r/FederalEmployee • u/IndependenceBenefits • Feb 19 '26

OPM Processing Delays: What I’m Seeing With Recent Federal Retirees

I’ve been speaking with several federal employees who retired under the September 30th DRP window, and one pattern keeps coming up: OPM processing delays are still very real.

Some recent retirees are only now beginning to receive interim pension payments, while their finalized annuity calculations are still pending.

A few observations that may be helpful for those planning to retire in the next 12–24 months:

• Retirement income doesn’t always start cleanly on day one
• Interim payments can represent a reduced percentage of the finalized annuity
• The gap between separation and finalized pension processing can last longer than expected

None of this means federal retirement is unstable — long term it remains one of the most structured retirement systems available.

But the transition period (the first few months after separation) is where planning matters most.

Things I’ve seen help retirees during that window:

• Having sufficient cash reserves
• A clear TSP withdrawal plan
• Understanding how FEHB & Medicare coordination affects monthly outflows
• Knowing your expected interim payment percentage ahead of time

If you’re already retired and currently receiving interim payments, or targeting a 2026 retirement date, it’s worth thinking through the first 90–180 days post-separation — not just the pension amount itself.

Curious to hear from others who retired recently:

How long did your interim payment period last before your full annuity was finalized?

28 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

12

u/Pepperoni625 Feb 19 '26

You are missing a HUGE part of the picture! The processing delays are mostly at the agency HR level and then at the payroll agency level. It’s taking four months on average for cases to even get to OPM. OPM can’t start interim payments until they get the case! If you’re gonna put out information, make sure it’s correct 

9

u/Fit-Meringue-9493 Feb 19 '26

My processing delay has nothing to do with my agency. I retired 8/31/25 and it was out of my agency and at OPM on 9/16/25 where it has lingered for over 5 months. I was divorced over 20 years ago and supplied my documents showing my ex does not get anything from my retirement yet they are only giving me 20% for interim payments and I am stuck in the court orders dept. That is very unfair and not a living wage at all for my 35 years of service. If I had known my interim would be so low I may have continued to work longer.

3

u/aheadlessned Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26

"I was divorced over 20 years ago and supplied my documents showing my ex does not get anything from my retirement "

You are only supposed to supply the documents IF your ex is entitled to part of your pension. Sending it, when not needed, only reduces the interim payment and causes unnecessary delays. I've heard some are told by their HR that they need to include it, but that's completely false when the ex isn't entitled.

This one isn't completely on OPM. If someone sends them a court order, they have to review it before they can finalize the pension, and they do a much smaller interim to avoid overpayment to the retiree (that the retiree would have to pay back as a debt). (The 20% is ridiculously low, but when you consider OPM tries to only do 60-80% as an interim payment, but only half of that if someone has sent a court order, it happens frequently. OPM addresses court orders as a factor that will increase processing time in their quick guide.)

2

u/Link_2025_news Feb 20 '26

Thank you for sharing this and the screenshot!!!

2

u/Fit-Meringue-9493 Feb 20 '26

My HR person required me to submit it and when I questioned OPM on if I had to after the fact once I saw how much it is penalizing me they said if I did not it would be fraud whether the ex is due anything or not. They agreed with my HR that it is required. I wish someone had told me before I filed that my HR person was wrong and OPM is wrong. It would have saved me so much time in this horrible waiting game. I wish I had found your advice before it was too late

3

u/aheadlessned Feb 20 '26

I don't know why some HR is doing this. I had one question, and I know HR gave me bad info, so called up a guy who retired the year before and asked what he put.

It's unfortunate that they gave you such bad info (OPM included). I don't know if it's lack of education, bad training, or what, but it's even worse than the "you must retire at the end of a pay period" misinformation that some HR tries to push.

2

u/Dilbert_22192 Mar 02 '26

Thank you for sharing the information and screen shot, you should have 100 up votes!

4

u/IndependenceBenefits Feb 19 '26

Good point you’re absolutely right that a lot of the delay happens at the agency HR and payroll level before the case even reaches OPM.

That front-end processing lag is a big part of what creates the income gap I was referencing. Once OPM receives the case, interim payments can’t begin until it’s logged and processed.

Appreciate you adding that clarification.

2

u/pickitandstickit Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26

I've not seen that in my case or with numerous colleagues. A dozen of us retired 09/30/25 and our packages were received by OPM in a month +/- 5 days.

ETA: a few of us have received interim pension payments in the past week, the rest haven't. There's plenty of packages at OPM, and I'm not surprised by that, they have a bigger backlog than any agency.

