Your AAFMAA membership number can be found on your membership card. If you’re having trouble finding it, please give us a call toll-free at 1-800-336-4538 weekdays from 8:30am to 4:30pm ET. If you’re calling between 4:30pm and 7:00pm ET, please call a Membership Coordinator toll-free at 1-877-398-2263

No - the beneficiary receives the death benefit income tax free. There may or may not be an estate tax payable.

Your beneficiary of record appears on the Annual Statement you receive for each policy. If you would like to change your beneficiary, just download the form and either email it to policyservices@aafmaa.com, fax to 1-888-210-8201 or mail to 1856 Old Reston Avenue, Suite 200, Reston, VA 20190.

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to pay the claim until we receive legal documentation - usually a court order - informing us whom to pay. Keep in mind it’s a good idea to seek legal advice when naming a younger beneficiary.

Your loan balance (as of the statement period) is indicated on the bottom of your Annual Statement. For more current information on loan balances, login to the Member Center.  The loan balance appears with your policy information.

To best view the Member Center, make sure you are using one of the following Browsers:

• Internet Explorer 7 or above
• Google Chrome
• Firefox 3 or above

Yes, the Member Center is accessible only through Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL encrypts all of the data that is transmitted from your computer to the server with 128 bit encryption. If you’re using Internet Explorer, you’ll also notice a padlock icon at the bottom right of the window indicating the site is secure.

The customer number is also referred to as your "member number.” It’s provided on your Membership Card you received when your initial policy was issued. It’s also the first 4-6 numbers of your insurance policy. The customer number contains numbers only. For example, policy number 123456-1 would have a customer number of 123456 – no dashes and no extra numbers.

Your policy number is provided on your Certificate of Insurance, which you received upon approval of your application. It’s also located on your Annual Statement.

You’ll need to maintain an email address in the Member Center in order to have online access. This email address will be used to communicate changes and updates to your online information as well as be used for password or login ID retrieval. Free email accounts are available from Google, Yahoo, Hotmail as well as other sources.

An owner of an AAFMAA life insurance policy issued prior to 1 February 2012 will receive an annual statement. “Special Category” policy owners do not receive an annual statement.

We’ve looked at the costs, benefits and risks of consolidating statements. We will continue to do so and implement consolidation when appropriate. Currently, our concern for privacy and the avoidance of processing complexity overrides the postage savings. We want to ensure that no one receives another member’s statement. We will always continue to monitor operating costs and search for the lowest cost, which will not compromise a policy owner’s privacy

No. The beneficiary receives the death benefit income tax free. There may or may not be an estate tax payable.

Your beneficiary of record appears on the annual statement you receive for each policy. If you want to change your beneficiary, you may contact our Policy Services Department at 1-800-336-4538. You may also go to our web site at www.aafmaa.com, under the Member Center tab choose Online Forms. Print the Beneficiary Designation Form, complete, sign, date and mail it to us (or fax to 888-210-4882).

In such a case, AAFMAA will not be able to pay the claim until we receive legal documentation, usually a court order, informing us whom to pay. Before naming a younger beneficiary you should seek legal advice.

If you participate in the Career Assistance Program, your loan balance, as of the statement period, will be indicated on the bottom of your statement. For more information on loan balances, please contact Policy Services at 1-800-336-4538.

There are two reasons why your death benefit may not have increased this past year:

1. Recently issued policies must typically be in force for several years before the policy’s cash value reaches the point at which the death benefit begins to increase.
2. Older policies that have experienced artificially high growth in the past may have been converted to a more conservative basis for cash value, temporarily causing the death benefit to stop increasing. Death benefit increases will resume when the cash value growth is sufficient to support an increase in the death benefit again.

Three factors affect cash value increases:

1. Premiums: All premium payments are added to the previous month’s cash value.
2. Expenses: Deductions for administrative costs, acquisitions costs, service costs and mortality costs are made.
3. Cash Value: After premium, if any, is added and expenses are deducted, the balance of the cash value is credited with the monthly equivalent of the current annual crediting rate to create a new cash value amount.

Adjustments to your policy’s portion of AAFMAA’s contingency fund reserves may be required to cover the unamortized acquisition costs of establishing your policy or to insulate the Association from the effects of short-term fluctuations in mortality and investment experience.

Your Value-Added Whole Life policy is guaranteed over the life of the policy to earn a minimum interest rate of 4.5% and the initial death benefit is guaranteed for your life. Your ANNUITYLife policy is guaranteed to earn a minimum interest rate of 4.5% and has a graded death benefit. It will pay a minimum of 90% of the initial death benefit in year 1, 95% in year 2 and 100% in year 3 and thereafter. Premiums for both policies are fixed and will never increase. If you ever choose to surrender either policy you will receive the greater of:

1. Your total premiums paid less any outstanding indebtedness, or

2. Your current cash surrender value less any outstanding indebtedness

The guarantee of the return of total premiums paid is forfeited if the policy is converted to Reduced Paid Up or if a partial cash surrender has been made. In either case the policy owner will receive the current cash surrender value less any outstanding indebtedness.

