MODERNIZING TODAY

J U LY 2 0 0 0

United States Office of Personnel Management 

Retirement Programs

Volume Two • Issue Two

Ed Flynn, A s s o c i ate Dire c t o r

for Retirement and Insurance 

Modernization effort— A strategic initiative to rethink, reevaluate, and 

ultimately reengineer the various processes 

that support and provide retirement services.

Retirement Program employees

serve Federal employees and

annuitants across the globe. We

provide responsive customer

service and timely and accurate

payments to our annuitants wherever they are. Consider this—

● More than 1.7 million annuitants

and more than 600,000 survivor 

annuitants receive retirement

benefits here and overseas

● During 1999, we processed

approximately 77,000 retirement

applications under the F e d e r a l

Employees and Civil Service 

Retirement Systems and approxi m a t e l y 85,000 survivor claims

The Modern i z ation Effo rt—A Look at our 

Pe o p l e , P r o c e s s, and Te c h n o l o g y

● More than two million Federal

employees are in over 100 agencies

worldwide in all three branches 

of Government and the U.S.

Postal Service

● OPM's current retirement technology is 30 years old with software

that lacks integration and the ability

to share data

Although our customer satisfaction

rating remains relatively high today,

you can see that yesterday's processes

and technology will not be able to keep

pace with the changing and growing

needs of our customers. That is why I

firmly believe in the Modernization

e ffort. We are working to—

● Assess the best way to reengineer 

retirement system business processes

and utilize technology so we can

continue to lead in the delivery of

earned benefits to our customers

● Determine what tools and training 

are needed by Retirement Program 

e m p l o y e e s

● Learn what our customers want, 

need, and expect

● Hold ourselves accountable by

establishing performance 

measures that track the progress

of our Modernization eff o r t

I invite you to read more about

the Modernization effort in this

issue. We have a variety of articles including—

● An interview with the Director

of the Retirement Operations 

Center in Boyers, Pennsylvania

● Updates on the information 

technology and performance

measures 

● Anew Modernization puzzle 

Have questions or comments?

Email the author at

E D F LY N N @ o p m . g o v.
" R e c o rd keeping for the Government’s workforce is in need of substantial

change. Anyone who has transferred between agencies knows the feeling of

becoming a new Federal employee all over again! And sometimes with ill

effects: the inadvertent termination of health insurance coverage or goofed

up leave balances to name a couple. 

C reating, extracting, moving, and piling paper for filing in a folder, a folder

which has to be found, extracted, opened, filled, and placed back in storage,

has become obsolete. With the Retirement Systems Modernization effort and

the Human Resources Data Network Program, the idea that a number of

diverse, transactional systems can be linked to allow the flow of information

between Federal agencies is becoming a re a l i t y. "

MODERNIZING TO DAY • J U LY 2 0 0 0

In this issue

● Technology Update p. 2 

● Quotable Quote p. 2

● Don Lacey

I n t e r v i e w p. 4 

● Performance Measurem e n t P r o g r a m p. 6

● Focus on the Customer p. 7 

● Modernization 

C r o s s w o r d p. 9

● I’m Glad You A s k e d p. 10

● Have Questions or

Suggestions? p. 12 

● Late-Breaking News p. 12 

Quotable Quote

From the Federal Human Resources

Data Network Program Manager

John C.Moseley

The March 2000 issue gave

you an idea that the purpose

of a technology architecture is

to define the major kinds of

technologies needed to support

the reengineered effort. T h i s

article explains what we are doing

currently to create the technology

a r c h i t e c t u r e .

Now that we have drawn up a

blueprint for the Member A d m i n i s -

tration core process, it is time to begin

creating technical requirements for

it. The technical requirements say

what the system must do to support

the new way of doing business

that we designed in the blueprint. 

As we complete each blueprint,

we will create a new group of

technical requirements for that

blueprint. We need requirements

to document what we want from

PAGE 2

the automated system. They are

the first step toward creating the

software we will use.

