Another MSPB Administrative Judge reversed OPM’s decision reducing a retiree’s benefits by finding that the retiree’s employing Agency had committed “administrative error”. (Click here to learn more about what administrative error is).

In this case, the employee retired from the U.S. Department of the Navy in 2000. He filled out the standardized retirement forms, with the language that OPM and  MSPB Administrative Judges so often rely on in finding that an Appellant was informed of the need to make the military service credit deposit and the consequences of failing to do so. If the case stopped there, the retiree probably would not have prevailed.

In this case, the retiree testified that he was told, at retirement, that the reduction in his annuity would be about $5 per month. When reality hit this retiree, the actual reduction was approximately $60 per month. (I have seen situations where an annuity was reduced hundreds to thousands of dollars).

The MSPB Administrative Judge followed McCrary, which held that when an employee, at the time of an election, asks for information regarding the amount of the military deposit or consequences of failing to make the deposit, the government commits administrative error when it either misrepresents the dollar amounts in question or is so indirect, inaccurate, or incomplete as to confuse or mislead the employee as to the amount of the deposit or the effect of any failure to make the deposit on the annuity recalculation.

This case shows that the Agency misinformation is not always malicious or that the Agency wasn’t grossly misinterpreting any regulations. However, it did fail to provide an accurate picture of how the deposit would impact this retiree’s annuity. After McCrary, this is usually sufficient administrative error to reverse OPM’s decision.

No post on this website is legal advice, is meant to be legal advice, and certainly does not serve as a substitute for legal advice. Information is power, and we are providing this information to give you, the federal employee, with some power. This information is not widely or easily accessible to Federal Employees.

It is best to consult with a lawyer familiar with Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeals to discuss the facts and law of your particular case. If you have questions about Catch 62 issues, or OPM’s reduction of your retirement annuity at age 62, contact an MSPB attorney at the Attig Law Firm, PLLC, to schedule a telephone consultation.