Voya is one of the larger workplace benefits carriers in the country, so a great many people hold a Voya group life certificate through an employer without ever having chosen Voya themselves. When retirement, a layoff, or a move to part-time hours puts that coverage at risk, the natural question is whether the coverage is worth anything.
The direct answer is that a group life certificate, standing alone, is not something the secondary market can buy. You do not own the policy; your employer or plan sponsor does. What you do own is a set of contractual rights to continue or convert that coverage, and those rights expire quickly. This page explains what Voya sells today, who actually holds Voya-branded life policies after a major 2021 transaction, and how portability and conversion differ. Pine Lake Life Solutions is an independent education resource. Pine Lake does not purchase policies and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for Voya.
In This Article
- Voya Kept Group Benefits and Sold Its Individual Life Block
- Who Actually Underwrites Voya Group Life
- Your Employer Owns the Policy; You Hold a Certificate
- Portability and Conversion Under a Voya Plan
- Why the Clock Matters More Than the Face Amount
- If You Convert, Could the Resulting Policy Ever Be Sold?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Voya Kept Group Benefits and Sold Its Individual Life Block
This is the fact that resolves most Voya confusion. On January 4, 2021, Resolution Life completed its acquisition of substantially all of Voya Financial’s in-force individual life business. The deal transferred all of the shares of Security Life of Denver Insurance Company and Security Life of Denver International Limited, along with Midwestern United Life Insurance Company and certain other affiliates, plus reinsurance of Voya’s remaining in-force individual life and annuity blocks. Total consideration was reported at US$1,250 million, including US$902 million of cash and US$123 million of retained surplus notes, with Voya taking a US$225 million interest in Resolution Life. Approximately 350 employees moved with the business and more than US$25 billion of assets were added to Resolution Life’s balance sheet.
Group life was not part of that sale. Voya (NYSE: VOYA), formerly ING U.S., describes its business today as three segments: Retirement, Investment Management, and Employee Benefits. Group life sits in Employee Benefits and is still an active Voya business. Voya’s own contact page confirms the split in practice: it lists 800-955-7736 for Group Life and Disability benefits and claims, and directs individual retail life insurance policy questions to Resolution Life.
So if you hold a certificate through work, you are dealing with Voya. If you hold an individual Voya or Security Life of Denver policy, you are dealing with Resolution Life.
Who Actually Underwrites Voya Group Life
The Voya name on your benefits portal is a brand. The legal obligation sits with an insurance company, and for Voya group term life that company is generally ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota, or ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York for New York-situs business. Voya’s own materials describe these as members of the Voya family of companies.
Financial strength for that entity is worth knowing. On March 13, 2025, AM Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a+” (Excellent) for ReliaStar Life Insurance Company and ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York, collectively the ReliaStar Life Insurance Group, with a stable outlook. AM Best assessed balance sheet strength as very strong, with adequate operating performance, a neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. Ratings are point-in-time opinions and can be revised.
Your Employer Owns the Policy; You Hold a Certificate
Under a group life arrangement, the carrier issues a single master policy to the employer, union, or association. Individual participants receive a certificate of coverage describing the benefit. That distinction has consequences that surprise people.
You generally cannot transfer or assign the certificate, because you are not the policy owner. There is no cash value to borrow against. The benefit amount is set by the plan’s schedule, often as a multiple of salary, and many plans reduce it at older ages, commonly stepping down at 65 and again at 70. Coverage typically terminates when employment terminates, sometimes with a short grace period.
A life settlement is, at its core, a change of policy ownership. Without ownership, there is nothing to change. That is why the entire analysis for group coverage shifts to the exit rights described next.
| Question | Group certificate | Converted individual policy |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns it | Employer or plan sponsor | You |
| Cash value | None | Whole life builds cash value over time |
| Can ownership be transferred | Generally no | Yes, on carrier forms |
| Ends when you leave the job | Yes, usually | No |
| New medical underwriting | Not applicable | Not required within the conversion window |
Portability and Conversion Under a Voya Plan
Voya’s group term life offering is described as including continuation, portability and conversion. Voya’s materials describe coverage as portable, meaning that if an employee leaves employment or retires they can take coverage with them and choose a payment plan, and describe conversion as allowing you to convert all or a portion of your group term life insurance to an individual whole life policy when you are no longer eligible under the group policy.