C OTS Pa ck a g e s

While we are creating the technical

requirements for the Member

Administration blueprint, we will

have IBM investigate COTS packages. COTS means Commercial

O ff-The-Shelf (software), which

is simply ready-made software.

An example of a COTS package

is your word processor. For the

retirement system, IBM will investigate larger COTS packages, such

as ones that might handle the

c o n t i nued on page thre e

Read more about the Human Resources Data Network Program in 

M r. Moseley's article to appear in the Fall issue of Modernizing To d a y.

By Joyce Ludwig 

Business Systems Reengineering Division 

Technology Updat e
PAGE 3

Technology Update

c o n t i nued from page two

annuity roll. Part of IBM's

investigation is to decide how

many Commercial Off - T h e - S h e l f

packages are out there that could

meet our needs and whether very

much customization would be

needed. Large COTS packages

usually need some work to make

them meet all your needs. T h e

idea is to try to find ones that

don't need too much work. Of

course, there are other considerations, such as price.

E v e n t u a l l y, we will compare all

this to the cost and benefit of

creating our own custom software.

If we can find the right COTS

package, it can save time and

money; the wrong COTS can be a

headache. For the time being, we

only want to get a good idea of

what is out there so we can conside r it as we create the architecture.

D at abase Softwa re and the

D ata Exchange Gat ewa y

Another reason for looking at

t h e COTS packages is to select

what database software we will

u s e . L a rge COTS packages may

r e q u i r e using a particular database

software, so we must learn what

our database choices might be so

as not to exclude any COTS

package we might want. The

database is key to the success of

Modernization eff o r t .

IBM will also plan a pilot for

the Data Exchange Gateway.

The Gateway is the beginning

of electronic retirement data

exchange with agencies. Eventuall y, we won't need to exchange

paper records.

We will select candidate agencies

and create a working group to

identify the information we will

exchange during the pilot. Our

planning must address many

items, including the technical

procedures—the method by

which the data will be sent—

and security.

W h at does it all mean?

We need these activities to

complete the technology architecture, which is the foundation for

the software programs you will

use. Using pilots and COTS packages will also bring us some early

results while we complete the

architecture. We want to have

benefits from the Modernization

e ffort as early as possible and

also follow correct system development processes.

Have questions or comments?

Email the author at 

J I L U D W I G @ o p m . g o v.
MODERNIZING TO DAY • J U LY 2 0 0 0

M T. The Modernization effort is an

important key to our future, aff e c ting each one of us by dramatically

changing the way we do business.

Can you tell us what your personal goals for Modernization are, as

Manager of ROC?

Don. My primary goal would be

to reduce, if not eliminate, the

need for paper records in doing

our work. The reasoning behind

this goal involves delays in accessi n g the records and the impact this

has on customer service,the space

needed to maintain these paper

records, and the fact that the curr e n t hard copy record processes

represent a substantial drain on

our limited resources. These eff o r t s

could be redirected and better

u t ilized in more direct customer

service, such as in the role of

Customer Service Representatives.

O b v i o u s l y, the elimination of our

paper records would require new

automated technology, which is

an important part of the overall

Modernization effort. Also, the

needs of our customers are changing, and one of the goals is to make

our organization more adaptable

to meeting these changing needs.

M T. Do you feel the Modernization

e ffort is on schedule, with respect

to both the short-term and longterm solutions necessary to take

us from where we are today, to

meet the challenge of the future?

Don. I feel, with all things

considered, that we are on schedule. However, I wish that we could

Modernizing Today Interviews... Don Lacey

On June 16, 2000, Don Lacey

will have 25 years of service with

OPM. He remembers his first day

well, since it was also his oldest

d a u g h t e r’s second birt h d a y. Don

began his Federal career as a

GS-4 Benefit Payment Roll Clerk,

in the Survivor Annuity Serv i c e

Section (SASS), with Lee Jones

as Section Chief and Gert ru d e

Prather as Unit Superv i s o r. Don

fondly remembers those early

days, spent working in the tre n c h e s

with Jimmy Fre i e rt, Tom Smith

and Bill Cunningham; and he

continues to value those friend -

s h i p s and working re l a t i o n s h i p s

to this day. Don became the

D i rector of the Retire m e n t

Operations Center (ROC) in May

of 1995, making him only the

t h i rd ROC Manager in its 40-y e a r

existence. Don has proven to be a

valuable asset in the Retire m e n t

Systems Modernization (RSM)

e f f o rt. His knowledge of the

p rogram, enthusiastic support

of Modernization, and commit -

ment to successful business

p rocess reengineering have

combined to add value to the

Modernization effort .

