OPM Has Gone Digital: What Federal Employees Need to Know Before Filing for Retirement in 2026

OPM says more than 95% of federal retirement applications are now processed electronically. Learn what the new digital retirement process means, what documents to prepare, and why a faster system still requires a complete retirement plan.

For decades, federal employees associated retirement paperwork with long forms, physical files, agency handoffs, payroll processing, and waiting for documents to move through the system.

That process is now changing in a major way.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced that it has ended paper retirement processing for more than 95% of federal retirement applications. According to OPM, nearly all retirement applications will now be submitted and processed electronically through the Online Retirement Application system, also known as ORA.

OPM also reported that ORA has processed more than 155,000 retirement applications over the past year. OPM described the milestone in its official Last Day of Paper announcement.

This is a major modernization for federal retirement. But federal employees should not misunderstand what it means.

A digital process may help reduce paperwork, improve visibility, and make the retirement application process more efficient. But it does not replace the need for careful retirement planning.

A faster system cannot fix an incomplete retirement plan.

If you are planning to retire in 2026 or within the next few years, this change matters. You need to understand what has changed, what has not changed, and what you should organize before submitting your retirement application.

What Changed?

OPM’s announcement marks a major shift away from paper retirement processing.

For years, retirement applications often depended on physical documents being moved between the employee’s agency, payroll provider, and OPM. That paper-based process contributed to delays, limited transparency, and frustration for many retirees waiting for final adjudication.

With ORA, OPM says the process is now largely digital. The system is designed to allow federal employees, agency human resources offices, payroll providers, and OPM to work from a shared electronic record.

That matters because retirement processing involves multiple parties. Your agency has to prepare your retirement package. Payroll has to finalize certain information. OPM then reviews and calculates your benefit.

A shared digital process may reduce errors, reduce back-and-forth paperwork, and help applicants see where they are in the process.

OPM’s Online Retirement Application page describes several key features, including:

• Pre-filled application information using OPM data
• Digital uploads for supporting documents
• A dashboard and status tracker
• Collaboration between applicants, HR, and payroll providers
• A final readiness check to help reduce incomplete applications

This is a meaningful improvement for federal employees preparing to retire.

What Has Not Changed?

Even though the process is becoming digital, the basic retirement planning responsibility has not gone away.

Federal employees still need to understand their retirement eligibility, service history, survivor benefit options, health insurance choices, life insurance options, TSP strategy, Social Security timing, tax planning, and retirement income needs.

ORA may help with the retirement application process, but it does not decide whether you can afford to retire.

It does not automatically determine your full retirement income plan.

It does not replace a personal review of your FERS pension estimate, TSP withdrawals, Social Security timing, monthly expenses, survivor benefit elections, FEHB continuation, or debt obligations.

The retirement application is only one part of retirement readiness.

Your actual retirement plan is much bigger.

Why This Matters for Federal Employees

Federal retirement is not a single paycheck decision.

A federal employee’s retirement income may include several moving parts:

• FERS pension
• Thrift Savings Plan withdrawals
• Social Security
• FERS Special Retirement Supplement, if eligible
• military retired pay, if applicable
• VA disability compensation, if applicable
• spousal income or pension
• Roth IRA or Traditional IRA balances
• taxable brokerage accounts
• cash savings
• survivor benefits
• health insurance premiums
• life insurance deductions
• dental, vision, and long-term care coverage

Because of this, the retirement application process should not be treated as the beginning of planning. It should be the final administrative step after the larger plan has already been reviewed.

If your numbers are not ready before you apply, a digital system may simply move an incomplete plan forward faster.

That is not the same thing as being prepared.

The Biggest Mistake to Avoid

The biggest mistake federal employees can make is assuming that a smoother application process means retirement itself will be simple.

A digital retirement application may make filing easier, but the decisions inside the retirement process can still have long-term consequences.

For example:

• Choosing a survivor benefit can affect your pension amount and your spouse’s future income.
• Continuing FEHB into retirement requires meeting eligibility rules.
• Life insurance elections can affect deductions and coverage.
• Your retirement date can affect your annual leave payout and first annuity timing.
• Your TSP withdrawal strategy can affect taxes and long-term income.
• Social Security timing can affect lifetime income.
• Federal taxes and state taxes can reduce spendable retirement income.

These are not small details.

They can affect your monthly income for the rest of your life.

What Federal Employees Should Prepare Before Using ORA

Before submitting a retirement application, federal employees should organize key information and documents.

Here are practical areas to review.

1. Confirm Your Retirement Eligibility

Before you file, confirm which retirement category applies to you.

Common retirement paths include:

• Immediate retirement
• MRA plus 10 retirement
• Postponed retirement
• Deferred retirement
• Special category retirement for certain law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers, and other covered employees
• Disability retirement, if applicable

Your eligibility affects when your annuity can begin, whether reductions apply, and whether certain benefits can continue.

Do not rely only on assumptions. Verify your retirement eligibility with your agency benefits office.

2. Review Your Service History

Your FERS pension depends heavily on your creditable service.

Before retiring, review your service computation date, retirement coverage, military service deposits, redeposits, temporary service, part-time service, and any breaks in service.

OPM’s Retirement Quick Guide recommends downloading your personnel records if your agency uses eOPF because you may lose access after retirement.

This is important. Once you separate, retrieving documents may become harder.

3. Check Your High-3 Salary Estimate

Your FERS pension calculation is based in part on your high-3 average salary.

That means your pension estimate should be reviewed carefully, especially if you recently received a promotion, changed schedules, changed locality pay areas, or had periods of part-time employment.

A small error in service history or salary information can affect your pension estimate.

