Benefits Brief
DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN DO THAT ONLINE?
M
embers often contact the NARFE Federal Benefits Institute because they are having difficulty reaching the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM). However, many of the questions we receive can be answered simply by going online. The most efficient way for retirees to contact OPM is through its Services Online (SOL) portal at www.servicesonline.opm.gov/. Here are some of the things you can do online: • Change your federal and state income tax withholding. • Change your mailing address. • Change your password. • Establish an allotment to an organization. • Request a duplicate annuity booklet. • Set up a checking or savings allotment. • Sign up for direct deposit of your payment. • Update your email address/ opt in to receive information electronically. • View/print your annuity statement/verification of income. The following information will help you access those capabilities and find answers to common questions.
ACCESSING OPM’S SERVICES ONLINE
In order to use OPM SOL, retirees must create an account. When logging into SOL, enter every character of your claim number (CSA), which begins with A or F. If you don’t know how to find your claim number, please read the next section. 22
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The first time you log in to SOL, your password will be a temporary one issued by OPM and sent to you through the mail. During that initial online session, you will establish a secure password for future logins. Note: If you are a representative payee, guardian, conservator or any other third party representing an OPM annuitant, you cannot use SOL. For further information, please contact OPM’s Retirement Operations Center by phone at 1-888-767-6738 or via email at retire@opm.gov.
FINDING YOUR CLAIM NUMBER
Your claim number is shown on the Retirement Services Reference Card that was mailed to you when you retired. Your claim number can also be found on documents from OPM, for example, your annuity statement, 1099R tax statement and your retirement benefit booklet.
FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?
There are two ways to get a new password:
• By email, for those who have accessed their accounts within in the past 15 months and set up personal security questions with OPM (to do so, visit: www.servicesonline. opm.gov/Security/ ForgotPassword) • By physical mail. It will take about two weeks for the new temporary password to arrive at your home address. Send your request to: U.S. Office of Personnel Management Online Password Retirement Operations Center Post Office Box 45 Boyers, PA 16017 Before you reset your password, be aware of the following: do not request a password reset if you have already requested a password from the Retirement Operations Center, or if you have requested a password by sending an email to retire@opm.gov. Requesting a new password in those instances will further delay your access to SOL. Submitting multiple requests may result in multiple reset letters/emails being generated. Each time a new password reset request is generated, it invalidates the previous password request. NARFE’s Federal Benefits Institute staff is here to assist you. If you have any problems accessing OPM’s online portal, please contact the Institute at fedbenefits@narfe.org or 1-800456-8410, option 2. —BY JAMES “AL” REEVES, SENIOR BENEFITS SPECIALIST