By Delberta Grossman and Sandy Ringler

speed up the overall process,

e s p ecially in the area of electronic

data feeds from the agencies. 

M T. Employees are concerned

about how the new technology

will impact their jobs and opportunities for career advancement.

What encouraging advice would

you offer them?

Don. Yes, I think the employees

do have concerns. They want to

k n o w, ‘Where do I fit in the

scheme of things?’or ‘What is my

role in this effort while it is being

initiated and after it is completed?’

I do encourage all employees to

take advantage of any and all

learning opportunities. Some

suggestions may be volunteering

for details and projects, utilizing

the Learning Centers, signing up

for home study courses, or taking

classes through local colleges.

Employees should increase their

participation level all around and

take the initiative to commit to

continuous learning. Their jobs

will not go away; there will be

plenty of work to do, ample

employee training on the new

t e c h n o l o g y, and opportunity for

career advancement during and

after the Modernization eff o r t .

M T. Can you explain how the

five member agencies of the

Modernization Agency A d v i s o r y

Committee are working with OPM

to ensure smooth and successful

transition of changes made through

the Modernization eff o r t ?

PAGE 4

c o n t i nued on page fi v e
Don. Bringing their insight to the

table has helped with the transition

to date. These Agencies are essential stakeholders to this process.

Communication and information

from stakeholders help us develop

ways to meet their needs and helps

us all realize we are part of the

process. Working with the agencies

makes us more aware of the true

partnership we have—to provide

service to the Federal community

in the administration of retirement,

health and life insurance programs.

MT. The Modernization Project

Team has looked at the people,

processes, and technology currently

operating the Retirement Program,

and has asked the question,

"What can we change to drive

the retirement program to operate

at its fullest potential?" Of the

three areas identified for change,

(1) new processes, (2) new

technologies, and (3) expanded

capabilities of employees, which

do you feel will be the most

important factor in a successful

Modernization effort and why?

Don. It must be a melding of the

three, and for it to be successful,

we will need to balance all three.

We cannot institute new procedures

and receive maximum benefit

without new technology being in

place or without having expanded

the capabilities of the employees

to use new technologies; this may

be one of the biggest challenges

facing us. The three must be

accomplished simultaneously to

be effective. 

M T. Don, in conclusion, is there

anything else you would like to

a d d ?

Don. I have been, I am and I will

continue to be committed to the

Retirement Systems Modernization

e ffort. I have demonstrated my

commitment by my level of participation in this effort. I see great

accomplishments resulting from

the Modernization effort, for

example, the new ‘Federal Ret i r e m e n t Benefits Booklet’. T h e

r e s p o n s e from our customers on

this informational booklet indicates very favorable reaction to

the information being provided.

I do want to thank all of the

employees who participate in the

Modernization effort, especially

those here at the Retirement

Operations Center. Being 300

miles away from Washington

Headquarters requires extra

commitment because of the travel

involved to fully participate in the

e ffort. The Retirement Systems

Modernization effort should

ultimately be able to provide the

systems, tools and support to

enable the employees to meet

our customers’needs in a more

e ffective and efficient manner.

Have questions or comments?

Email the authors at

DMGROSS@opm.gov and

S L R I N G L E @ o p m . g o v.

Don Lacey Interv i e w. . .

