A Special Report on Getting Ready for Retirement
Posted by Mike Lanway on Wed, Oct 19, 2011 @ 12:01 PM
Last week’s newsletter discussed how long it is taking retirees to receive full retirement pay. I got several responses from it, and I have permission to share some of them with you:
Retired 12/31/10: Starting in February I started receiving an interim allotment … I would call every couple of months to see how my application was coming along. It wasn't. Up until late June 2011, each time I called, the person I spoke to said a case had not been opened yet for me. In late June, I called again and spoke to someone who told me … she was going to email someone else and see if they couldn't bring my file up closer to the top. On 7/5/11, OPM advised that they had opened a case for me. On 7/13/11, OPM advised that my agency had not provided the SF 2817 or the SF 50 for proof that I had my FEGLI for at least five years prior to retirement. Finally on 9/1/11, I got my first "final" payment. So, I am telling you all this just to show that it really does take a long time to get squared away with OPM and start receiving your final benefit. Plus, it pays to be persistent by calling repeatedly to see where the process is.
Retired 07/2011: Prior to retiring in July, I socked away cash and planned to carryover my vacation time. In August I got my vacation check, $12,000+ and have started to receive partial retirement checks in Sept/Oct. I found out just after I retired that I would not start receiving my FERS Special Supplement until OPM finalized my retirement. So as one going through this right now, I would cash out plenty of vacation time and have $10,000 - 20,000 in cash to carry me over …
Retired 03/2011: My friend retired in January and just got her full retirement pay the week of 10/01/2011. I retired in March , so I am hoping to get mine by the end of the year. Good thing I had savings as a cushion because, as you say, they don’t tell you how much you will get as an interim payment. When I first saw the payment I got, I was paralyzed with dread at how small it was. Then reason overtook the dread as I told myself: “You’ve planned for this; it’ll work out.”
To borrow my reader’s words, have you planned for this? Not just “are you ready to retire”, but “Are you ready for OPM’s retirement process”? The real answer to that is “Probably not” . You need OUR SPECIAL REPORT ON RETIREMENT . Read through this 2-page article and learn what you need to do to be ready for OPM’s retirement process.
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Now, the current generation of OPM leadership is NOT callous toward all this. They are aware of the mess, and are desperately trying to clean it up. But they are caught up in what I call a perfect storm. It’s going to take time. I’ll discuss what I consider to be OPM’s admirable efforts to improve this situation next week, so stay tuned.
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Watch for next’s week benefits newsletter, and have a good week!
We’re here to help you think through your benefits and use them wisely!
Mike