Agency Retirement Application Audit

Recommendations for Common Payroll Errors

This quick reference document provides guidance on the common Payroll Office errors reported 

on the monthly Agency Audit with the goal to help reduce the overall error rate. High error rates 

result in cases requiring development, which ultimately delays the final adjudication of 

retirement claims. 

The rapid shift from in-person to remote work due to the national COVID-19 pandemic has 

resulted in a notable increase in retirement package errors. We have issued several Benefits 

Administration Letters (BALs) to aid agencies in preparing retirement packages during this 

sudden change in operations. The below table provides valuable resources and recommendations 

to help agencies reduce the frequency of these common Payroll Office errors:

Payroll Error References and Guidance

Individual Retirement Record 

(IRR) for post-1956 (P56)

military service deposit not 

marked as “Paid in Full” (PIF)

• Reference: BAL 17-101; BAL 21-101

• Manually review IRRs for cases with P56 military

service deposits

• Establish a process to manually annotate IRR with

“Paid in Full” if an automated process does not exist

• Conduct a review of P56 military service deposit

IRRs prior to final submission to OPM

• Ensure IRRs are annotated for P56 military service

Complete IRRs for covered 

service not included for current 

agency/payroll 

• Reference: BAL 12-103; BAL 01-106; BAL 15-

102; CSRS/FERS Handbook, Chapter 81, Section

81A2.2-4

• Establish a review process to verify all IRRs with

required data are included in retirement application

package before final submission to OPM

• Make sure the IRR and retirement application

package are sent to OPM at the same time

• Ensure all required annotations are included on IRR

SF 2821, Agency Certification 

of Insurance Status 

Not signed by payroll 

• Reference: BAL 22-101; Appendix A; Appendix B;

Common Questions; BAL 12-102

• Implement an additional review of the SF 2821

and/or entire retirement application package prior to

submission to OPM

• Make sure a signed SF 2821 is included for all

employees eligible to continue FEGLI
Health Benefits – Premium 

Conversion (HB-PC) 

breakdown for CSRS Offset 

service beginning in calendar 

year 2003 not provided on IRR 

• Reference: BAL 02-304; BAL 02-318

• Conduct a manual review of the IRRs prepared for

separating CSRS Offset employees

• Evaluate automated processes if information should

be loading automatically onto IRR

• Manually enter the necessary information on IRR

prior to submission to OPM

Incorrect FEHB code on Data 

Exchange Gateway (DEG) File 

and/or IRR

• Reference: BAL 14-105; Attachment 1

• Submit data effective on the date of retirement

• Verify final 3-digit FEHB code before DEG file

transmission or finalizing the IRR

• For an Open Season change or FEHB change

effective after retirement, verify that a FEHB cover

sheet (Attachment 2) is on top of the final retirement

application package

For additional OPM resources and reference materials, please visit the Retirement Services, 

Publications and Forms page at https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/publications-forms/. 

We encourage Payroll Offices to work with their supported agencies to address any questions or 

concerns regarding this document or the monthly Agency Audit results. 

We are in the process of developing new retirement tools and resources to assist agencies in

better serving the Federal workforce. Payroll Office leadership may contact the Benefits Officers 

Development and Outreach team at benefits@opm.gov or 202-606-0788 with any questions or to 

further discuss this guide. 

Payroll Error References and Guidance