PAGE 5

c o n t i nued from page fo u r
MODERNIZING TO DAY • J U LY 2 0 0 0

Assessing How Well We Wo rk —

The Pe r fo rmance Measurement Program

PAGE 6

By Diane Tyler and Fred Diehl

We have all done self-assessments,

examined where we are personally

or career-wise, and have made

d e c isions based on our findings. We

have even given ourselves goals. A n

o rganization does the same to

maintain its health and vitality—

that is why a Performance Measurement Program like ours is important.

In our March issue, we introduced

Performance Measurements to you.

Now we wish to explain more

about these measures.

What are the Modernization eff o r t ' s

performance measures?

Each measure is a snapshot of

how well the organization and the

Modernization effort is meeting

d i fferent objectives. We have

strategic measures that indicate

how well the Modernization eff o r t

is doing as a whole and more

specific operational measures that

indicate how well different core

processes are performing. T h e s e

measures are not only unique to

the Modernization effort but reflect

the goals of the Retirement and

Insurance Service.

Whether we are talking at the

strategic or operational level,

the Performance Measurement

Program will measure results from

the Financial, Customer, Wo r k f o r c e ,

and Business Process categories.

The following composite chart

illustrates that our measurement

program uses a program-wide

perspective by measuring OPM

performance as well as agency

p e r f o r m a n c e .

Ta rgets and baselines

Measures need targets to aim for

and a baseline to work from. For

example, we know that under

today's environment it costs $111

to process each retirement claim.

This data gives us the baseline for

the measure ‘Retirement Claims

c o n t i nued on page seven

*

*

Financial

Objective Measure

Provide cost effective

claims operations

R e t i rement claims

(unit cost)

Provide cost effective

annuity roll maintenance

Annuity roll servicing costs

Customer

Objective Measure

Enable agencies to pro v i d e

world-class service by

delivering (to them) quality

p roducts, tools, and support

Agency satisfaction with

OPM guidance materials,

tools, training, and support

P rovide accurate payment

to benefit re c i p i e n t s

Payment accuracy of

claims (by # of claims)

R e t i re m e n t

S y s t e m s

M o d e rn i z at i o n

Vision & 

S t r at e gi e s

Business Process

Objective Measure

Establish the tools, data, and

p rocesses to enable claims

to be fully adjudicated

when first touched

Increase the customer’s

ability to access inform a t i o n

t h rough self-service

P e rcentage of annuitants that

accessed annuitant specific

info on the web site or IVR

P e rcentage of claims

p rocessed without re q u i r i n g

a hand-off or follow-up

a c t i o n

Workforce

Objective Measure

Support the OPM work

f o rce as it transitions to the

use of new systems and a

new way of doing business

P rovide appropriate training

for re t i rement pro g r a m

e m p l o y e e s

P e rcentage of employees

who have completed

training a round new RSM

p rocess and systems

Number of counselors who

have completed on-going

job competency training

*The Modernization team will make sure there is no degradationof service while we make the transition.
(unit cost)’, shown in the chart.

We have set a target of $27 for

this measure which is a big change.

H o w e v e r, the Modernization eff o r t

will change the way we do business (for example, shared data,

increased self-service access, new

tools, streamlined processes) and

will result in dramatic improvements and efficiencies that will

help us reach our targets. 

While we still need to set some of

the baselines for our measures, we

have established targets for the

majority of them.

Long-term versus 

Interim implementation

We will fully implement our

measurement program once the

technology architecture and

blue-printing are complete. In

other words, some of these are

long-term measures for processes

and systems not yet in place.

We needed to identify them

now to ensure that we build our

new retirement system at the

highest level of performance

reasonably possible and that

these modernized systems can

capture and report additional

measurement data.

Until the modernized systems

are in place, we will use interim

measures and current system

capabilities and reporting mechanisms. This way, we can track the

impact that incremental changes

are having on our processes.

What's next?

The Modernization team will

work with offices like OPM's

Financial Management Division,

Management Information Branch,

Quality Assurance Division, and

others as we continue to refine

our Performance M e a s u r e m e n t

Program. We will keep you posted

on our progress. 

Have questions or comments?

Email the author at

D J T Y L E R @ o p m . g o v.

