Proposed changes to federal benefits, such as the elimination of the retiree annuity supplement and the transition to a “high-5” annuity calculation, could sway many federal employees to seek retirement. Fortunately, according to a recent memo from OPM, retirement processing has been modernized.
“Federal retirement has advanced to the digital age.” That’s the first line of a May 7th memorandum from Charles Ezell, Acting Director of the OPM, announcing “a modernized, efficient, and expedient retirement process.” Effective June 2, 2025, all retirement applications and supporting documents must be submitted electronically. Paper retirement packages will no longer be accepted and will be sent back to the agency for digital resubmission. This applies to agencies serviced by the National Finance Center (NFC) and the Interior Business Center (IBC). July 15, 2025, marks the date that all applications will be facilitated through the OPM’s new Online Retirement Application (ORA). This new, entirely digital process promises to provide a more efficient and improved experience by drastically reducing the amount of time involved in retirement processing.
Past attempts to modernize retirement processing have been unsuccessful, resulting in paper applications still being processed by hand. This fact was referenced by Elon Musk, who tasked the Department of Government Efficiency with updating the system. Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia was brought on board to aid in the operation. Gebbia announced in a May 2nd post on X that “for the first time in US Gov history, 25 people are retiring online only…This is a big win for retirees to get their full check faster, and testament to how quickly @USOPM is working towards the President’s software modernization Exec Order.”
Over the first quarter of 2025, 33,500 federal employees have retired, which is a nearly 13% increase over the 29,700 who retired in Q1 of 2024. OPM’s retirement backlog lowered to 16,700, a decrease of 4,000 from March. The average processing time is 54 days. Gebbia expects the new online process to take a few days at most. The OPM Retirement Quick Guide estimates that, using the current system, submitting your retirement now will result in a 3-5 month wait to receive a full annuity payment.
For expert help guiding you through the federal retirement process, reach out to a Federal Retirement Consultant (FRC®) who understands your unique benefits.
