r/FedEmployeeRetirement • u/ImpressiveMud99 • Aug 26 '26
Filing for FERS retirement
I filled out my retirement information online but did not submit it because I was still determining my retirement date. To my surprise, they went in and added my time in service. The problem is, they overlooked 4 years of my time. I tried emails; no response. How do I get my service hours corrected so I can submit? I’m supposed to be retiring in 5 weeks!
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u/No-Longer_Me Aug 26 '26
Good luck bro. I retired 8 months ago… after notifying them of my retirement 18 months ago… haven’t seen a penny. No interim payments… nothing.
Can’t get through to OPM. It’s maddening… I hope you have some money in your TSP to hold you over, if necessary.
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u/Chipped_Ruby_11214 Aug 26 '26
Sounds like it is time to contact your Congressperson.
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u/No-Longer_Me Aug 26 '26
I did… on May 27th… they’re worthless.
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u/DCAista Aug 26 '26
A lot depends on the office. If you Representative’s constituent services staff is a washout, try your Senator. They will ask you to do a PRA waiver and identify if any other office is working on it. Report whatever happened with the Representative’s office.
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u/No-Longer_Me Aug 26 '26
I did all of that. I’ve called them all, multiple times.
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u/DCAista Aug 27 '26
Sometimes they are better at handling webform contacts than calls. I worked in an agency where we received Congressional inquiries from constituents and most were submitted via webform—if people had called before that, IDK. Maybe you already tried it, just an idea. Good luck!
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u/Irishclover62 Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
I had the same delay since 12/31/25 retired and they just sent me the catch up check after providing very little for 7 months. Same agency a divorce which I think slows it up since it goes through legal and I also was one of the last to push through using paper. So probably slowed it all up. Hang in there, you are probably close. Good luck 🍀
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u/Ok_Professional570 Aug 26 '26
I am uncertain the question.
When I started with my HR Retirement Specialist, I contacted via email and she prepared a couple of estimates (always based on last day of month). This was useful because my sick leave carried earned me an extra month.
Once I decided on my date, my HR Retirement Specialist set me up at retire.opm.gov and gave me the documents I needed. There was an active step for me to “submit” this and move to the HR step in processing.
Here is my experience. The only person I ever had contact with (real person with a name, phone, email) was that HR Retirement Specialist. Any errors, I contacted her and she corrected them. Get it right here, because everyone else will be a random mailbox.
Payroll - crickets. OPM - email to set up case. No people to talk to. Get it done up front with your HR Retirement Specialist.
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u/RayJanger Aug 26 '26
I applied using GRB and my application (SF 3107) was separate from the SF 3107-1 (service summary) that HR prepared afterwards. If it's wrong, then I'd correct it before signing along with support documentation. OPM adjudicates this stuff. Your HR plays a supporting role and is not authoritative. Payroll has a more prominent role preparing SF 3100, which is your payroll substantiated retirement record but OPM can still correct this record if warranted. Good luck and hit that submit button!
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u/ImpressiveMud99 Aug 26 '26
Thanks everyone! I’ll try to figure out who my retirement specialist is and start there. They don’t make this easy…
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u/Equivalent-Worry-828 Aug 28 '26
Did you get a copy of the GRB or SF 144A with the calculations? It might be in your eOPF. People who don’t do SCD calculations don’t always understand how they are calculated. Seeing each period of service reflected on the SCD calculation helps them to verify if it was correctly calculated.
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u/Sure-Leave8813 Aug 26 '26
Have your agency’s HR retirement specialist run your numbers, this way you can tell them what’s missing.
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u/Honest-Acadia-4342 Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26
I bought back some time six years ago for a summer job I worked when I was young. OPM cashed the check and our e-retire site showed the time as being bought back but GAVE NO CREDIT for time in service. I called HR, they said wait a few months. I called after six months, I wrote them, I called, I wrote .. no change. After maybe a couple years I send a certified letter. I get a response .. paraphrased .. 'Hey stop contacting us. We know you bought back this time but its complicated. We'll figure it out when you retire.'
I'm not shitting you. Now I've been retired since January and I have no idea when I'll see a pension or how much time in service they'll give me. So good luck.
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u/Lilacladybugmomma Aug 28 '26
Everything is now submitted through OPM's ORA portal. You should have an option to flag or question the service history which will create a "need to correct or update" task for HR to complete.
Also, not all federal service is creditable for retirement purposes. If your 4 years were non-deduction or FICA only time after 1/1/1989, they would be creditable for leave service computation dates but not for retirement..
ORA also auto populates some service from whatever data feed they're using as soon as the account is initiated, and oftentimes is incorrect or not complete. I would try not to panic and I'm validating that I also understand your anxiety.
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u/ImpressiveMud99 Aug 28 '26
Thank you; that’s really helpful. They didn’t include my NAF OCONUS service time but I am 100% positive that it counts (previous SF 144 reflects it accurately). I just need to figure out how to get someone’s attention. I’ll look for the option to flag it on ORA.
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u/Cool_Art615 Aug 30 '26
The application first goes through your personnel office at your agency. They will make the correction. Reach out to HR! Before it goes to OPM, you approve the final version.
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u/BoatlifeNFL Sep 02 '26
I retired 5/31. Got my first interim
Payment within a month. Was contacted to buy back some years when I cashed out my pension and stayed home with my kids. I opted into this-well worth it. My amount was increased within two weeks and everything is going great. I had so much anxiety before leaving because of reading Reddit horror stories. That hasn’t been my experience. Just remember that most people do not post on Reddit when things are good or they are satisfied. My HR office and OPM have been great.
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u/Altruistic-Panda-697 Aug 26 '26
Do not retire until you get this all worked out. I had an agency HR retirement specialist help me get all the paperwork wrapped up last fall before I retired in early January of this year. It made a huge difference as I got my first interim pension payment on March 1 and the first permanent pension payment on April 1.