What Steps Must You Take For A Successful Financial Retirement By Bill Eager

The Steps You Must Take For A Successful Financial Retirement: By Bill Eager

 

As per Bill Eager most federal employees are thinking about how they’ll spend their life after they retire. If you’re set to retire this year (with a date already in mind), it’s time to file your paperwork.

The transition from employment to retirement begins with filling out and submitting your retirement application. The payroll and personnel offices will play a critical role in processing the retirement finalization before the Office of Personnel Management gets wind of it. While the transition can be smooth for most people, you should always prepare yourself financially in the event of a delay as per described by Bill Eager.

For instance, a retiree of the Civil Service Retirement System said they retired on 3 January 2020, after serving 40 years in their agency. The last paycheck they got from employment was made on time, but they had received nothing since. To find out what was going on, they called the retirement unit of the former agency they worked for and learned that the person who was dealing with their paperwork had quit in December.

As per Bill Eager for larger agencies with numerous pending retirements, losing the expert personnel could become a crisis to those waiting on their checks. This is why prospective retirees should have money on hand in case there is a delay, such as another person taking on new cases.

The agency you are retiring from will need to turn in a healthy retirement package to the OPM to finalize the retirement. It’s best if you stay close to home during this time, in case they need to reach out to you at any time. If one employee were to resign, it causes a snowball effect in the entire retirement process. This is why you should understand the steps that must be taken before the application is sent to the OPM to process.

What Is The Retirement Process For Federal Employees?

According to Bill Eager, The Process Begins With You 

You must fill out and turn in the retirement application under either the FERS and CSRS, along with a request to continue getting life insurance. You must fill out the following forms:

• Standard Form 2801 – Application for Immediate CSRS Retirement
• Standard Form 3107 – Application for Immediate FERS Retirement
• Standard Form 2818 – Application for Life Insurance Continuation

The application must be turned in 30 days before the anticipated retirement date. With larger agencies, 90 days or more is best. Make sure to reach out to your agency’s retirement specialist to learn more about the proper timing. The early the application is submitted, the better the chances for it to be processed before your retirement date.

After You Turn In The Application

After the application has been turned in, the personnel office will need to do the following:

• Review your electronic Official Personnel Folder (or equivalent) to ensure you meet retirement requirements on age and service.
• Create a final FERS or CSRS retirement estimate to go with the retirement package. Give yourself a copy.
• Look over the forms to ensure everything has been filled out appropriately, and elections are in line with your choices.
• CSRS employees only—if there have been any excess retirement deductions made due to a service amount that surpassed the maximum CSRS retirement computation or you would prefer a refund on these voluntary contributions, you will need to fill out the SF2802 form.
• You will also need to submit the following information (if applicable):

• Marriage certificate
• Divorce decree
• Military service records
• Proof of military health coverage (TRICARE)
• Proof of Federal Employees Health Benefits Program cover under spouse plan
• Pending worker’s compensation claims

What To Expect From The Retirement Specialist 

• Look over the completed application to ensure all blocks have been marked correctly, and everything is signed.
• Talk with the agency and OPM to understand the retirement application process.
• Find out when and how you’ll be notified of when the retirement package is sent to the OPM.
• Understand that the OPM will not start the retirement annuity process until the application and supporting documents have been sent over from the employing agency.
• Attain counseling about crediting military service toward FERS or CSRS retirement, filling out the military service credit deposit if applicable.
• Learn about interim payments and how they’ve adjusted to mirror the costs associated with life insurance, health benefits, and survivor elections.
• Learn what deductions are to be withheld from the checks for taxes (federal and state) as well as life insurance premiums, health benefits, union dues, etc.
• Provide current addresses and phone numbers in case you need to be reached.

From this point on, the agency personnel and payroll offices will take control, create the retirement package, and send the information to the OPM. After that, you just wait until approval.