and, correctly, no TSGLI charge, because TSGLI attaches only to an in-force SGLI policy.
Next enter spouse coverage in multiples of $10,000, up to $100,000, and choose the spouse's age band. Two statutory constraints are enforced here and are frequently missed elsewhere. First, ยง1967(a)(3)(C) provides that "in no case may the amount of insurance coverage under this subsection of a member's spouse exceed the amount of insurance coverage of the member," so a member carrying $50,000 cannot insure a spouse for $100,000. Second, ยง1967(a)(4)(A) provides that an insurable dependent is not insured unless the member is insured, so declining SGLI entirely also extinguishes spouse and child coverage. If you enter an impossible combination the estimator refuses to produce a number and tells you which rule you tripped, rather than quietly returning a misleading total.
Finally, enter the number of dependent children and your own age. Children never change the premium โ they change only the total amount of insurance in force, at $10,000 per child. Your own age is used for one thing only: the Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) comparison, which shows what the identical amount of coverage would cost the month after you separate. Press Calculate monthly premium, or simply press Enter from any field.
The SGLI premium formula and the FSGLI age-banded formula
Let be the member's elected coverage in dollars. The basic monthly SGLI premium is a strictly linear function of that election:
Formula: P_m = 0.05 ร C / 1000 = C / 20000
The admissible values of are not continuous. The statute restricts them to eleven discrete points:
Formula: C = 50000 ร k, k โ{0, 1, โฆ, 10}
The Traumatic Injury Protection premium is a constant, not a rate. Writing for the TSGLI charge:
Formula: P_t = {1.00 if C > 0 0.00 if C = 0
Spouse coverage is priced per $10,000 unit at a rate that depends on the spouse's age band. Let be spouse coverage in dollars, the spouse's age, and the published rate per $10,000 for that band. Then the spouse premium is:
Formula: P_s = S / 10000 ร r(a), 0 โค S โค min(100000, C)
Dependent children contribute coverage but no premium. With dependent children the total insurance in force and the total monthly deduction are:
Formula: F_total = C + S + 10000 n, P_total = P_m + P_t + P_s
Two derived quantities make the number easier to judge. The annual cost is simply twelve monthly deductions, and the efficiency of the package โ dollars of premium per $100,000 of insurance in force โ lets you compare an SGLI package against any commercial quote on equal terms:
Formula: A_total = 12 ร P_total, e = P_total / (F_total /100000)
Published SGLI and FSGLI rate tables effective July 1, 2025
The member schedule is short enough to reproduce in full. Every row is $0.05 per $1,000 plus the same flat dollar for TSGLI, which is why the total column never has a constant ratio to coverage:
| Member coverage | Basic SGLI premium | TSGLI premium | Total monthly deduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $25.00 | $1.00 | $26.00 |
| $400,000 | $20.00 | $1.00 | $21.00 |
| $300,000 | $15.00 | $1.00 | $16.00 |
| $200,000 | $10.00 | $1.00 | $11.00 |
| $100,000 | $5.00 | $1.00 | $6.00 |
| $50,000 | $2.50 | $1.00 | $3.50 |
The FSGLI spouse schedule is the part that trips up hand calculations, because it is age-banded and the bands are not evenly spaced in price. There are exactly seven bands, and the top band is "60 and over" โ there is no separate 65-69, 70-74 or 75-plus spouse rate. The published monthly rates per $10,000 of spouse coverage, and what $100,000 of spouse coverage costs in each band, are:
| Spouse age band | Rate per $10,000 per month | Cost of $100,000 per month | Multiple of the under-35 rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $0.40 | $4.00 | 1.00ร |
| 35 to 39 | $0.47 | $4.70 | 1.18ร |
| 40 to 44 | $0.62 | $6.20 | 1.55ร |
| 45 to 49 | $0.85 | $8.50 | 2.13ร |
| 50 to 54 | $1.35 | $13.50 | 3.38ร |
| 55 to 59 | $2.30 | $23.00 | 5.75ร |
| 60 and over | $4.00 | $40.00 | 10.00ร |
Notice the shape of that second column. Between the youngest and oldest bands the spouse rate multiplies tenfold, while the member's own rate does not move at all. A calculator that applies the member's $0.05 per $1,000 to spouse coverage would quote $5.00 a month for $100,000 of spouse coverage in every band: 25% too high for a spouse under 35 and 87.5% too low for a spouse over 60. That is not a rounding problem, it is the wrong model.
