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The newly released Senate version of the general government appropriations bill continues several long-running provisions including a focus on the processing of federal retirement applications to speed up payments of full benefits to new retirees.
A report says the Appropriations Committee “is concerned with the lengthy delays to process retirement and survivor claims and update health insurance benefits, as well as other critical changes that impact retirement benefits. These delays cause hardships for federal annuitants and their families” who for the meantime receive only partial benefits.
The report requires OPM to continue issuing monthly data on processing time as it has been required to do for years while also starting to report on timeliness of applications for survivor benefits, annuitant health benefit adjustments, and other FEHB and FEGLI adjustments.
In addition, “OPM is expected to keep the committee informed on the measures OPM is taking to decrease the processing delays and improve customer service levels, including the average time it takes a caller to reach an OPM operator and the number and percentage of unanswered calls.”
The report also expressed concern about the “length of time it takes the federal government to hire qualified employees and the difficulty talented individuals have in applying for and securing federal employment . . . It is problematic that a number of agencies find it easier to request hiring and personnel flexibilities through legislation rather than through existing authorities, which contributes to the proliferation of agency-specific and position-specific hiring changes that make the system even more complicated and challenging to manage.”
It also says the committee wants information on “how the federal government can reduce its office space requirements based on the lessons learned from the use of telework during the pandemic.”
Other provisions would continue: a ban on conducting “Circular A-76” studies that can lead to contracting-out of federal jobs; requirements for reporting and IG reviews of spending on conferences; and a ban on training not directly related to an employee’s job duties.
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See also,
Federal Retirement COLA Count Hits 9 Percent
The Process of Retiring – OPM’s Benefits Determination Process
House Republicans Revive Retirement Benefit-Cutting Proposals
Retiring from a Federal Job – Getting Started
Retiring from a Federal Job: Make Sure Your Agency Gets it Right