4. Review Unused Sick Leave

Unused sick leave can increase your length of service for pension computation purposes. It generally does not make you eligible to retire sooner, but it may increase the pension calculation once you are otherwise eligible.

Make sure your sick leave balance is accurate before retirement.

5. Understand Your Survivor Benefit Election

The survivor benefit election is one of the most important retirement decisions a married federal employee may make.

Choosing a survivor benefit can reduce the retiree’s annuity, but it may provide continuing income and help preserve FEHB eligibility for a surviving spouse.

This should not be rushed.

Federal employees should understand the difference between full survivor benefits, partial survivor benefits, and no survivor benefit before making an election.

6. Review FEHB and FEGLI Continuation Rules

Many federal employees want to keep Federal Employees Health Benefits into retirement.

That is a valuable benefit, but it has rules.

Before retiring, confirm whether you meet the requirements to continue FEHB into retirement. Also review FEGLI life insurance options and how the cost may change as you age.

These decisions can affect your retirement budget.

7. Prepare Supporting Documents

OPM says ORA allows digital uploads of supporting documents.

Depending on your situation, you may need documents such as:

• Marriage certificate
• Divorce decree or court order
• Military service records
• DD Form 214
• Military deposit documentation
• Birth certificates
• Beneficiary forms
• Court orders related to survivor or former spouse benefits
• Any special retirement coverage documentation

Missing documents can delay processing.

OPM’s Retirement Quick Guide notes that missing documents, incomplete forms, court orders, workers’ compensation claims, part-time service, intermittent service, multiple agencies, and certain special category retirement cases may delay processing.

8. Review Your TSP Strategy Before Retirement

Your TSP is separate from your FERS pension, but it is a major part of retirement income for many federal employees.

Before retiring, decide how your TSP fits into your income plan.

Questions to ask include:

• Will you withdraw from TSP immediately?
• Will you delay withdrawals?
• Will you use monthly payments?
• Will you use partial withdrawals?
• Will you roll money to an IRA?
• Will you keep funds inside the TSP?
• How much of your TSP is Traditional versus Roth?
• How will withdrawals affect taxes?
• How does your TSP plan coordinate with Social Security?

Do not wait until after retirement to think about this.

9. Review Social Security Timing

Federal employees often think about the FERS pension first, but Social Security timing can have a major effect on retirement income.

Claiming early may provide income sooner but can reduce monthly benefits. Waiting may increase monthly benefits, but it requires another income source during the delay period.

Your decision should be coordinated with your pension, TSP withdrawals, spouse’s income, health status, taxes, and long-term cash flow.

10. Build a Monthly Retirement Income Plan

Before filing for retirement, create a basic monthly retirement income plan.

Estimate:

• FERS pension
• Social Security
• TSP withdrawals
• Other retirement income
• Federal taxes
• State taxes
• Health insurance premiums
• Life insurance costs
• Dental and vision premiums
• Debt payments
• Housing costs
• Vehicle costs
• Food and utilities
• Travel and lifestyle spending
• Emergency savings needs

A retirement application tells OPM you are ready to retire.

Your cash-flow plan tells you whether retirement is actually affordable.

Digital Does Not Mean Instant

OPM’s move to digital retirement processing is good news, but employees should still keep realistic expectations.

OPM’s Retirement Quick Guide explains that during processing, retirees may receive interim payments that are typically 60% to 80% of the estimated net annuity. The guide also describes the retirement process as involving agency and payroll processing, OPM intake, OPM processing, and finalization.

That means retirement processing can still take time.

Federal employees should not assume their first full annuity payment will arrive immediately after their retirement date.

Plan for a transition period.

Maintain cash reserves if possible.

Understand that interim pay may be less than the final annuity amount and may not include all deductions the same way the final regular payment will.

After retirement, retirees can use OPM’s Retirement Services Online to access retirement-related account services and information.

Why This Is a Planning Opportunity

OPM’s announcement is more than an administrative update. It is a reminder that federal retirement planning is changing.

The system may be modernizing, but employees still need to prepare.

A smoother application process gives federal employees a better chance to retire confidently if they have already organized their numbers.

That means reviewing:

• Retirement eligibility
• Service history
• High-3 estimate
• Sick leave
• Survivor benefits
• FEHB
• FEGLI
• TSP strategy
• Social Security timing
• Tax planning
• Monthly income needs
• Emergency savings

The application may be digital now.

The decisions are still personal.

A Simple Pre-Retirement Checklist

Before you submit your retirement application, consider using this checklist:

• Confirm your retirement eligibility date.
• Review your service computation date.
• Download your eOPF records if available.
• Verify your high-3 salary estimate.
• Confirm sick leave balance.
• Review military service deposit status, if applicable.
• Review redeposit or service credit issues, if applicable.
• Gather marriage, divorce, military, and court documents.
• Review FEHB continuation eligibility.
• Review FEGLI options and future costs.
• Understand survivor benefit choices.
• Estimate your FERS pension.
• Review your TSP balance and withdrawal plan.
• Decide when you may claim Social Security.
• Estimate federal and state taxes.
• Build a monthly retirement income plan.
• Maintain savings for the interim-pay period.
• Confirm your personal email and Login.gov access.
• Work with your agency HR office before separation.
• Keep copies of everything.

Final Thoughts

OPM’s transition to digital retirement processing is a major step forward for federal employees.

Ending paper processing for more than 95% of retirement applications may improve speed, accuracy, transparency, and coordination between employees, agencies, payroll providers, and OPM.

But federal employees should not mistake a better application system for a complete retirement plan.

The real goal is not just to submit your retirement application.

The goal is to retire with a clear understanding of your income, benefits, taxes, health coverage, survivor protection, and long-term cash flow.

Before you file, make sure your retirement numbers work together.