Last Updated: August 24, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min

A RIF notice starts a 60-day clock with at least eight time-sensitive actions inside it, and two of the deadlines most feds think they know changed on September 2, 2026. This is the day-by-day response protocol: what to do first, what to verify, and which dates are unforgiving.

Day 0: Read the Notice Like a Contract

Your specific RIF notice (5 CFR 351.802) must state your effective date, your competitive level and retention standing, and whether you're being offered another position through bump or retreat rights.

Two checks the same day:

  1. Count the days. The effective date must be at least 60 full days out, with Day 1 being the day after receipt. Agencies make arithmetic errors, and a short notice period is a procedural defect worth flagging immediately.
  2. Note which rulebook you're under. Notice dated before September 2, 2026: old rules, including MSPB appeal rights. September 2 or later: the new retention scoring and the OPM appeal path. The notice date controls.

Days 1-5: Request the Retention Register and Pull Your Records

These two actions outrank everything else in week one.

Request the retention register in writing. After a specific notice, you have the right to inspect the register and the records the agency used to rank you. Ask for the performance point totals, not just the ranking. There's no separate deadline in the regulation, but challenges only have teeth before the effective date.

Download your eOPF the same week. SF-50 history, your last three ratings of record, veterans preference documentation, and your service computation date. Save copies outside government systems. Employees routinely lose network access before their official separation date.

Days 1-7: Check the Agency's Math on Your Score

For September 2+ notices, your rank on the register comes from a point score you can compute yourself:

Component Points
Outstanding rating 7 per rating
Exceeds Fully Successful 5 per rating
Fully Successful 3 per rating
Minimally Satisfactory or lower 0
Veterans preference (30%+ disability) +5
Veterans preference (other eligibles) +3

Your three most recent ratings of record are totaled (maximum 21 points before preference). Compare your own math to the register entry. A single wrong rating in the agency's file is a 2-to-4-point swing, which can be the difference between staying and separating. We walk through the scoring system with worked examples in our RIF performance rule deep dive.

Days 1-14: Bump, Retreat, and CTAP

Ask HR in writing to explain its bump/retreat analysis. The agency determines these rights automatically, but you're entitled to know whether a position was offered and why, or why none was available. If you can identify a position held by someone with a lower score that you're qualified for, raise it now.

Activate CTAP immediately. Career Transition Assistance Program selection priority runs from your notice until separation. Notify your agency's CTAP coordinator, switch your USAJOBS profile to a personal email, and start applying for positions at or below your grade inside your agency. Full mechanics in our CTAP/ICTAP rights guide.

Days 14-30: Challenge Errors and Register for RPL

If your record pull surfaced errors, a wrong rating, a bad service computation date, missing veterans preference, submit a written challenge to HR with documentation attached. No response? Escalate to the agency personnel officer. The paper trail you build here is also the foundation of any later appeal.

Around Day 30, register for the Reemployment Priority List. You can register in anticipation of separation, and eligibility runs 2 years for career employees.

The Full 60-Day Timeline

Day Deadline or action
Day 0 Notice received. Verify effective date and rulebook (pre- or post-Sept 2)
Days 1-5 Written retention-register request + full eOPF download
Days 1-7 Verify your 7/5/3/0 score and preference points against the register
Days 1-10 Written request for the bump/retreat explanation
Days 1-14 CTAP activation + USAJOBS profile to personal email
Days 14-30 Written challenges to any register errors
Day 30 RPL registration
Days 1-60 Run severance, VERA, and annuity numbers
Day 60 Effective date: separation, demotion, or furlough
Day 60 FEHB TCC window opens: 60 days from separation or notice, whichever is later
Day 60 FEGLI conversion window: 31 days from separation
Day 60 + 30 OPM appeal filing deadline (11
p.m. Eastern, e-filing)
Day 60 + 150 OPM must issue its decision (120 days after filing)
Day 60 + 365 ICTAP priority expires (2 years for veterans preference eligibles)

The Two Deadlines Everyone Gets Wrong

FEHB continuation is 60 days, not 31. The Temporary Continuation of Coverage election window is 60 days from your separation date or the date of your specific RIF notice, whichever is later (5 CFR Part 890, Subpart K). The often-repeated 31-day figure belongs to FEGLI life insurance conversion, a different program with a different clock. TCC costs 102% of the total premium and missing the election is permanent.

The appeal clock runs from the effective date, not the notice. For September 2+ separations, you file with OPM's appeals office within 30 calendar days of the day you're actually separated. Filing early, before the effective date, doesn't work either. The process that follows has fixed stages: the agency gets 30 days to submit its record, you get 15 days to reply, OPM must decide within 120 days, and either side can request reconsideration within 30 days of that decision. Background on how this replaced the MSPB route is in our RIF appeals elimination explainer.

Know Your Numbers Before Day 60

Severance under 5 CFR 550.707: one week of basic pay per year for your first 10 years, two weeks per year beyond 10, plus 2.5% added for each full three months of age over 40, capped at 52 weeks. That age adjustment is commonly misquoted as "2% per year"; the real formula is more generous, effectively 10% per year over 40.

Use our free Severance Pay Calculator to get your figure in two minutes, then check the VERA Eligibility Checker if your agency has early-retirement authority on the table. If you're choosing between offers, the VERA/VSIP Decision Calculator compares the paths side by side.

Frequently Asked Questions

I just got a RIF notice. What is the first thing I should do?

Confirm the effective date is at least 60 full days from the day after receipt, then submit a written request for the retention register and every record used to set your standing. Verify your performance score, preference points, and service computation date before the separation date.

How long is a federal RIF notice period?

At least 60 full days, starting the day after receipt (5 CFR 351.801). OPM can approve a shorter period only for unforeseeable circumstances, and never below 30 days.

Where do I appeal a RIF separation now that MSPB is out?

For notices on or after September 2, 2026, appeals go to OPM's appeals office within 30 calendar days of the effective date of the action. The agency submits its record within 30 days, you reply within 15, and OPM decides within 120.

How long do I have to keep FEHB after a RIF separation?

60 days to elect TCC, counted from separation or your specific notice date, whichever is later, at 102% of the full premium. The 31-day figure some guides cite is the FEGLI conversion window, not FEHB.

How is severance pay calculated after a RIF?

One week of pay per year for the first 10 years, two weeks per year after that, plus 2.5% per full three months of age over 40, capped at 52 weeks (5 CFR 550.707).

Sources: 5 CFR 351.801-802, FR 2026-15665, FR 2026-15666, 5 CFR 550.707, OPM.gov TCC guidance.