The 5 case stages in Services Online, and what OPM says at each one
Over the past couple of months a "Case Stage" view has been showing up in Services Online. There are five stages I've been able to confirm so far: Intake, Development, Adjudication, Review, and Retirement Finalized. Figured I'd put OPM's exact wording for each one here, since it actually tells you a lot about what's happening behind the scenes.
Here's what each stage says, word for word:
1. Intake
"We received your retirement application from your payroll provider and are reviewing the basic information needed. Your case is officially opened and added to the queue for adjudication."
2. Development
"We are gathering and verifying the details needed to process your claim, namely service history, salary information, and benefits elections. If anything is missing, we request it so your case can move ahead."
3. Adjudication
"An OPM adjudicator is reviewing all confirmed information and making the official decision on your retirement benefits. Your case is actively being worked during this step."
4. Review
"We are reviewing the adjudicator's work to ensure accuracy and that all rules and requirements were met. This quality check helps protect your benefits and keeps your case on track. Once the review is completed, your case is put into final pay and finalized."
5. Retirement Finalized
"Congratulations, your retirement is finalized! You can now download your annuity booklet. We are completing remaining tasks like coordinating out-of-cycle payment, issuing notices, and populating your information in our systems. OPM retains your information for ongoing customer service."
A few things I've noticed that are worth knowing:
If your application is a smooth one it should move through those 5 stages in order.
However, the stage can move backward. If you're sitting in Review and it bounces back to Adjudication, that usually isn't a problem with your case. It means they caught something small and are fixing it.
OPM's been reshuffling these status screens lately, so what you see may not match the next person. That's actually part of why I'm asking.
Two things I'm actually trying to figure out, and I'd love your input:
Has anyone seen any stage OTHER than these five in Services Online? I want to know if the list is actually longer than what I've been able to confirm.
Do you see this Case Stage view at all? If you DON'T see it, were you a paper submission? And if you DO see it, were you a digital (ORA) submission? I'm trying to work out whether the stage view only shows up for digital filers, which would explain why some people have it and some don't.
So really, two questions: how did you file, paper or digital? And what stage are you seeing in Services Online if you're still in the process?