Washington, D.C. - In an ongoing effort to ensure Federal employees get full retirement pay with their first retirement check, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Linda M. Springer today announced OPM has awarded a contract to Accenture to develop Business Transformation (BT) and Information Technology (IT) models designed to complement the agency's transition to an electronic retirement system.

This contract represents the second step in OPM's three-prong approach to ensure Federal retirees receive their full retirement benefits in their first retirement checks. In some instances, retirees have had to wait months to receive their full benefits, which is unacceptable.

"It's a disgrace that Federal retirees are not getting full benefits at the first payment. We have examples of new retirees having to wait months for their full retirement pay, and that's unacceptable. Members of Congress have asked us to fix this problem. By conducting a thorough contractor search, we have found a solution that will fix the problem and keep it fixed as we face increasing waves of retirees in the future," Springer said.

"This agreement will help OPM reform the manner it processes retirement claims by devising more efficient and effective business systems and procedures. With Accenture's support and expertise, we are one step closer to eliminating the current, antiquated, paper-driven system of retirement benefits processing, and giving our retirees what they deserve - a simple system to get them their full benefits quickly."

Through the BT/IT contract, OPM retirement experts will work with Accenture to ensure agency staff is properly organized and trained to work efficiently with the new, electronic

Defined Benefits Technology Solution (DBTS), the first portion of Retirement Systems Modernization plan recently awarded in a contract to Hewitt Associates. The result will be a paperless, electronic benefits delivery and tracking system. When fully complete, the system will provide a one-stop location for Federal retirees to access their retirement records and significantly decrease the time it takes to process claims.

The first component of the contract, BT, will align the people, processes, and organization to achieve maximum benefits and efficiencies of the solution. It will include organization redesign, process redesign, training, communication, and competency assessment. The second component, IT, will ensure all supporting technology allows people, processes, and organizations at OPM to utilize DBTS capabilities to the fullest extent possible.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.