FEHB during leave without pay
Coverage continues for a year. The premium becomes a debt.
Doing nothing is a choice: coverage continues and the debt builds — roughly $7,900 over a full year on an average Self and Family plan.
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1. What happens when you go on leave without pay
When you enter leave without pay, or your pay becomes too small to cover your premium, your agency must give you written notice of your choice: continue your FEHB enrollment, or terminate it.
If you continue, coverage can last for up to 365 days of consecutive leave without pay. Your agency pays the full premium to OPM in the meantime — the government share and your share — and advances your part. You remain responsible for your share for every pay period coverage continues.
If you do nothing, coverage continues by default and your share accumulates as a debt. The same 365-day rule applies to a suspension without pay. A removal from service is different: coverage ends at the end of that pay period.
One exception worth noting: a lapse in appropriations — a government shutdown — is handled separately and does not work this way. See what a shutdown does to pay and benefits.
2. Paying your share
You have three ways to handle your share:
- Pay as you go, directly to your agency or payroll provider each pay period. No debt builds.
- Repay on return, through deductions from your pay once you are back.
- Pay a lump sum, at any point.
Here is roughly what a full year adds up to, using 2026 average premiums:
| Enrollment | Approx. employee share per year |
|---|---|
| Self Only | ~$3,300 |
| Self Plus One | ~$7,200 |
| Self and Family | ~$7,900 |
Your plan may be more or less than average. The point is scale: a year of leave without pay can mean several thousand dollars coming out of your pay after you return. Paying as you go avoids a large lump of deductions at exactly the moment you are rebuilding your finances.
3. Termination versus cancellation
This is where people accidentally lose FEHB in retirement.
| Termination | Cancellation | |
|---|---|---|
| How it happens | You elect it on entering nonpay status, or it happens automatically at 365 days | You ask to end your enrollment |
| Breaks the five-year rule? | No | Yes |
| 31-day extension and conversion option | Yes | No |
If you want to stop paying premiums while on leave, the right word is terminate, not cancel. OPM treats a termination as not counting against continuous enrollment for the five-year rule. A cancellation is a break.
Re-enroll promptly once you are back in a pay status, within the window your HR office gives you. A gap you could have closed is the kind of thing that surfaces years later, at retirement, when it is too late to fix.
4. When the 365 days run out
Your enrollment terminates at the end of the pay period that includes the 365th consecutive day of leave without pay. You then get a 31-day extension of coverage at no cost and the option to convert to an individual policy with your carrier.
Family and Medical Leave Act leave usually runs concurrently with the 365 days, not after them. If your FMLA leave extends past 365 days — for example because you had already used a lot of leave without pay first — you must pay your share directly on a current basis for the period beyond 365 days.
If your agency lets coverage continue past 365 days by mistake, the debt can grow large. In that case you get to choose whether to end coverage going forward and keep the benefits you used, or end it retroactively and owe nothing for the extra period. And if you retire with an annuity that starts before your enrollment would have terminated, coverage can be reinstated.
5. Frequently asked questions
Does FEHB continue during leave without pay?
Yes, for up to 365 days of consecutive leave without pay. You remain responsible for the employee share of the premium for every pay period coverage continues. Your enrollment terminates at the end of the pay period that includes the 365th consecutive day in nonpay status.
How do I pay FEHB premiums while on leave without pay?
You can pay your share directly as you go, or let it build up as a debt that is deducted from your pay after you return, or pay it in a lump sum. Your agency pays the full premium to OPM in the meantime and advances your share. If you do nothing, coverage continues and the debt accumulates.
Will leave without pay break my five-year rule for retirement?
Not if it is handled correctly. A termination, including the automatic termination at 365 days or electing to terminate when you enter nonpay status, does not count as a break in continuous enrollment for the five-year rule. A cancellation does. Re-enroll promptly when you return to pay status so there is no avoidable gap.
What happens when the 365 days run out?
Your enrollment terminates at the end of the pay period that includes the 365th consecutive day of leave without pay. You receive a 31-day extension of coverage and the option to convert to an individual policy. You can enroll again when you return to a pay status.
How much could I owe?
Using 2026 averages, the employee share is roughly $3,300 a year for Self Only, $7,200 for Self Plus One, and $7,900 for Self and Family, depending on your plan. A full year of leave without pay can therefore leave you owing several thousand dollars when you return, which is deducted from your pay unless you paid as you went.