One of the biggest mistakes you can make when applying for your federal retirement is waiting until the last minute to check the accuracy of your Official Personnel Folder (OPF). The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) uses the information in your OPF to determine your eligibility to retire, the amount of your annuity (pension) and much more. Failing to correct errors before you retire can end up delaying when you receive your first full pension check.
Documents Included In Your OPF
The documents in your OPF include your federal employment history, your military service credit, plus records related to your FERS annuity (pension), health and life insurance, your beneficiaries, and your Thrift Savings Plan. Check your OPF for errors at least a year before your retirement date so that you have the time you need to make any crucial corrections.
“Creditable Service is the amount of time you’ve worked for the federal government that counts towards your FERS retirement.”
Carefully Check The Accuracy Of Form SF-50
Form SF-50 contains some highly important retirement-related information you need to check for accuracy. For example, Box 30 of your SF-50 form officially states which retirement plan you’re covered by: the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), or the CSRS-Offset. Believe it or not, some federal employees were placed in the wrong retirement system when hired and didn’t discover the error until they were close to their retirement date.
Your Retirement Service Computation Date (SCD), is also important. This is the date when you first contributed to your retirement plan. The SCD for retirement is one of the factors that determine when you can retire and the amount of your gross FERS annuity. Other important items on Form SF-50 include:
- Confirming the accuracy of the spelling of your name.
- Confirming the accuracy of your Social Security number and your date of birth.
- Verifying the correct FEGLI life insurance election code is documented in your file.
- Checking and updating all of your beneficiary forms especially if you’ve divorced and remarried.
Make Sure Your OPF Contains All Of Your Creditable Service
Creditable Service is the amount of time you’ve worked for the federal government that counts towards your FERS retirement. Perhaps you once worked for the Census Bureau or held a temporary position with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during tax season. If contributions to FERS were deducted from your pay while doing this work it’s considered creditable service that counts towards your retirement.
For access to your OPF, contact your agency’s HR office. If you find errors or missing information, notify your HR office immediately.
