OPM Challenges Highlight Federal Manager Vulnerability
Processing Progress
According to the Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General’s (OPM IG) recent report, continued improvements have knocked the federal retirement claims processing backlog off the list of the agency’s top management challenges for fiscal year 2025. After several years of backlog issues, OPM is finally closing in on its goal of bringing its average processing time for a retirement claim below 60 days. As of August 2024, the agency had decreased its average processing time to 64 days, and had an inventory of 15,178 pending claims.
Customer service issues are not unique to OPM; many agencies, like the Social Security Administration, have faced criticism for their performance in customer-facing roles. Federal managers are facing pressure to perform better, regardless of what resources are available to them. When their agency starts facing backlash from the public, it is crucial that federal managers have the tools they need to protect themselves – a professional liability insurance (PLI) policy from FEDS Protection can help.
Improvement Impediments
Despite their reported improvement, OPM is still facing several long-standing management challenges. While their retirement claim inventory is the lowest the agency has seen in two years, it is still over OPM’s “steady state” goal of a 13,000-claim inventory at any given time. According to John Hatton, Staff Vice President of Policy and Programs at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), there is more work to be done to improve customer service at OPM.
The agency’s IG claims that providing customer service to federal annuitants and survivor annuitants remains a top management challenge, as staffing levels cannot always support the amount of customer service calls and email queries OPM receives. Over the last few years, OPM has been working to modernize its retirement processing system, but limited resources have slowed down this process, as funding levels are not adequate to achieve the agency’s goals.
Management Metrics
Between fiscal years 2022 and 2023, OPM’s average customer satisfaction score declined by 0.29 points, from 3.74 down to 3.45. OPM has set a goal of bringing its customer satisfaction score up to 4.2 out of 5 by 2026, but the IG believes the agency is currently at risk of not being able to meet that goal. Pressure to perform better and meet agency objectives will fall on federal managers. With these readily available metrics reflecting agency performance, it is easier for federal officials to hold managers accountable, even if inadequate performance is a symptom of other agency issues, like staffing or funding.
If goals are not met, federal managers may be subject to allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct. Allegations and investigations can lead to disciplinary actions such as suspensions and terminations being taken against you, or even personal capacity lawsuits. If an allegation is made against you, it is a necessity, not luxury, to have knowledgeable and effective counsel advocating on your behalf.
Protecting Personnel
As the professional liability insurance (PLI) provider endorsed by the leading federal employee associations, FEDS Protection offers federal employee PLI policies with $1 million, $2 million, or $3 million in civil liability protection for attorney’s fees and indemnity costs in the event you are sued in your civil capacity. The FEDS policy also includes $200,000 of legal representation coverage per incident for administrative actions and $100,000 of coverage for criminal defense costs.
Annual premiums for FEDS Protection PLI start at $290. Additionally, federal managers, supervisors, and law enforcement officers are eligible for a reimbursement of up to 50% the cost of their PLI policy through their agency. To learn more about how a FEDS PLI policy can protect you and your career, visit www.fedsprotection.com or call (866) 955-FEDS, M-F 8:30am-6pm to speak directly to a representative.
*This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