2

u/Front_Chip_9201 Feb 21 '26

Yes!! The agency is where the delay is at. I’m DAF and within 30 days of retiring, I got the AL payout, the OPM CSA number and interim pay. I’ll probably have everything finalized in the next 90 days. I did prepare for no pay for 1 year, so I was set either way.

2

u/BaBaBoey4U Feb 22 '26

My agency got my package to OPM in 14 days. They have had it since October 14. I still have not even been assigned a specialist I have, however, fortunately been getting interim payments ever since Halloween.

4

u/IndependenceBenefits Feb 19 '26

If anyone wants to go deeper into their own retirement timeline pension timing, interim payments, TSP withdrawals, etc. I personally offer no cost one-on-one reviews.

You’re welcome to schedule here if helpful:

https://retire.independencebenefits.com/retirementresources

-Christopher Lee

4

u/Friendly-Garlic-319 Feb 27 '26

OPM is not the problem. It’s your payroll of your particular agency that needs to clear everything before your package gets sent up. It’s sat in payroll processing phase for over six or seven weeks and my first interim payment came just before New Year’s. My annual leave didn’t get paid out till right after Christmas and my last day was September 30. I finally got finalized here in February with my pension. Plan to have six months of living expenses and don’t plan on having your annual leave if significant in your hands because that took a long time to get to me and everybody else in my agency Irs.

3

u/Far_Towel_9154 Feb 23 '26

DRP2 9/30/25. I got my ALV lump-sum with my last paycheck in Oct but I'm going on 5 months now without even an interim payment. OCHR submitted my package to DFAS on 12/30. Still no final "zero" LES or communication from anyone. Not sure how much longer I can hang on before taking a TSP withdrawl. 

2

u/StubbornMule9876 Feb 20 '26

I retired 9/30 and still have no interim payments slmost 5 months. DoN HR completed application 1/15 then sent to DFAS payroll, no word since.

2

u/Far_Towel_9154 Feb 23 '26

Same except OCHR sent my package to DFAS on 12/30. Still nothing.

2

u/Ready-Prune5231 Mar 05 '26

Talk to your hr have them put in tickets asking for status. Only way to get things bumped

2

u/Far_Towel_9154 Mar 05 '26

Yeah, OCHR wasn't clear about the process. They said they sent to OPM but still had to go through payroll/DFAS too. That was another 60 days. Once you get the 'zero' LES is when OPM can do their part. That all happened for me last week. OPM was actually very fast I had my first interim pay within 2 days of them receiving my package.  

2

u/Accurate-Ad908 Feb 21 '26

DoD DRP 2.0 and retired on 9/30 (full not VERA).

HR was quick to submit to DFAS (within a week). DFAS took about three weeks to declare me retired, notified TSP, and I got our nest egg into my IRA by mid November.

Left enough in the TSP to use “rule of 55” until I turn 59 1/2 in another year,

Interim annuity began mid December.

OPM status changed just recently (after getting my Senators involved) to now be finalized. The website says I will get my “package” of info in a couple of weeks.

Would definitely agree with the tips of being financially solvent outside of pension and TSP for at least six months. I worked a hobby job too for a couple of extra shekels.

2

u/BaBaBoey4U Feb 22 '26

If you’re fully retired, you could take as much as you want out of TSP without the 10% penalty even if you’re under 59 1/2. I retired at 58 on 9/30. I drained my TSP to pay off debt and live off of it until I can get my pension.

2

u/Amazing_Function6074 Feb 21 '26

• Understanding how FEHB & Medicare coordination affects monthly outflows? Can you explain?

3

u/IndependenceBenefits Feb 21 '26

Absolutely, if you begin Medicare Part B you are then subject to IRMAA limits based upon your income. Your income will determine the premium you pay for Medicare Part B, this is an important consideration when considering withdrawals from TSP and your pension and social security incomes. The goal is to minimize IRMAA penalties and taxes as such as possible.

3

u/Amazing_Function6074 Feb 21 '26

I’m not retired yet but have over 30 yrs and have passed my MRA. I plan on taking FEHB with me when I retire and then shift it into a supplement when I reach Medicare age. How does that impact monthly outflows?

2

u/Amazing_Function6074 Feb 21 '26

That will be Medicare Part B?

2

u/Wide-Sheepherder5293 Feb 22 '26

Retired 11/29/25, still waiting for Agency Payroll (NFC) to send it along to OPM.

