2027 FEHB Premium Increase: What Federal Retirees Will Pay

The short answer: The 2027 FEHB premium increase is 10.9% on average for the enrollee share, announced by OPM on September 30, 2026. Open Season runs November 9 through December 14, 2026, and plan brochures arrive in early November.

Status as of October 6, 2026. This post covers a developing matter and is not updated continuously.

What is the 2027 FEHB premium increase, and when was it announced?

On September 30, 2026, the Office of Personnel Management released premiums for the 2027 plan year covering the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the Postal Service Health Benefits Program, and the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program.

The headline figure is 10.9%. That is the average change in the enrollee share — the part that comes out of your paycheck or your annuity — for non-postal federal employees and retirees. The overall average premium increase, counting both what you pay and what the government pays, is 9.3%.

Those two numbers are different for a reason, and the gap is where the 2027 FEHB premium increase actually lives.

Key takeaways

• The enrollee share rises 10.9% on average in 2027 (OPM, announced September 30, 2026).
• The overall program premium rises 9.3% on average — less than the enrollee share (OPM).
• The government’s contribution rises 6%, down from 8% for 2026 (OPM).
• Open Season runs November 9 – December 14, 2026 (OPM Open Season).
• Full plan brochures and the comparison tool land in early November — before you can compare, you cannot decide.

How much is the government paying, and how much are you?

The government’s share of FEHB premiums goes up 6% in 2027. It went up 8% for 2026. When the government’s contribution grows more slowly than the total cost of the plan, the remainder lands on the enrollee — which is why your share climbs 10.9% while the program’s total climbs 9.3%.

This matters more for annuitants than for current employees, because a retiree’s premium comes out of a fixed annuity rather than a salary that may also be adjusted. A FERS annuitant whose COLA for the year is smaller than their premium increase sees net income fall even though the annuity amount rose. That arithmetic is the single most common surprise in a retiree’s first Open Season.

If you want the mechanics of how retirees pay FEHB premiums at all — the government contribution formula, the difference between paying from an annuity and paying from a paycheck — that is covered in our guide to what federal retirees actually pay for FEHB. This post is only about what changed for 2027.

When does Open Season run, and what are the hard deadlines?

Open Season for plan year 2027 runs November 9 through December 14, 2026.

The closing time is not uniform, and OPM states the difference explicitly. FEDVIP and FSAFEDS close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, December 14. FEHB and PSHB close at 11:59 p.m. according to the location of your electronic enrollment system. If you live in a Pacific time zone and assume your FEDVIP deadline matches your FEHB deadline, you can lose a dental election by three hours.

OPM has published the Federal Benefits Open Season Highlights for Plan Year 2027, and posts rate tables on its FEHB premiums page and its PSHB premiums page.

Why might Self Plus One cost more than Self and Family in 2027?

This is the distinction most enrollees get backwards, and OPM flags it directly on the Open Season page: for some plans, the enrollee share for Self Plus One is higher than for Self and Family.

It reads like a pricing error. It is not. Self Plus One premiums reflect the claims experience of the people who actually choose that tier, which skews older — two retirees rather than a family with young children. In plans where that effect is strong, the two-person rate overtakes the family rate.

OPM’s own guidance is that an enrollee covering one eligible family member may elect either tier. Nothing requires you to take the Self Plus One tier simply because you are covering one person. The only way to know which is cheaper in your plan is to read both lines in the rate table — a check that takes about ninety seconds and is skipped by most people enrolling by habit.

What should you check before Open Season opens?

Four things, none of which require a decision yet:

1. Your current plan’s 2027 rate, both tiers. Compare Self Plus One against Self and Family if you cover one person.
2. Whether your plan still exists in 2027. Plans leave the program. If yours does and you do nothing, you are moved automatically rather than by choice.
3. Your eligibility to carry FEHB into retirement, if you are retiring within five years. The five-year rule is not waived by a premium change.
4. Your family member documentation. OPM’s verification rule applies to anyone added at Open Season — see our post on Open Season verification.

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2027 FEHB premium increase the same for everyone?
No. 10.9% is a program-wide average of the enrollee share. Individual plans move by very different amounts, in both directions.

Does the increase apply to Postal Service retirees?
PSHB rates were released the same day, September 30, 2026, but they are a separate program with separate rate tables. The 10.9% figure is the non-postal FEHB average.

When can I actually compare plans?
OPM has said full plan brochures will be available in early November, ahead of the November 9 opening.

Do I have to do anything if I am happy with my plan?
If your plan continues into 2027 and you want no changes, no action is required — but the new premium applies whether or not you act.

Walk through your own numbers

Fed Pilot runs free federal retirement benefits workshops for employees approaching retirement, and Open Season is on the agenda every year because the arithmetic between a COLA and a premium increase is where most retirement budgets go wrong. Register for a free Fed Pilot workshop and bring your own plan and tier.