That the elections match the decisions
The form should record what you concluded in the review. Surprisingly often it records something else.
Retirement paperwork
The forms are where good plans go wrong. We work through the package with you, check the elections against what you actually decided, and tell you what OPM is currently taking to process it.
People spend months deciding when to retire and twenty minutes filling in the form that records it. The package is where the decisions become permanent, and where a plan that was right on paper quietly becomes something else.
Most of what goes wrong here is not exotic. It is a survivor election box ticked without the spouse’s notarised consent attached, a beneficiary form that has not been updated since a divorce, or a deposit for non-deduction service that nobody mentioned until it was too late to make.
What we check
That the supporting documents are attached
Notarised spousal consent, marriage and divorce records, military service documentation and deposit paperwork.
That the beneficiary designations are current
FEGLI, the TSP, unpaid compensation and any lump-sum annuity balance are four separate forms, none of which updates automatically.
That the timing works
Your separation date, the date the package reaches your agency, and when interim payments are likely to begin.
- Go through the package with you form by form before it is submitted
- Check every election against what you actually decided in the review
- Confirm the supporting documents are attached and in the right form
- Tell you what OPM is currently taking, so you can plan around the interim payment period
Common questions
Questions we answer every week
How long does OPM take to process a retirement?
It varies with the season and with how complete the package is; OPM publishes its current processing figures each month. Retirements filed in January, after the year-end wave, typically take longest. Expect a period on interim payments at a reduced rate before the annuity is finalised, and plan the first few months around that rather than around the full figure. [OPM PROCESSING TIME]
What are interim payments?
Once your agency transfers your record, OPM begins paying an estimated portion of your annuity — commonly a substantial majority of it — while the claim is adjudicated. When the case is finalised you receive the difference, backdated. The gap is a cash-flow problem, not a loss, but it catches people who budgeted on the full amount from month one.
Can I change an election after I have submitted the package?
Some things, within a limited window before the annuity is finalised. Others, particularly a declined survivor election, are effectively permanent once processed. This is precisely why the package is worth a second pair of eyes before it goes in rather than after.
Do I need my spouse to sign anything?
If you are married and elect anything less than the maximum survivor annuity, your spouse must consent, and the consent must be notarised. A package submitted without it will be returned, which costs weeks.
Talk it through with someone who only does this
A benefit review covers this alongside everything else, because in practice it is never a standalone decision.
Book a No Cost Retirement Review
Related: Retirement benefit review · TSP guidance · FEGLI & survivor benefits