Last Updated: October 8, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min

A missing SF-50, a wrong service date, a retirement record your agency never closed. Each one can stall your annuity for months. On October 1, 2026, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) introduced H.R. 10718, the Federal Employee Records Relief Act, to give recently separated federal employees a way to make OPM fix those errors. The bill is not law, it covers a narrower group than the headlines suggest, and it adds no deadline for OPM to act. What you can use today is a set of correction rights that already exist, each with its own clock.

What H.R. 10718 Would Do

The bill text on congress.gov is short, and it is narrower than the "ease the retirement process" framing in the news.

Who it covers. A "covered individual" is a former civilian federal employee who "separated from Federal employment for any reason on or after January 20, 2025." Service in the uniformed services does not count. A current employee with no qualifying separation is outside the definition, and so is anyone whose only separation came before that date. The text does not expressly disqualify someone who separated on or after January 20, 2025 and was later rehired. Annuitants are included: the bill says a request may be filed "regardless of whether such individual is a Federal annuitant."

What you could ask for. On request, OPM, working with your last employing agency, would have to provide copies of relevant personnel records including SF-50s, complete administrative correction of a covered record error within OPM's and the agency's respective authorities, and give written information and coordination help on benefits enrollment status and continuation options such as Temporary Continuation of Coverage.

What counts as an error. A "missing, incomplete, or erroneous personnel record or personnel action" that affects your separation, position, pay, or leave status (including leave liquidation), or your enrollment, termination dates, eligibility, or election processing under a federal benefits program.

How it would run. Retirement Services, its successor, or another OPM-designated component would administer it. Every federal entity would have to search for and furnish records when the OPM Director asks, consistent with applicable law.

The window. Requests "shall be submitted during the 4-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act." The clock starts at enactment, not at your separation.

What it does not do. As introduced, the bill sets no deadline for OPM to respond, provides no appeal if OPM refuses, carries no funding, and never mentions the Privacy Act. Relief is limited to "administrative completion, correction, reissuance, certification" and providing records and information. It does not require an agency to recode a removal as a resignation: nothing in the Act requires an agency "to change the characterization" of a separation absent a final order, settlement, or other binding legal determination. Existing agency correction authority remains separate.

The sponsor's October 2 release says NFFE and NTEU support the bill. All seven original cosponsors are Democrats. As of October 8, the bill had been introduced and referred to committee.

Today vs. the Bill: Every Correction Right Side by Side

Every "today" cell below rests on a statute or regulation you can cite in your own letter.

Issue Today (current law) H.R. 10718 as introduced Who it reaches Clock
Getting a copy of your records Privacy Act right to review and copy your record (5 U.S.C. § 552a(d)(1)). Separated eOPF users: OPM's Document Request Service. Current employees: your agency's eOPF Copies through OPM, including SF-50s, with your last agency's help (§ 2(a)(1)) Bill: civilian employees separated on or after Jan. 20, 2025 only Today: none in statute. Bill: none
Fixing a wrong or missing record Written amendment request; acknowledgment within 10 working days; then "promptly" correct or refuse with reasons (§ 552a(d)(2)) OPM and the last agency, within their respective authorities, "complete administrative correction," including issuing missing or corrected actions (§ 2(a)(2)) Bill: same cohort; separation, position, pay, leave, benefits errors Today: 10 working days to acknowledge. Bill: no deadline
If the agency says no Internal review, decided within 30 working days, extendable by the agency head for good cause (§ 552a(d)(3)) No appeal route in the text Everyone today; the bill adds nothing Today: 30 working days on the agency
Records lost entirely OPM accepts the secondary evidence it considers appropriate, only after the records repository certifies the loss (5 C.F.R. § 841.106(b)(2)) Agencies must search for and furnish records when OPM asks (§ 2(b)(2)) FERS today Today: none stated
Your retirement record (IRR) Your agency maintains it during employment and must close and forward it to OPM at separation or an applicable transfer (5 C.F.R. § 841.504(c), (d)) Not mentioned FERS Agency: OPM's time standards
Disputing OPM's decision When the decision states a right to reconsideration, the request must be received within 30 calendar days of the decision date, extendable only on two showings; then MSPB (5 C.F.R. §§ 841.306(d), 841.308) Not addressed FERS 30 calendar days from the decision date
Health coverage after separation Agency TCC notice within 30 days after coverage would end; 60-day election from the later of separation or receipt of the notice; for separated employees otherwise ineligible to continue FEHB, generally up to 18 months from the separation date (up to 24 months for qualifying reservists called to active duty); not available after an involuntary separation for gross misconduct (5 U.S.C. § 8905a) Written information and coordination help on TCC (§ 2(a)(3)) Separated employees Unchanged by the bill
Changing how your separation is coded Existing agency correction authority and appeal routes; the bill does not change them No recharacterization required absent a final order, settlement, or other binding legal determination (§ 2(b)(3)(B)) Removals, RIFs, probationary terminations n/a
Window to use it Privacy Act rights have no sunset 4 years from enactment (§ 2(b)(3)(C)) Bill cohort Starts only if enacted

