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Strategic Objective

SG07.01 Prepare the Federal workforce for retirement from entry-on-duty across every stage of the employee life-cycle

Strategic Objective

Increase the percentage of all retirement data from agencies according to the required standard.

Increase the percentage of retirement applications prepared through information systems that meet established standards and have

Increase the percentage of all retirement data from agencies according to the required standard.

Increase the percentage of retirement applications prepared through information systems that meet established standards and have been certified by OPM.

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Lead Office: Retirement Services

Themes:

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Overview
Progress Update

Overview

Establishing shared responsibility among OPM offices and agencies to ensure consistent information, tools, and counseling to employees.
Establishing government-wide data elements and standards spanning the employee life-cycle for management and receipt of timely and accurate employee data required for retirement.
Establishing and enforcing standards for information systems used for management of retirement counseling and application preparation, and application transmittal.
Promulgating policy harmonization and standards across Government and issue requirement for all

Progress Update

OPM provides webinar trainings to the HR Community through OPM’s YouTube Channel and the OPM website. The webcasts include Processing Phased Retirement, TSP Transfers and Rollovers: How, When, and Why (or Why Not!); and Overview of Federal Employees Insurance Benefits. OPM delivered six webinars in FY 2015 that received more than 20,000 views. Because the webcasts are hosted online, they continue to provide training to benefits officers on key topics related to retirement. The webinars are available at: https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/benefits-officers-center/training/.

OPM provided in-person Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Corrections Act (FERCCA) trainings to the Department of Energy, Securities and Exchange Commission, General Services Administration, and the Department of the Interior. OPM also provided training on the Act to the Department of Justice. In July, OPM held a Roadshow event with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Executive Board to provide a Civil Service Retirement System and Federal Employees Retirement System overview.

In FY 2015, budget constraints across the Federal Government resulted in OPM’s cancellation of its annual Agency Benefit Officers’ Training conference. To continue to meet benefits officer mandatory training needs, OPM dedicated time and resources to developing a virtual benefits officers training seminar. Through the Benefits Officers Virtual Training Seminar, held in November 2014, OPM provided updates to participants on benefits initiatives, shared best practices, and discussed crosscutting issues in retirement, insurance, and Thrift Savings Plan administration. The event also featured information on OPM’s Retirement Audit initiative and how to provide a healthy retirement case to OPM. The agency provided an additional virtual Federal benefits seminar in June 2015 that integrated feedback from the November event. The seminar focused on increasing knowledge of the Federal benefits programs and improvements to the retirement process. More than 575 people registered for the June seminar, an increase from the more than 450 registrations for the November seminar.

While virtual trainings enable OPM to reach a wide audience, the downside is that they do not provide the same level of networking, engagement, and relationship building as in-person trainings. OPM will assess the ability of individuals to travel and attend in-person seminars on an annual basis. If in-person attendance is not feasible, OPM plans to continue providing virtual training seminars.

OPM, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, has determined that performance toward this strategy is making noteworthy progress.

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Strategic Goals

Strategic Goal:

SG7 Improved Retirement Benefit Service

Statement:

Ensure that Federal retirees receive timely, appropriate, transparent, seamless, and accurate retirement benefits.

Strategic Objectives

SG07.01 Prepare the Federal workforce for retirement from entry-on-duty across every stage of the employee life-cycle

Statement:

Increase the percentage of all retirement data from agencies according to the required standard.

Increase the percentage of retirement applications prepared through information systems that meet established standards and have been certified by OPM.

Description:

Establishing shared responsibility among OPM offices and agencies to ensure consistent information, tools, and counseling to employees.
Establishing government-wide data elements and standards spanning the employee life-cycle for management and receipt of timely and accurate employee data required for retirement.
Establishing and enforcing standards for information systems used for management of retirement counseling and application preparation, and application transmittal.
Promulgating policy harmonization and standards across Government and issue requirement for all agencies and payroll centers to provide data in an appropriate format.
Continuing agency audits to improve quality of retirement submissions.
Engaging employees across the employee life cycle in preparation for retirement.

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SG07.02 Advance the 21st century customer-focused retirement processing system for claims adjudication in a timely and accurate manner

Statement:

Exceed established targets on processing retirement and survivor claims accurately as published in the Annual Performance Report.

Improve the level of customer satisfaction as measured by customers satisfied with overall retirement services.

Exceed the targets established to reduce improper payments in the retirement program as outlined in the annual Agency Financial Report.

Description:

Investing in information technology tools and solutions such as the development of a full case management and workflow capability to facilitate payment of accurate and timely benefits payments.
Using performance measures to ensure quality customer service.
Strengthening quality assurance processes, policies, and procedures.
Ensuring continued focus on addressing and reducing improper payments.
Using all tools available including the CARE Team, the LAS survey and the Customer Service Survey to identify customer service trends and prioritize areas where change is needed
Delivering optimal customer service experiences by improving processes.
Implementing best practices for receipt and use of electronic data.
Issuing data standards for agencies and payroll providers and investing in the capability to receive data in appropriate standards.
Issuing data standards for electronic application.

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FY 14-15 Priority Goal: PG1 Retirement claims processing improvements

Statement:

Reduce Federal retirement processing time by making comprehensive improvements and move toward electronic processing of all retirement applications. Starting July 1, 2014, process 90 percent of cases in 60 days or less. By the end of FY 2015, increase the use of services on-line by 25 percent (from a baseline of 367,000 annuitants), and increase the percentage of complete cases received from agencies to 95 percent or greater (from a baseline of 89 percent) with the long term goal of 100 percent of cases received as complete.In addition, by FY 2015, OPM will develop capabilities to receive electronic retirement applications.

Description:

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is responsible for the administration of the Federal Retirement Program covering over 2.7 million active employees and nearly 2.6 million annuitants. This responsibility is shared with agency partners who counsel their employees and administer the initial retirement application process, and submit the employee’s application, with all supporting documentation, to OPM’s Retirement Services. OPM remains committed to improving all areas of retirement case related production by refining and implementing Lean Six Sigma activities, providing needed training and development, and diverting resources to areas needing concentrated efforts. In order to make comprehensive improvements to retirement claims processing, OPM will continue to focus on the following four pillars: People; Productivity and Process Improvement; Partnerships with Agencies; and Partial, Progressive IT Improvements.

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SG07.03 Improve OPM service to Federal agency benefit officers

Statement:

Train and certify agency benefit/retirement officers who have not been trained on retirement services

Description:

Developing an agency benefit officers’ service delivery model emphasizing shared responsibility for benefits/retirement among employees, OPM and agencies.
Defining standards for agency benefit officers, measuring their results, and recognizing them for exceptional customer service.
Develop training certification for agency benefit/retirement officers on retirement services.

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Agency Priority Goals

FY 14-15: PG1 Retirement claims processing improvements

Statement:

Description:

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