Request for Reconsideration

An employee of the Federal Government requested a reconsideration of an action by the Claims Division which denied waiver of his indebtedness to the United States that resulted from his agency's failure to make deductions from his salary for life insurance coverage under the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program. The employee began working with one agency, was transferred to another agency, and then spent a tour of duty overseas. When he returned to the United States, he reverted to his pretransfer grade and his pay was adjusted accordingly. However, a payroll error was made, and the deductions for optional life insurance were not reestablished. The employee contended that, since his pay was adjusted downward, he had no way of knowing that the amount would have been even less if the insurance payments had been deducted. He further argued that he was not covered by the insurance during the time that the payments were not deducted since his beneficiaries could not have collected if he had died. GAO held that the employee should have known that insurance was not being deducted since all Government employees receive pay statements with each pay check and all deductions are noted therein. It is the responsibility of the employee to make sure that this statement is correct. Also, since the insurance can only be canceled by written statement of the employee, the employee was covered during the time the payments were not being deducted. Thus, the action of the Claims Division was sustained.