The practical gain the bill offers over today is coordination: one request to OPM that obligates your old agency to dig. The enforceable clocks all come from current law.

Clock 1: Get the Record Before You Need It

Under 5 C.F.R. § 293.304, your Official Personnel Folder holds the "long-term records affecting the employee's status and service." If you still work for the government, download your eOPF from your agency's system now. Under the paper-folder rule in § 293.307, after you separate the losing agency holds the folder for 30 working days, longer if an appeal, discrimination complaint, retirement, or death in service is pending, and then sends it to the National Personnel Records Center.

If you have already left and your records live in eOPF, use OPM's Document Request Service. You verify your identity through Login.gov and receive a time-limited download link by email. OPM's user guide tells former employees to wait at least 30 days after separating so the final SF-50 posts. The step-by-step is in our Document Request Service guide, and our eOPF review checklist lists what to look for once you have it.

Clock 2: The Privacy Act Amendment Request (10 and 30 Working Days)

Federal law already gives you the right to see your own personnel records and to ask for corrections. Under 5 U.S.C. § 552a(d)(2), once an agency receives your written request to amend a record, it must acknowledge receipt in writing within 10 working days (Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays excluded). It must then "promptly" correct the portion you believe is "not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete," or refuse and tell you why, how to request review, and who the reviewing official is.

The 10 days cover the acknowledgment only. The statute sets no day count for the fix itself.

If the agency refuses, request review in writing. Under 5 U.S.C. § 552a(d)(3), the agency must complete that review and issue a final determination within 30 working days of your request, unless the agency head extends the period for good cause. If you lose, you can file a statement of disagreement that travels with the record.

Send the request to whoever holds the record: your servicing HR office if you are employed, your former agency during the retention window, or wherever OPM routes you after that. Name the document, the block, the wrong entry, the right entry, and attach proof.

Clock 3: When the Records Are Gone

OPM computes your annuity from the Individual Retirement Record. Under 5 C.F.R. § 841.106(b)(1), that record "is the basic record for action on all claims" for FERS annuities and refunds. Your agency maintains it during your employment. Under § 841.504(d), when you separate or make an applicable transfer, your agency must close the record and forward it to OPM within OPM's time standards. If OPM says a record is missing, ask the agency or payroll office to confirm when it closed and forwarded the record.

If the record truly no longer exists, you need one specific document: a written certification from the official records repository (your former agency or the records center) that the records are "lost, destroyed, or incomplete." Only then, under § 841.106(b)(2), will OPM accept "such inferior or secondary evidence that it considers appropriate under the circumstances." Without that certification, § 841.106(b)(3) bars secondary evidence. Keep pay stubs, W-2s, leave and earnings statements, and every SF-50 you can find. They carry no weight until the custodian certifies the loss. After that, OPM weighs them as it considers appropriate.

Service-credit and deposit questions run through the same record. Our military buyback guide covers the deposit side.

Clock 4: Challenging OPM's Decision (30 Calendar Days, Received)

When OPM issues a written FERS decision that states a right to reconsideration, that request is your first appeal step under 5 C.F.R. § 841.305. The deadline is strict: under § 841.306(d), the request must be "received by OPM within 30 calendar days from the date of the initial decision." The clock runs from the date printed on the letter, not the day it reached your mailbox, and the test is receipt by OPM, not postmark.