Worked example: $400,000 SGLI, a 41-year-old spouse, and two children
Take a mid-career member who elects $400,000 rather than the automatic $500,000, insures a 41-year-old spouse for $50,000, and has two dependent children. The member's own premium comes first:
Formula: P_m = 0.05 ร 400000 / 1000 = 0.05 ร 400 = 20.00
The spouse is in the 40 to 44 band, so the rate is $0.62 per $10,000, and $50,000 is five units:
Formula: P_s = 50000 / 10000 ร 0.62 = 5 ร 0.62 = 3.10
The two children add $20,000 of insurance and nothing to the bill. Adding the flat TSGLI dollar gives the deduction that will appear on the LES:
Formula: P_total = 20.00 + 1.00 + 3.10 = 24.10 per month
That is $289.20 a year for $470,000 of insurance in force ($400,000 member, $50,000 spouse, $20,000 across two children), which works out to $5.13 of premium per $100,000 of coverage per month. Those are the default values loaded into the calculator, so you can confirm the arithmetic before you change anything. Under the previous member rate of $0.06 per $1,000 the same $400,000 election would have cost $24.00 rather than $20.00, an extra $48.00 a year; VA has published the size of the FSGLI spouse discount as 11% to 22% depending on band, but this page deliberately does not reproduce a superseded spouse rate table it cannot verify against a primary source.
Reading the result: what actually lands on your LES
The total the calculator reports is a gross monthly deduction from basic pay, not an after-tax figure. SGLI and FSGLI premiums are paid with taxable pay; they are not a pre-tax payroll deduction like a Thrift Savings Plan traditional contribution, and treating them as though the government refunds part of the cost overstates your effective coverage. The number you see is the number that leaves your pay.
The premium-per-$100,000 figure is the most useful single output for decision-making, because it lets you benchmark SGLI against a commercial term quote without comparing different face amounts. A healthy 30-year-old can occasionally find level-term civilian coverage at a comparable price per $100,000, but three features rarely survive the comparison: SGLI has no war, aviation, or hazardous-duty exclusion; it requires no evidence of insurability; and it converts. Members who are already uninsurable in the commercial market, or who expect to deploy, should weight those features heavily rather than optimising the monthly dollar.
The coverage ladder generated below the result is there to make the marginal decision explicit. Because the member rate is exactly linear, each additional $50,000 step costs precisely $2.50 more per month regardless of where you are on the ladder โ there is no discount for buying the maximum and no penalty for buying a middle amount. The only non-linear element in the whole member calculation is the TSGLI dollar, which is why the cheapest election ($50,000 at $3.50) is proportionally the worst value and the maximum ($500,000 at $26.00) is the best.
SGLI versus VGLI: the cost cliff at separation
Veterans' Group Life Insurance is the post-separation continuation of SGLI, and it is priced completely differently. VGLI is age-banded in five-year steps and renewable for life, with no medical underwriting if you apply within 240 days of separation. Where SGLI charges the same flat rate to a 20-year-old and a 55-year-old, VGLI charges by band. Writing for the VGLI monthly rate per $10,000 at age :
Formula: P_v = C / 10000 ร v(a) with v(41) = 1.40
For the worked example above, the $400,000 that costs $20.00 a month under SGLI costs a month under VGLI at age 41 โ 2.8 times as much, and there is no TSGLI component because traumatic injury protection ends with active service. By the 60 to 64 band the same $400,000 costs $340.00 a month, and by 70 to 74 it is $860.00. This is why the SGLI-to-VGLI decision is really a decision about whether to convert to a commercial policy while you are still insurable: SGLI's price is a subsidy of service, not a rate you keep.
Limitations, assumptions, and the rules this estimate cannot see
This estimator computes the published premium for a stated set of elections. It assumes full-time SGLI coverage. VA publishes part-time SGLI for Reserve and Guard members who do not qualify for full-time coverage on a separate yearly schedule, and funeral honours duty and one-day muster coverage on another, much smaller yearly schedule; neither is modelled here. Members in a non-pay status who must remit premiums directly will not see these amounts as a pay deduction at all.
Several eligibility rules sit outside the arithmetic. A spouse who is also a service member covered under their own SGLI is not insurable as a dependent. Military spouses married on or after January 2, 2013 are not enrolled automatically and must be added through the SGLI Online Enrollment System. Dependent child coverage runs to age 18, extends to 22 for full-time students, and may continue indefinitely for a child who became permanently and totally disabled before turning 18 โ the calculator simply takes your count of currently eligible children at face value. A member deployed to a combat theatre is insured at the statutory maximum for the period of deployment under ยง1967(a)(3)(D) regardless of a prior reduced election.
Rates change. The July 1, 2025 schedule replaced the one under which basic SGLI cost $0.06 per $1,000, and VA has adjusted SGLI pricing repeatedly across the program's history โ the rate was 9 cents per $1,000 as recently as 1997. Retroactive premium adjustments, back payments for a spouse who was never enrolled in DEERS, and mid-month proration can all make a single LES line differ from a clean monthly figure. Treat the output as the steady-state premium for the elections you entered, verify against your own LES, and confirm current rates on va.gov before making an irreversible election. This is an educational estimate and not a statement of benefits from VA or the Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance.
