A new proposed rule by the Obama administration would extend life insurance to children of some same-sex partners.

The Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday proposed to allow children of same-sex domestic partners living in states that do not allow same-sex couples to marry to be covered as family members in their life insurance policies.

The changes would affect the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Program, which covers basic life insurance for government workers and their families.

“This rule expands the circumstances under which an employee experiencing a change in family circumstances may include eligible children of a same-sex domestic partner,” the OPM said in a 10-page document. It is set to publish in the Federal Register Wednesday.

“We recognize that the legal landscape is changing and certain states that currently do not allow same-sex couples to marry may allow them to do so in the future. Same-sex couples may also relocate from states where they cannot marry to states where they are permitted to marry. The possibility that the relevant state marriage laws may change has the potential to create significant administrative difficulties,” the agency said.

Comments by the public are due in 60 days.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.