P e r formance Measurement Pro g ra m . . .

c o n t i nued from page six

PAGE 7

Focus on the Customer

By Bob Kane

Business Systems Reengineering Division

In the last issue of M o d e r n i z i n g

To d a y, Ed Flynn, Associate Director

for Retirement and Insurance,

talked about the series of thoughtprovoking meetings that we

conducted with our Federal employe e and human resource customers

last fall. Since that time, we have

conducted additional meetings

with retired Federal employees

who are receiving benefits from

us to listen to their ideas on the

Modernization effort. We also

talked with Retirement and

Insurance Service (RIS) employees

from Washington, DC, the Te l e -

Service Center in Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania, and the Retirement

Operations Center in Boyers,

Pennsylvania about their thoughts

on the Modernization effort and

their suggestions for change. We

will be continuing our "Focus on

the Customer" efforts in the upcoming months by conducting

additional sessions with Federal

c o n t i nued on page eight
Focus on the Customer. . .

MODERNIZING TO DAY • J U LY 2 0 0 0 PAGE 8

agency human resource representatives. These sessions ensure that

we are incorporating feedback

from all of the customers of the

Retirement Program.

The most recent sessions provided

valuable information on our

c u s t o m e r s ’ expectations for the

modernized system, and we

also confirmed, by tremendous

positive feedback, their satisfaction

with service improvements made

over recent years. The sessions

with RIS employees reinforced the

vision of Retirement Systems

Modernization, validated that our

vision is on track and conf i r m e d

that our employees are dedicated

to their work and want nothing less

than to provide world class service

to our annuitants.

In general, the themes of the

retiree customer and the RIS

employee sessions were the same,

with customers focused on how to

gain access to our services and

information and RIS employees

focused on the tools and information needed to provide top quality

service to the retirees. Specifically:

● Retirees focused on being able 

to access retirement system

information and services 

through a variety of methods 

but emphasized their need to 

speak to a knowledgeable, 

cust o m e r-oriented individual 

("a real live person") when

needed. RIS employees were 

focused on the tools, technology,

and information needed to

respond to our customers with

out having to refer them to

other places, or delay the

response while waiting for 

needed information from

paper files or outside sources. 

● Retirees were very concerned 

about making sure important 

information is available to 

survivors when the retiree

passes, while RIS employees 

were very concerned about the

way we deal with survivors 

and provide assistance to them 

during a very trying time in 

their lives. 

● Retirees expressed a desire to 

be able to get the information 

they need or speak to a knowledgeable person without being 

transferred. RIS employees 

were concerned about servicing

annuitants after they had

been transferred and rebuilding

the inquirer’s confidence in

RIS, as well as providing

correct information. 

As we bring the Modernization

from a vision to a reality, the concerns, expectations, and ideas

expressed by customers and RIS

employees will ensure that we

build a system that will enable

u s to continue to provide high

quality customer service in the

21st century. 

We would especially like to thank

the National Association of Retired

Federal Employees National

Headquarters staff and the NARFE

Chapters in Alexandria, Vi rg i n i a ,

Albuquerque, New Mexico, San

Diego, California, and New Yo r k ,

New York. Their hospitality and

participation enabled us to talk

with retirees, their spouses, and

survivors who receive benefits

from Civil Service and Federal

Employee Retirement Systems. 

Have questions or comments?

Email the author at

R J K A N E @ o p m . g o v.

c o n t i nued from page seven
PAGE 9

M o d e rn i z ation Crosswo rd

A c r o s s

1 . Employees will have user-

_____ software that will enable

them to perform retirement 

estimates based on different 

scenarios. (Hint: see the "I'm 

Glad You Asked" section)

3 . The Modernization effort is not

a big- ___ process—it is a 

phased approach that focuses 

on incremental changes. (Hint: 

rhymes with "sang")

4 . _ _ _ _ _Townley is the Leader 

of the Benefits Calculator

Development Team (Hint: he 

was interviewed in the March 

issue of Modernizing To d a y )

6 . One of the Modernization 

team contractors who wrote 

articles on blueprinting and the

To be models. (Hint: first letter 

begins with "A")

7 . The Modernization team contractor who is working to 

define the technology 

architecture. (Hint: first letter 

is an "I")

10. What our Modernization 

Performance Measures 

Program is striving to hit. 

