OPM Ends Paper Federal Retirement Processing, Promises First Pension Payments Within 7 Days
Updated
Updated · FEDmanager · Jul 7
OPM Ends Paper Federal Retirement Processing, Promises First Pension Payments Within 7 Days
2 articles · Updated · FEDmanager · Jul 7
Summary
July 1 marked OPM’s “last day of paper” for most federal retirement applications, shifting nearly all submissions and processing to its Online Retirement Application system; some smaller intelligence agencies are exempt.
The move lets retirees, HR offices and payroll staff work from one electronic record, while a new pre-retirement filing tool allows much of the process to be completed before separation.
OPM said complete applications submitted by an employee’s separation date should trigger a first pension payment within seven days, even as final payroll information is still being finalized.
38,547 claims remained in the retirement backlog at the end of May, down from 65,237 in February, but average processing time rose to 87 days from 78 in April and digital claims to 66 days from 50.
By the end of the fiscal year, OPM also expects to launch an AI-enabled customer support tool and upgraded call-center technology as part of the broader retirement-system overhaul.