Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released the OPM Retirement Quick Guide, a three-page guide to voluntary retirement that walks federal employees through what to expect as a retirement application is processed and benefits are determined, including helping employees estimate when they can expect to receive their interim and first annuity payments. OPM Retirement Services (RS) developed the guide in partnership with the Lab at OPM, using human-centered design principles. 

“OPM remains committed to helping federal employees transition from serving the American public to enjoying their hard-earned retirement,” said Kiran Ahuja, OPM Director. “The Retirement Guide will help employees better understand the retirement application process and ensure federal retirees and their families get the information and assistance they need during this important transition.” 

The new three-page resource guide is designed to improve customer experience by: 

• Consolidating retirement-related information into an easily accessible three-page guide; 
• Helping employees understand the claims process and timeline, as well as estimate when they can expect to receive their interim and first regular monthly annuity payment;  
• Helping employees and the Federal Human Resources community submit complete and accurate retirement applications to cut down on delays; and   

• Improving customer experience by highlighting convenient, self-service support that expands the options for customer service beyond the RS call center.  

The OPM Retirement Quick Guide shares important information and common misconceptions to demystify the federal retirement application process, including an estimated timeline of the retirement application process. It highlights circumstances that could result in a case processing delay, including court orders, incomplete applications, or cases that require special annuity computations related to certain positions.  

“This is a wonderful guide for all federal employees to help prepare for retirement,” said Taiwanna Smith, the Benefits Officer for Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Management Service. “It provides essential information needed to fully comprehend the Federal retirement process. Employees and retirees will appreciate the countless hours saved trying to research information that is very important to them. It also features key information related to OPM Services Online which is an incredibly important tool for obtaining post-retirement information.” 

View the new guide here.