(Hint: Robin Hood could 

always hit these)

D ow n

1 . This was the month that 

Modernizing Today was first 

issued in 1999. (Hint: this is 

the month for hearts and 

chocolates)

2. We use this term to describe 

our high level model of the 

modernized retirement system. 

(Hint: part of a famous phrase 

uttered in the Shakespeare play

Hamlet) 

4. We have completed the blueprints for the ______ 

Administration, Claim To 

Payment, and Annuity Roll 

Maintenance core processes. 

(Hint: clue can be found in 

#8 down)

5 . The Modernization web site 

address is: 

w w w.opm.gov/____/modern. 

8 . The Modernized retirement 

system contains ____ core 

processes. They are Member 

Administration, Employee 

Withholdings, Benefits 

Counseling, Claim to Payment,

Annuity Roll Maintenance, 

and Trust Fund Management.

9 . The Modernization effort has 

already resulted in Early ___ 

such as the Benefits Calculator 

and Benefits Booklet. (Hint: 

what avid sports fans want 

their teams to have many of)

Answers can be found on the

R e t i rement Systems

Modernization Web site: 

w w w. o p m . g o v / re t i re / m o d e r n .
I’m Glad You A s ked 

At the focus group sessions you

mentioned electronic storage. If

all the information is going to be

electronic, how do you keep from

losing the information?

A c t u a l l y, maintaining a Federal

employee's work history electronically in a centralized database 

i s more secure and reliable than

keeping it in paper storage in different locations. Technology tools

allow us to either scan paper documents directly into the database

or key retirement data into the datab a s e file via a personal comp u t e r.

Electronic storage means an e n d

to lost pieces of important papers,

for example, prior military service

or Postal Service employment. By

maintaining a database called the

Retirement Data Repository (RDR),

we can start a new file as an emp l o y e e is hired and periodically

update that file electronically. A s

the employee moves from agency

to agency or from one Federal

appointment to another, the appropriate staff would be able to

access their benefits file.

The likelihood that we will lose

electronic retirement data is even

smaller than with paper records.

But, we will maintain a back-up

electronic copy in the event the

original electronic file is destroyed

or loses integrity. The bottom line

is that electronic storage gives us

quick and secure access to an

employee's Federal service and

makes customer service so much

easier when all the information is

at the employee's fingertips.

How are we going to get the

retirement information that is in

the Retirement Operations Center

into electronic format?

This is definitely an issue, but one

we can solve with technology.

IBM, along with other members of

the Modernization team, will be

looking at a variety of ways to

accomplish this, such as indexing

and scanning into the database

files of employees as their agencies decide to participate in the

Modernization effort. We will

initially focus on populating the

repository database (mentioned

previously) with data from newly

hired Federal employees. This will

give us a good sample to work with

as we move towards addressing

l a rger files like those in Boyers. 

Are customers going to be able to

estimate their retirement benefits?

Yes they will. We will have

software applications that can run

d i fferent retirement scenarios not

just estimates—for example an

employee could do a retirement

calculation with a survivor annuity

and another calculation without

the survivor annuity, another with

a paid redeposit and another without the redeposit paid and so on.

Federal employees will be able

t o access the software from their

desktop PCs or from home if they

have Internet access. This software

will be user- f r i e n d l y, be one stand a r d version used by all Federal

agencies, and will pull in data from

the electronic Retirement Data

Repository (another reason why

electronic storage is important).

With the software and proactive

benefits counseling by their agency,

employees will be more prepared

than ever for retirement.

O k a y, so you've told us about the

new software tools that employees

can use to run different retirement

scenarios. What else can we expect

in the near future and how about

three to five years from now?