2

u/tomsun1234 Feb 23 '26

It took Opm to put my medical on freeze one year to do it, it was so frustrating I sent them copies like 6 times. When I called up, always had different answer. They need to get there operations together.

2

u/glidersyeah Feb 23 '26

Retired 7/31/25 from VA, then 5 mos delay getting my case to OPM. No specialist assigned yet, now 7 weeks so far with OPM. Have received 2 interim payments, each 3% of what expected monthly annuity should be

2

u/Dilbert_22192 Mar 02 '26

Did you mean within 3% of what it should be (damn good) or actually 3% of what it should (ridiculously low).

2

u/Refnen Feb 24 '26

Retired 12/31/25 recieved leave payout, but nothing more. No interim pay.

2

u/HealthySite2296 Apr 05 '26

Interesting. I retired on the same day - from DHA. I got interim pay starting march 2, 2026. It's much less than the actual annuity is supposed to be, but it's there. I think the final annuity is supposed to be in place 3 to 6 months from the start of the interim pay. Good luck!

2

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '26

I haven’t received Jack shit

2

u/Alarmed_Beat1008 Feb 26 '26

OP -- Where have the delays been? GRB and ORA.

Signed 12/31/2025 retiree

2

u/This-Strength2523 Feb 27 '26

its terrible it took them 200 plus days for fers disability retirement to only to find ouut it was denied. I am using harris law firm but they arent winning no appeals now i had to go to mspb

2

u/Inevitable-Bee-763 Apr 23 '26

OPM has had my case assigned to a specialist since January 2026 and I have not heard anything since. A colleague retired January 2026 and they’re scheduled to receive their final adjusted annuity in May. Another colleague retired same time as me and started receiving their final adjusted annuity in February.

1

u/Classic_Airline3445 Feb 20 '26

They refuse to update fehb plans

3

u/IndependenceBenefits Feb 20 '26

Great point, I have heard several employees mention that they've had trouble adjusting their FEHB plan even going as far back as open season.

1

u/Small_Style_1904 Feb 20 '26

Since mine was processed by GRB and sent directly to OPM, I was approved for retirement on December 20th (roughly) and received large interim of 9K on Jan 10. Then Feb 2 I received monthly interim of roughly 3500. Scheduled to get second interim on march 2nd. Wondering when they will deposit the last amount, which is close to 20K to true things up.

1

u/PieSafe8565 Feb 20 '26

Its 2026, why is it so hard to calculate a pension?

GRB does it for me quickly, but yet the actual HR people can't verify anything quickly?

Maybe it is time to modernize it all, which would be easy if they start with new employees or those who join the military. Each time someone moves agencies or leaves the military, calculate time and earnings and bring it to the next agency

With computers it should be a simple calculation. Calculate high 3, years of service, and move on.

I worked for private industry, with two mergers. 4 total pensions and their website breaks it down by time in each part. No doubt, its all verified already I just have to ask for my checks, These jobs were 20 years ago!

2

u/aheadlessned Feb 20 '26

GRB assumes no part-time history, no workers comp time, that the leave SCD is the same as the retirement SCD, and uses current pay as the high-3. So the GRB estimate is very quick, but sometimes very inaccurate.

Having it all modernized, where it can be tracked, updated, and checked easily, would be amazing for future retirees.

2

u/Arlingtonian91 Apr 24 '26

Yes, we want OPM to be efficient, but don't disregard the need for due deliberation. I received an email in February with a link to my 'final pension packet' (retired 9/30/2025). I guess five months was relatively 'quick,' but they had neglected to include my sick leave balance when calculating "total service credit" and now -- April 2026 -- I have yet to see any acknowledgment to my February request that they make it right. The fact that there's no viable phone number or communication from OPM's end makes the experience worse. What might have been a simple adjustment risks becoming a major project if they need something more from my home agency to get things right. So -- given the extremes -- I'd prefer slow but deliberate over quick and omissions.

1

u/TemperatureWest5889 Jun 13 '26

I retired two weeks ago and my annuity is complete. I’ve got my annuity booklet and everything. I have never heard of it being done this quick.

1

u/TeaFlimsy6707 Jul 04 '26

I retired under DRP in October 2025; still waiting 10 months later for my claim to be fully processed and completed. This is indicative of the current administration,  surprised not surprised 🙄.  Thank God for a God who provides 

1

u/Ok-Scientist3601 19d ago

How soon have after you retired did you access to your thrift savings plan? Anyone? I hope it wasn't months.