Questions service members ask about SGLI and FSGLI premiums
What is the current SGLI premium rate per $1,000 of coverage?
Effective July 1, 2025 the basic SGLI premium rate is $0.05 per $1,000 of coverage per month, down from $0.06 per $1,000. On top of that every insured member pays a flat $1.00 per month for Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI). The maximum $500,000 election therefore costs $25.00 plus $1.00, or $26.00 per month.
Is the TSGLI premium charged per $1,000 of coverage?
No. TSGLI is a flat $1.00 per month for anyone insured under SGLI, whether the election is $50,000 or $500,000. It is the single most common reason a hand-calculated SGLI premium comes out $1.00 too low.
Why is the FSGLI spouse premium age-banded when the member rate is flat?
Member SGLI is a single pooled group rate that ignores age, because the insured population is a narrow band of serving members. FSGLI spouses span a much wider age range, so VA exercises its premium-setting authority under 38 U.S.C. 1969 to price spouse coverage in seven published age bands, from under 35 through 60 and over. Applying the member's flat rate to spouse coverage is a real error, not a rounding difference.
How much does FSGLI coverage for my children cost?
Nothing. Each dependent child is automatically insured for $10,000 at no premium while the member carries full-time SGLI. Child coverage cannot be declined, reduced, or converted to an individual policy.
Can my spouse be insured for more than my own SGLI coverage?
No. 38 U.S.C. 1967(a)(3)(C) caps spouse coverage at the member's own coverage amount, and the statutory ceiling for a spouse is $100,000 in $10,000 increments. If the member elects $50,000 of SGLI, the spouse cannot be insured for more than $50,000.
Why is VGLI so much more expensive than SGLI after I separate?
SGLI is a flat group rate subsidised by the extra-hazard costs of service being borne separately, while VGLI is an age-banded post-separation program that must stand on its own experience. At $400,000 of coverage a 41-year-old pays $20.00 a month under SGLI but $56.00 a month under VGLI, and the VGLI figure climbs with every five-year age band.
Sources and effective dates
Sources. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI), va.gov/life-insurance/options-eligibility/sgli (basic rate $0.05 per $1,000, TSGLI $1.00, $500,000 maximum in $50,000 increments; page last updated September 19, 2025). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Family Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (FSGLI), va.gov/life-insurance/options-eligibility/fsgli (seven-band spouse rate table, $100,000 spouse maximum, free $10,000 child coverage; page last updated March 26, 2026). Veterans Benefits Administration, SGLI/FSGLI Premium Discounts โ premium discount effective July 1, 2025, benefits.va.gov/INSURANCE/spring2025discount.asp. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI), va.gov/life-insurance/options-eligibility/vgli (VGLI rates "as of July 1, 2025"). Statute and regulation: 38 U.S.C. Chapter 19, subchapter III, ยงยง1965-1980A โ in particular ยง1967(a)(3) (coverage amounts and increments), ยง1967(a)(4) (dependent coverage requires member coverage) and ยง1969 (deduction from pay); and 38 CFR Part 9 (Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance and Veterans' Group Life Insurance). Public Law 117-209, the Supporting Families of the Fallen Act, approved October 17, 2022, govinfo.gov, raised the ยง1967(a)(3)(A)(i) maximum from $400,000 to $500,000; VA implemented it on March 1, 2023. All figures on this page were verified against those primary sources and were last updated in August 2026. Note that congress.gov returned HTTP 403 during verification, so the public law text was read from govinfo.gov instead.
Coverage ladder: every legal SGLI election at your family settings
Each row keeps your spouse and child elections fixed and swaps only the member election. Because the member rate is exactly linear, each $50,000 step costs $2.50 more per month; the row matching your entry is marked.
| Member coverage | Basic SGLI | TSGLI | FSGLI spouse | Total per month |
|---|
What the same coverage costs under VGLI, by age band
VGLI replaces SGLI after separation and is age-banded in five-year steps, with no TSGLI component. The chart and table below price your own coverage election under every VGLI band, using the VA rates in effect since July 1, 2025. Your current SGLI cost is shown as the reference line.
| Age band | VGLI rate per $10,000 | Monthly premium for your coverage | Multiple of your SGLI cost |
|---|
Arcade Mini-Game: SGLI Premium Calculator Calibration Run
Use this quick arcade run to practice separating useful scenario inputs from common planning mistakes before you rely on the calculator output.
Start the game, then use your pointer or arrow keys to catch useful inputs and avoid bad assumptions.