OPM to Launch Digital Retirement Application Processing System in June 2025

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced Wednesday that a new digital retirement processing system that will be implemented governmentwide this summer.

OPM said that effective June 2, 2025, all new retirement applications started on this date or later, along with any supporting documents, must be submitted electronically. For these and all future applications, any newly created paper retirement packages will not be accepted and will be sent back to the agency for digital resubmission. Effective July 15, 2025, OPM will facilitate applications through OPM’s Online Retirement Application (ORA) and no longer accept paper submissions.

“Federal retirement has advanced to the digital age,” acting OPM director Charles Ezell said in a memo to agency leaders. “Three months ago, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) processed the first entirely digital retirement application. After continued advancements and testing, the team is excited to roll out the paperless process government wide.”

The current manual paper-based retirement application process is notably slow. OPM currently informs employees planning to retire that the process will take 3-5 months, and that interim retirement annuity payments will be made, which are “typically 60–80% of your estimated net annuity to help cover your expenses.”

SEE ALSO: How to Deal With OPM’s Delay in Retirement Application Processing

“The federal workforce deserves a retirement process that matches the demands of the 21st century,” Ezell wrote. “Legacy systems, with outdated technology and cumbersome procedures, have delayed retirements and frustrated employees who have dedicated their careers to public service. By harnessing modern technology and inter-agency collaboration, OPM has been working to deliver a retirement process that is fast, user-friendly, and responsive to the needs of our employees.”

Effective June 2, 2025, all federal agencies served by the National Finance Center (NFC) and the Interior Business Center (IBC) must start their retirement cases electronically via ORA. Training and onboarding assistance will be available to all participating agencies. HR staff must complete these trainings no later than June 2, 2025, according to OPM.

OPM will coordinate directly with payroll providers to ensure all agencies they service will have access to ORA in the near future.

To read the full announcement, go here.