The distinction matters more than most people realize:
- Portability continues term coverage, billed directly to you. It usually carries an upper age limit and premiums that rise as you age. It does not create a policy you own outright in the way an individual contract is owned.
- Conversion produces an individual whole life policy in your name, without new medical underwriting. That is a genuinely different asset: it is permanent, it can build cash value, and it is individually owned.
Whether both are available to you, at what amounts, and under what conditions depends on the specific plan your employer purchased. Two employees at different companies can both have “Voya group life” and have materially different rights.
Why the Clock Matters More Than the Face Amount
Portability and conversion rights are short-fuse rights. The window generally opens the day your group coverage ends and closes within weeks, with a window of roughly 31 days being a common industry pattern. Some contracts extend the period if the employer failed to provide written notice of the right, and some states set their own minimum notice requirements, but you should never plan around an extension.
The failure mode is almost always the same. Someone retires in the spring, sets the benefits packet aside, and calls in the fall. By then the right is gone, and if health has declined in the interim, so is the ability to buy new coverage at any price. If you are within ninety days of leaving a job or retiring, request the conversion and portability forms now, in writing, and ask for the exact deadline date in writing as well.
Call 800-955-7736 for Voya Group Life and Disability questions, and separately ask your employer’s benefits administrator for the certificate of coverage and summary plan description. Verify against the numbers and addresses printed on your own documents.
If You Convert, Could the Resulting Policy Ever Be Sold?
A converted individual whole life policy is a real asset that you own, so the question becomes legitimate rather than academic. It still is not a promise. Whether any policy has value in the secondary market turns on the insured’s age, health, the face amount, and the premium required to carry it. Buyers generally focus on meaningful face amounts and on insureds where life expectancy is shorter than average pricing assumes.
Two constraints deserve emphasis. Converted coverage issued at an older age typically carries a high premium relative to its death benefit, which reduces its economic value to a buyer. And most states impose a waiting period, frequently two years from issue, before a newly issued policy can be sold at all. Converting with the expectation of an immediate sale is not a sound plan.
Convert because you need or want the coverage and it is the only way to get it without underwriting. Treat any later secondary-market option as a possibility, not a strategy. Pine Lake does not purchase policies, makes no guarantee of eligibility or value, and this page is education rather than legal, tax or investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell my Voya group life certificate?
Generally no. Your employer or plan sponsor owns the master policy and you hold a certificate under it, which normally cannot be assigned or transferred to a third party. The productive question is what portability and conversion rights your plan gives you when coverage ends, because only an individually owned policy can change hands.
Does Voya still handle individual life insurance policies?
Not for the block it sold. On January 4, 2021, Resolution Life completed its acquisition of Voya’s in-force individual life business, including Security Life of Denver Insurance Company and Midwestern United Life Insurance Company. Voya’s own contact page now directs individual retail life policy questions to Resolution Life, while group life and disability remain with Voya.
What is the difference between portability and conversion at Voya?
Portability continues group term coverage after you leave, billed directly to you, and premiums typically rise with age. Conversion exchanges group coverage for an individual whole life policy in your own name without new medical underwriting. Conversion produces an asset you own; portability generally does not.
How long do I have to convert after leaving my employer?
The window is short and set by the specific plan document and applicable state law, with roughly 31 days after coverage ends being a common pattern. Some plans extend it if written notice was not given. Because it varies, request the forms before your last day of coverage and get the deadline confirmed in writing.
Is Voya’s group life carrier financially sound?
Voya group term life is generally underwritten by ReliaStar Life Insurance Company. On March 13, 2025, AM Best affirmed ReliaStar Life Insurance Group at a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) with a stable outlook and Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a+”. Ratings can change, so confirm the current rating if it matters to your decision.
Find out what your policy is worth — free, confidential, no obligation.
A 15-minute educational review covers your eligibility, every alternative, and a realistic view of what each path would net you.
Related Reading
- Sell My Voya Universal Life Policy
- Sell My Voya Term Policy
- Sell My Voya Variable Universal Policy
- Sell My Securian Group Life Policy
- Sell My Principal Group Life Policy
- How Do Life Settlements Work
- Change Of Ownership Life Insurance
Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase life insurance policies and does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. Information provided is for educational purposes only. Eligibility for any option, including life settlements, is not guaranteed and depends on individual circumstances, policy terms, underwriting, and market conditions. Consult independent legal, tax, or financial professionals before making decisions regarding a life insurance policy.