Expenses are comprised of the following costs:

• Administrative costs: The policy’s share of overhead costs (building rent, electric, heat, etc). Administrative costs are incurred for the life of the policy. These costs may change but may never be so high as to lower the death benefit or the cash value below the guaranteed values.
• Acquisition costs: The policy’s share of costs for marketing, underwriting, medical exams and labor. These costs are amortized and returned to the cash value of the policy over a 10 year period. These costs may change but may never be so high as to lower the death benefit or the cash value below the guaranteed values.
• Service costs: There are two types of service charges. There is a charge for Living Services for “Grandfathered” (GF) Members and a monthly charge for Survivor Assistance Services for all members. A more detailed explanation of Living and Survivor Assistance Services can be found on our website at www.aafmaa.com.   
• Mortality costs: The charge from the premiums paid and/or cash value of the policy to pay for the current year’s cost to insure you. These costs are incurred for the life of the policy and may change but may never be so high as to lower the death benefit or the cash value below the guaranteed values.
• Opt-out credit: A credit returned to Cash Value when insured opts-out of Living Services for privacy reasons.
     

As long as you keep your policy in force, the cash value growth is not taxable. However, if the policy is surrendered, partially surrendered, annuitized or lapses due to becoming over loaned, any cash value in excess of the premiums paid is taxable and reported to the IRS. For example, if $3,000 in premiums has been paid and the current cash surrender value is $8,000, including any outstanding loan, AAFMAA will report $5,000 as taxable income to the IRS on a Form 1099R (excess earnings over premiums paid).

Death benefit growth is dependent upon cash value growth but it will not be dollar for dollar. At the end of the each month your policy’s new cash value is determined. This amount is used to determine any death benefit increase on your policy. The death benefit will be the larger of the initial face amount, the prior month’s death benefit or a higher death benefit. The process is known as the Cash Value Accumulation test under Section 7702 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Mortality costs are based upon two variables.

1. Your attained age. In almost all instances your mortality costs increase on the anniversary of your policy following an age change. The older you get the more money the Association needs to cover the actual cost of your insurance.
2. AFMAA’s investment and mortality experience. Good investment experience and mortality experience can cause mortality expenses to reduce.  Conversely, bad experience can cause them to increase. Such adjustments are recommended by the Actuary and usually occur only once a year but can occur more often if warranted.   

None of the internal costs of a policy, be they administrative charges, mortality charges or service charges can increase to a level to negate the guaranteed cash value or guaranteed death benefit of a policy. A Value Added Whole Life policy’s guaranteed cash values and death benefits, for selective years, can be found on the Face Page attached to your Certificate of Insurance.

You may access your cash value in two ways:

1. You may borrow up to 75% of your cash value less any current indebtedness. The variable loan interest rate is , currently 1% above AAFMAA’s current crediting rate. For example, if the crediting rate is 7%, the variable loan interest rate is 8%. The crediting rate is set each year. The money you receive in loan amount is still credited with AAFMAA’s current crediting rate, just as if it had never been borrowed. Although there are no income tax consequences at the time the loan is taken (except for Modified Endowment Contracts) any interest due that is not paid will be added to the loan principal. If the combined loan principal and accrued interest exceed the current cash value of the policy, the policy will lapse. There may be income tax consequences and/or changes to membership status and benefits at the time of policy lapse. If you would like a policy loan, you may contact Policy Services at 1-800-336-4538. You may also go to our website at www.aafmaa.com and choose Online Forms. Print “Loan Request” form, complete, sign, date and mail it to us.
2. You can surrender your policy. If the amount of cash value surrendered exceeds the premiums paid, the gain will be reportable to the IRS as taxable ordinary income and you will receive an IRS form 1099.

You may access it by borrowing or cash surrender just like Value-Added Whole Life or additionally, you may elect a lifetime annuity payment to your age 100. If you do not live to age 100 the present value of future payments is paid to your beneficiary. If you live past age 100 annuity payments will still be paid.

If your Annual Statement shows a loan amount, this amount represents your outstanding loan plus any accrued interest as of the last day indicated in the “Statement Period”. There are two ways you can have a loan against your policy:

1. At some point you requested to borrow some or all of your cash value. By taking a loan from the cash value of your policy, interest has been charged on the loan, currently at 1% above the crediting rate of the policy for a variable interest rate loan. On fixed interest rate loans (not currently available) the interest rate charged remains unchanged.
2. If we have not received a premium payment when due on your policy and your policy has enough cash value to pay the premium, an Automatic Premium Loan (APL) will have been taken from the cash value of the policy to pay the premium, so that the policy is kept in force and the insured remains covered. The APL procedures are permitted in accordance with the AAFMAA Constitution and/or your policy terms.

Unpaid interest is added to the principal of the loan. If the loan principal and interest exceed the current cash value of the policy, the policy will lapse. If you have a loan, it makes good financial sense to pay the annual interest due each year. To repay all or part of a policy loan, call Policy Services at 1-800-336-4538.

We hope we’ve been able to answer all of your questions here, but if we haven’t give us a call. Policy Services can be reached directly, toll-free at 1-800-336-4538 Monday thru Friday during our business hours of 8:30am to 4:30pm ET. Limited personnel are available in Membership and Insurance Sales to answer your questions from 4:30pm – 7:00pm, ET.