MODERNIZING TO DAY • J U LY 2 0 0 0 PAGE10

c o n t i nued on page eleven
PAGE11

We know everyone is anxious to

see the end results of our eff o r t

but we still need to carefully plan

Modernization as we work with

our stakeholders. At this time, we

are designing the 6 core processes

that make up the retirement systems

and the technology architecture

that will support them. You read

about both of these in our last

issue and we have a technology

architecture update in this one.

In the short term, we will:

● Develop and pilot the first

version of a Coverage Determination Application tool that 

agencies can use throughout 

a n employee's career to verify 

that they are in the correct retirem e n t s y s t e m .

● Design and pilot the technology

to capture employee retirement

data electronically. This is the 

first step toward electronic record keeping for all employees.

● Complete the design of the

modernized system, including

the technology design.

● Develop an implementation

plan and organization blueprint

to map how we will move

f r o m where we are today to the 

modernized system, including 

the training plan.

In the longer term, you can expect:

● More and more agencies will 

be exchanging retirement data 

with the Office of Personnel 

Management electronically.

● Federal employees will start to 

receive proactive counseling 

notices at different times in

their Federal careers—notices 

that might remind them to prepare to make a military deposit

for example.

● Employees participating in 

and supporting the retirement 

program will have more tools 

to plan for retirement and know

the actual amount of retirement

benefits before retirement.

● Annuitants will have more

options to access information 

about their benefits than by

phone or mail, for example, 

via the Internet and email.

I’m Glad You A s k e d . . .

c o n t i nued from page ten
H a v

?

e Questions

or Suggestions?

We'd like to hear what you

think! There are several ways

to get more information about

the Modernization effort, or

provide feedback. 

Contact BSRD

Retirement and Insurance

S e r v i c e ’s Business Systems

Reengineering Division (BSRD)

supports the Retirement Systems

Modernization (RSM) effort and

manages the communication

process. To find out more about

the Modernization effort, please

email us at: a s k r s m @ o p m . g o v

or write us at U.S. Office of

Personnel Management, Business

Systems Reengineering Division,

1900 E St. NW Room 3H28,

Washington, DC 20415-3400;

or fax us at (202) 606-0548.

Look us up on the

Wo rld Wide We b

If you have Internet access, you

can visit the Retirement Systems

Modernization Web site at:

w w w. o p m . g o v / re t i re/modern. 

Past Modernizing To d a y b u l l e t i n s

and notes from the focus group

sessions can be found on the

Web site.

L at e - B reaking New s

OPM has expanded the services

available at Services Online, an

interactive retirement Web site.

Annuitants can now change

mailing addresses, sign up for

direct deposit, and make allotments to organizations. Check

out the options available at

w w w. s e rv i c e s o n l i n e . o p m . g o v

and look for an article about the

site and its developers in our

Fall issue. 

M o d e rn i z ation Commu n i c ations 

Committee Members

From the A g e n cy A d v i s o ry Committee

Eleanor Ratcliff 

D e p a rtment of A g r i c u l t u re

Syrena West 

D e p a rtment of Defense

From OPM’s Retirement and Insurance Serv i c e

Chris Brown

Management Information Branch

Marty Ehrlich 

Business Systems Reengineering Division

Phil Gardner

R e t i rement Claims Division

Lesley Gordon 

Disability and Reconsideration and Appeals Division

Delberta Grossman 

R e t i rement Operations Center

Agnes Kalland

Insurance Planning and Evaluation Division

Pat Lancaster

Disability and Reconsideration and Appeals Division

John Landers, Chair

Associate Dire c t o r’s Office

David Lewis

Insurance Contracts Division III

Vivian Mackey

Office of Communications

Joe Parker 

Office of Retirement Pro g r a m s

Sandy Ringler 

R e t i rement Operations Center

Mary Sugar

Benefits Officers Resource Center

Diane Tyler 

Business Systems Reengineering Division

Bernadine Wa l k e r

P i t t s b u rgh Te l e s e rvice Center

Special thanks to Ruth Ann Kier for her photography.

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