Accurately completing your retirement paperwork can eliminate delays in processing; reach out for a complimentary session with an expert as early as 1-year in advance of your planned retirement date, but no later than the week before retirement.

Knowing that it often takes 6-months to process your correct paperwork, we encourage (free) support from our team to eliminate unneeded payment delays. If you plan to file just weeks or days before retirement (which is absolutely allowable), we advise that you plan to rely on savings for a few months while waiting for your initial retirement payment to be processed.

Take these steps if you’re nearing retirement

1. Review your Service Computation Date (SCD) and retirement eligibility.
2. Confirm creditable service: include any military time, deposits, and re-deposits – and know that it takes about a year to complete a military buy-back.
3. Estimate your pension: you can use OPM’s FERS Retirement Calculator, your agency’s HR office, or reach out to our team – all of these options are at no cost to you.
4. Attend a pre-retirement session offered by your Agency’s HR, or with independently operated experts like our team members – both at no cost.
5. Gather required documents (like the SF-3107, Application for Immediate Retirement), FEHB & FEGLI choices, survivor benefits decision, etc.).
6. Review TSP withdrawal options, and ways you might strengthen your financial position by leveraging your savings for your retirement; from growing and protecting your savings to creating a lifetime-income plan. Get a no-cost Retirement Analysis from our team.
7. Determine when to start your Social Security and put an initial plan in place.
8. Submit your FERS retirement paperwork to your agency’s HR office (then HR submits it to OPM). You’ll get a notice confirming that your paperwork has been processed or you’ll receive a notice for needed corrections.

Additional Resources