OPM can extend the time only on two showings: you were not notified of the limit and were not otherwise aware of it, or circumstances beyond your control prevented a timely request. Put your name, address, date of birth, claim number if applicable, and the basis for your request in the letter.

After OPM's final decision on reconsideration, you can appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board under § 841.308. The MSPB has its own filing deadline; check it when the final decision arrives.

While You Wait: Interim Pay and the Current Backlog

OPM starts interim pay processing only "once OPM receives the complete retirement application package from the agency." A missing record at the agency delays even the interim check. For September 2026, OPM reports immediate retirements processed in an average of 66 days and interim pay started in about 6 days after a complete package arrived. During interim pay OPM withholds only federal income tax; FEHB and FEGLI premiums resume at finalization, retroactive to your annuity start date. Our interim payments guide has the math, and the processing times tracker carries the monthly figures.

To reach OPM Retirement Services, call 1-888-767-6738 (TTY 711), weekdays 7

a.m. to 5
p.m. ET. OPM says lines are busiest between 10
a.m. and 1
p.m. Mail goes to Retirement Operations Center, OPM, P.O. Box 45, Boyers, PA 16017, and OPM says it usually responds within one to three weeks. The online help form requires a claim number, so if you do not have one yet, call. OPM Retirement Services lists no main fax number on its contact page.

Calculate Your Annuity With the Corrected Dates

A wrong service computation date or a missing high-3 period changes your check. Enter your corrected service years, high-3, and retirement age in the FERS Retirement Calculator to see what the right numbers produce. If a pay-record error is the problem, the High-3 Calculator takes raw salary figures and shows how a corrected year moves the average.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Federal Employee Records Relief Act?

It is H.R. 10718, introduced October 1, 2026, by Rep. James Walkinshaw. If enacted, it would let former civilian federal employees who separated on or after January 20, 2025 ask OPM for copies of their records, administrative corrections, and written benefits information.

Is H.R. 10718 law?

No. It was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. As of October 8, 2026, no further action had been confirmed.

Who would the bill cover?

Anyone who held a civilian federal job and separated from federal employment for any reason on or after January 20, 2025, including retirees drawing an annuity. Service in the uniformed services does not count. A current employee with no qualifying separation is outside the definition, and a separation before that date does not qualify. The text does not expressly disqualify someone who separated on or after January 20, 2025 and was later rehired.

I still work for the government and my eOPF has errors. Does the bill help me?

Only if you separated from federal employment on or after January 20, 2025 and were later rehired; the text does not expressly disqualify that case. A current employee with no qualifying separation is outside the definition. Either way, you can use your Privacy Act amendment right and your HR office. The agency must acknowledge a written correction request within 10 working days and decide any review of a refusal within 30 working days, unless the agency head extends that period for good cause.

What is the 4-year window in the bill?

It is the period for submitting requests, and it begins on the date the bill is enacted. It is not measured from your separation, and it is not a rule about how long records are kept.

Would OPM have a deadline to fix my record under the bill?

Not as introduced. The bill sets no response deadline and no appeal if OPM refuses. Under current law, the Privacy Act's 10-working-day acknowledgment and 30-working-day review clocks, the latter extendable for good cause, apply to the agency holding the record.

Could the bill change my removal to a resignation?

Not by itself. The text says nothing in the Act requires an agency to change the characterization of a separation absent a final order, settlement, or other binding legal determination. Existing agency correction authority remains separate.

What if my retirement records are lost?

Ask the records custodian for a written certification that the records are lost, destroyed, or incomplete. For a FERS claim, 5 C.F.R. § 841.106(b)(2) lets OPM accept the secondary evidence it considers appropriate, such as pay stubs and W-2s, only after that certification.

How long do I have to challenge an OPM retirement decision?

For a FERS decision that states a right to reconsideration, OPM must receive your request within 30 calendar days of the date on the decision. OPM may extend if you were not notified of the limit and were not otherwise aware of it, or circumstances beyond your control prevented timely filing.

How long is OPM taking to process retirements right now?

OPM reports that immediate retirements processed in September 2026 averaged 66 days, and interim pay started about 6 days after OPM received a complete package from the agency.

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