Retirement Policy

Not infrequently, agencies and employees or retirees get into disputes over eligibility, earnings history or some other point that is important in determining a retirement benefit. In some cases these disputes turn into formal legal challenges but agencies do have the authority in some cases to reach settlements that avoid the formal process.


Office of Personnel Management guidelines advise agencies about appropriate settlement terms when the settlement affects retirement benefits. They say, for example, that because of differences in statutory authority, certain settlement terms may be acceptable in settling a discrimination-based appeal that are less appropriate in settling other personnel action appeals.


OPM