Federal Retirement Day One Checklist: What to Do After You Separate

The Day After Is When the Real Work Starts

You filed SF 3107, certified your ORA package, turned in your badge, and separated. The paperwork is done — but the transition isn't. Your first days as a federal retiree involve confirming that OPM received your application, registering for the systems you'll use as an annuitant, and setting up direct payment for benefits that aren't deducted from interim pay.

Here's what to do, in order, starting on day one.

1. Watch for Your CSA Claim Number

Your Civil Service Active (CSA) claim number is the key to your new identity as an OPM annuitant. It's assigned when OPM receives and logs your retirement package from your agency's payroll provider. You'll receive it by mail — usually within two to four weeks of separation.

This number unlocks OPM Services Online, where you'll track your application, update your address, adjust tax withholdings, and eventually access your 1099-R. Without it, you're locked out of the system.

If more than 30 days pass without receiving your CSA number, call OPM's Retirement Services at (888) 767-6738. Have your Social Security number, former agency name, and retirement effective date ready.

2. Register for OPM Services Online

Once you have your CSA number, create your account at servicesonline.opm.gov. You'll need:

• Your CSA number
• Your Social Security number
• Your date of birth
• A valid email address

The portal lets you:

• Check the status of your retirement application
• View your estimated and finalized annuity amount
• Change federal tax withholdings (W-4P equivalent)
• Update your mailing address and direct deposit banking information
• Download your 1099-R each January

Set this up as soon as your CSA number arrives. Don't wait until you need to change something.

3. Set Up BENEFEDS Direct Billing

If you're enrolled in FEDVIP dental or vision coverage, those premiums cannot be deducted from interim annuity payments. They're only deducted from your finalized annuity — which could take weeks or months depending on OPM's processing timeline.

Log into BENEFEDS.com and set up direct billing (credit card, debit card, or bank draft) so your dental and vision coverage doesn't lapse during the interim period. If you don't establish direct pay within 31 days of your retirement effective date, your FEDVIP enrollment may be canceled.

4. Understand Your Interim Pay

If your application is processed under OPM's expedited digital track, your first regular annuity payment targets seven days after separation. More commonly, especially if your application required manual review, you'll receive interim pay first.

Interim pay is approximately 80% of your estimated unreduced annuity. Key things interim pay does not include:

• FEHB or PSHB premium deductions (you're still covered, but the premiums accumulate)
• FEGLI premium deductions
• FEDVIP dental and vision deductions
• FERS Special Retirement Supplement
• State tax withholdings (only federal)
• Survivor annuity adjustments

All of these are reconciled retroactively once OPM finalizes your annuity. That means your first few finalized payments may be smaller than expected as OPM recoups the unpaid premiums. Budget for this adjustment.

5. Confirm Your Annual Leave Lump Sum

Your unused annual leave is paid as a lump sum by your former agency's payroll provider, not by OPM. This typically arrives within one to two pay periods after separation. The payment is calculated at your final hourly rate and projected forward as if you were still working — so if you had 400 hours of annual leave, you'd receive roughly 10 weeks of pay.

This lump sum is fully taxable and may push you into a higher bracket for the year you retire. It also counts as earned income for purposes of the FERS Supplement earnings test. If you're planning to receive the supplement, factor the leave payout into your $24,480 earnings limit (2026).

Sick leave is not paid out. For FERS employees, unused sick leave is credited toward your service computation — every 2,087 hours equals one additional year of service in your annuity calculation. For CSRS, sick leave is credited at 100% toward annuity computation.

6. Keep Your ID and Access Credentials Active (Where Possible)

Some agencies allow retirees to retain a limited-access PIV card or building pass for a transition period. Others cut access on your last day. Either way:

• Download your complete eOPF before separation if you haven't already. Post-separation access to eOPF varies by agency and may be revoked immediately.
• Save your Leave and Earnings Statements for the last 3 years. You'll need them if there's a discrepancy in your high-3 calculation.
• Screenshot or print your TSP account summary. You retain full access to TSP.gov post-separation, but having a record of your balance and allocation at separation is useful for tax planning.

7. Don't Touch Your TSP Yet (Unless You've Planned For It)

Your TSP account doesn't change when you separate. You can leave the money invested indefinitely, take partial withdrawals, set up installment payments, or purchase a TSP annuity through MetLife. There's no requirement to withdraw anything until you reach your Required Minimum Distribution age (73 for most current retirees, rising to 75 for those born in 1960 or later under SECURE 2.0).

If you do take a withdrawal before age 59½, the 10% early withdrawal penalty generally applies unless you separated in or after the year you turned 55 (the "Rule of 55" exemption for TSP). Plan any withdrawals around your tax situation for the year — the annual leave lump sum, partial-year salary, and annuity payments all contribute to your taxable income.

8. Verify Your Health Insurance Is Active

FEHB (or PSHB for postal workers) continues automatically into retirement as long as you met the five-year enrollment requirement. But during the interim period, confirmation of active coverage can be slow to propagate to your insurance carrier. If you visit a doctor or fill a prescription in the first few weeks and the provider shows your coverage as inactive, contact your FEHB plan's carrier directly with your retirement effective date and plan enrollment code. Your agency HR can also confirm your enrollment status.

9. File for Social Security (If You're Eligible)

If you're at or past your Social Security full retirement age (67 for most current retirees), you can file for benefits at ssa.gov. Since the WEP and GPO were repealed in January 2025, your Social Security benefit is calculated at the full rate regardless of your federal pension.

If you're younger than 62, you can't file yet — but now is the time to verify your earnings record is complete and accurate, since corrections become harder after separation.

The Ongoing Checklist

The first 90 days after separation are a monitoring period. Check OPM Services Online regularly for status updates. Watch for your first regular annuity payment to confirm it matches your estimate. When the finalized annuity arrives, compare it line by line against your projections — if something is off, contact OPM early.

The Federal Retirement Countdown Checklist covers both the pre-separation timeline and the post-retirement follow-up steps, so nothing falls through the gap between your last day at work and your first stable annuity payment.