While the Office of Personnel Management still faces several long-standing administrative challenges, one issue in particular was removed from the OPM Office of Inspector General’s latest list.
Due to “continuous improvement,” OPM’s federal retirement claims processing backlog is no longer a top management priority for the agency, OPM IG Krista Boyd said in an Oct. 1 report.
After years of growing backlogs of federal retirement claims, a new IG report shows OPM is now closer to its goal of reducing the average time it takes to process retirement claims to less than 60 days. I pointed out. As of August, the most recent data currently available, OPM had reduced its average processing time to 64 days and had an inventory of 15,178 pending claims from retiring federal employees.
With approximately 15,000 pending claims, OPM consistently exceeds its “steady state” goal of 13,000 claims inventory. However, this remains the lowest number of applications the agency has seen in the past two years. By comparison, as of October 2022, OPM’s federal retirement inventory had 25,227 pending claims, more than 10,000 claims above current levels.
For the National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE), the IG’s removal of the retirement claims backlog from OPM’s list of top priorities is a “welcome sign of progress.”
“However, the IG report’s findings that there is still work to be done to improve customer service are consistent with what NARFE members are reporting about their experiences,” said NARFE Policy and Programs Director John Hutton, vice president of staff, told Federal News Network.
Customer service satisfaction remains a challenge
OPM continues to face challenges addressing customer service in the retirement services sector, the IG wrote in its latest management report. The IG also said that while there has been some improvement, there remain “concerns” about the time it takes to process claims.
“While OPM has made significant progress in reducing the backlog of federal retirement claims, providing customer service to federal pensioners and survivor pensioners remains a top management priority,” the report said. states.
Specifically, from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2023, OPM’s average customer satisfaction score decreased by 0.29 points, from a total score of 3.74 out of 5 to 3.45. In its strategic plan, OPM set a goal to increase its customer satisfaction score to 4.2. However, the IG said the agency is currently at risk of not meeting its performance goals.
OPM is expected to formally respond to the IG’s findings in November as part of its upcoming financial report. An OPM spokesperson said the agency will share further updates on its report once it is published.
The IG said the primary reason for the decline in customer service satisfaction was inadequate staffing levels in OPM’s Retirement Services division, which were primarily due to budget and resource issues.
“OPM may receive too many customer service calls and email inquiries relative to customer service representative staffing levels,” the report states.
Hutton said the decline in customer satisfaction scores is “not surprising” given that NARFE similarly hears many questions and concerns from federal retirees about customer service at OPM’s Office of Retirement Services. said.
“That’s why NARFE fully funds OPM Retirement Services to meet the needs of our customers,” Hutton said. “However, we are also asking OPM to continue implementing and accelerating IT modernization through the adoption of online retirement applications and digital case management systems.”
In addition to staffing shortages, challenges such as transitioning to a modern federal retirement system and receiving incomplete applications have made it more difficult for OPM to process retirement claims efficiently, according to the IG report. It is said that there is Missing components in obsolete applications can significantly slow down processing time.
Going forward, OPM will improve the training of retirement services employees, strengthen collaboration with agency benefits representatives, and improve the training of federal pension recipients, with the ultimate goal of pursuing higher levels of customer satisfaction. We plan to strengthen our collaboration.
“OPM must continue its efforts to improve the overall experience of active-duty federal employees, pensioners, survivors, and their eligible family members who require customer service from government agencies,” the report states. are.
OPM’s Plan to Modernize the Federal Retirement System
Over the past few years, OPM has been working to modernize its retirement processing system. During 2024, OPM tested a pilot online federal retirement application platform. This has already shown promise with several federal payroll providers.
“It’s going to take years to get this done, but by getting to the heart of it, we’re improving the way someone starts retirement,” OPM CIO Guy Cavallo said in a recent interview with Federal News Network. said in an interview. “We’re working to make sure our computational services are right and move away from paper versions to digital versions. These are our first three building blocks.”
OPM has struggled for years to move its retirement process away from paper and modernize the systems it uses. In 2023, Cavallo said he is taking a “piecemeal” approach to modernizing OPM’s retirement system.
At the same time, limited resources are slowing progress on modernization projects and other IT modernization goals for government agencies. The report stated that OPM’s appropriations funding levels are not sufficient to achieve these goals.
Instead, OPM pursued additional funding and took other steps to reduce costs, the report said. As an example, OPM has partnered with the Technology Modernization Fund to mandate that at least $7 million of the $16 million in total TMF funding be dedicated to IT modernization efforts.
“While these are positive steps, dedicated IT modernization funding is needed to ensure OPM achieves its IT modernization goals,” the report states.
Challenges and skills gaps related to insurance programs
In addition to retirement services issues, OPM also faces continued challenges with the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program and the new Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) program, according to the IG report.
For the 2025 plan, OPM is launching an all-new postal program that will provide health insurance to approximately 2 million postal workers, pensioners, and their families. Similar to FEHB enrollees, new participants in the PSHB program will be able to change their medical options for 2025 during the open season from November 11 to December 9.
During the first open season for PSHB enrollees, the IG anticipates challenges for postal enrollees as they consider new health insurance options and navigate the program. One of those challenges stems from the “narrow development and testing window” OPM has in place to put together an insurance program, the report said. Congress gave OPM three years to fully develop and launch the program.
“OPM also faces challenges in ensuring that USPS enrollees receive sufficient communication to understand the PSHB and the new requirements for participating in the PSHB,” the report states. There is. “It is important that USPS members, especially pensioners, receive the customer service assistance they need to successfully enroll, as the first PSHB open season will tax agency resources across multiple business units. It will be a challenge for OPM.”
Additionally, skills gaps and strategic human capital management continue to be major operational challenges for OPM. According to the Government Accountability Office’s High Risk List, more than half of government’s biggest challenges stem from mission-critical skills gaps.
“Developing an action plan to address skill gaps identified in employee assessments, one of our priority recommendations in this area, will help OPM improve its capabilities in these areas. Deaf,” the report states. “This will also help OPM provide guidance to human resources services and government agencies.”
By fiscal year 2026, OPM plans to provide agencies with more detailed information and leading practices to help address skills gaps across the agency. Currently, the biggest skills gaps in the federal government are in cybersecurity, acquisition, and human resources.
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