Form RI 10-72 RI 10-72 Customer Satisfaction Survey

2009
Customer Satisfaction Survey

How Has The
Office of Personnel Management
Served You?

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Form Approved:
OMB Number: 3206-0236

UNITED STATES OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
Washington, DC 20415
Human Resources
Products and Services
Division

A Message from the Associate Director of
Human Resources Products & Services Division

Dear Friend:
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management serves over 2.5 million Federal annuitants and survivor
annuitants, and is aware of our responsibility to provide quality retirement benefit services to our
customers. You earned these benefits by serving your country, and we must provide services that
match the commitment you made to public service.
This survey collects feedback on satisfaction with our retirement program products and services.
You were selected from a random sample of Federal annuitants and survivor annuitants.
Your participation is voluntary, and any information you provide will be kept confidential.
This information will help us determine areas that need improvement.
We will report the survey results to the President and Congress so they can assess how we are doing
on meeting our goals and carrying out our mission to ensure the Federal Government has an effective
civilian workforce. One way we do this is by maintaining a world-class benefits program. Your
participation in this survey will help us retain and build that workforce. This means you continue
to serve your country, and for that, we thank you.
Sincerely,

Kay T. Ely
Associate Director
Human Resources Products and Services

www.opm.gov

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

www.usajobs.gov

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Center for Retirement and Insurance Services
FY 2009 Customer Satisfaction Survey
Purpose of this Survey
Every year the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sets new goals for improving the retirement services we provide
to Federal annuitants. To reflect how well we meet these goals, our survey focuses on retirees who had a transaction with
us during the last year (from October 1, 2008). This includes Long-Time Retirees (retired before October 1, 2008) who
contacted us for service regarding their retirement accounts, and New Retirees (retired on or after October 1, 2008) who
initially applied for retirement benefits or contacted us for service regarding their new accounts.

Instructions
Please read the instructions carefully. Respond directly in the survey booklet, using pen or pencil. If you wish to change a
response, erase it or cross it out. Some questions may not pertain to you; please mark these with the “No Basis to Judge”
response. For most of the questions, you will mark only one response, but a few questions noted as “Mark ALL that
apply” allow for multiple responses. The last section of this survey is for New Retirees; Long-Time Retirees should not
answer questions in the last section. If you wish to make written comments for any question, space is provided at Question
51, page 12.

Please return the completed questionnaire in the postage-paid envelope within 14 days to:
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Customer Satisfaction Survey
Retirement Operations Center - Mail Prep
Attn: MIB - TRB, Room 4316
PO Box 45
Boyers, PA 16020-9981

Questions
If you have questions about this survey, we will be happy to help you. Please call collect at 202-606-0283 (8:30 a.m. to
5 p.m., EST, Monday through Friday), or email us at: mib_survey@opm.gov.
Questions about your retirement claim or benefits should be directed to our Retirement Information Office at our toll-free
number: 1-888-767-6738. You can also visit us at our Web site: www.opm.gov/retire.

Please continue
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Public Burden Statement
We estimate providing this information takes an average 25 minutes per survey, including the time for reviewing
instructions, getting the needed data, and reviewing the requested information. Send comments regarding our estimate
or any other aspect of this survey, including suggestions for reducing completion time, to the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management, OPM Forms Officer (3206-0236), Washington, DC 20415-7900. The OMB Number, 3206-0236, is
currently valid. OPM may not collect information, and you are not required to respond, unless this number is displayed.

Privacy Act Statement
In accordance with Public Law 93-579 (Privacy Act of 1974), the providing of personal information is completely
voluntary. Collection of this information is authorized by Sections 1002, 3301, and 3304 of Title 5, U.S. Code.
Your responses to this survey are voluntary and there is no penalty for not responding. However, maximum participation
is encouraged so that the data will be complete and representative.
The principal purpose in collecting this information is to study and report attitudes and perceptions of Federal annuitants
regarding the retirement services provided to them by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Your responses
will be used to improve these services.
Only OPM staff involved in collecting or preparing this information for analysis will have access to completed surveys.
The information you provide will be analyzed and reported for the whole Federal annuitant population.
In any public release of survey results, no data will be disclosed that could be used to identify specific individuals and
your individual responses will be treated confidentially.

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Customer Satisfaction Survey
When answering the following questions, refer only to
your monthly Federal annuitant or survivor annuitant
payments, and your experiences since October 1, 2008.

3.

Assistance from OPM Retirement Services
personnel is provided at a time that is
convenient to me.

Long-Time and New Retirees

r A.

Strongly Disagree

Whether you retired many years ago or just recently, and
if you contacted us for service or information on your
Federal retirement account on or after October 1, 2008,
please answer the following questions regarding how
well OPM Retirement Services served you.

r B.

Disagree

1.

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree
r D. Agree

Since October 1, 2008, how many times did
you contact OPM Retirement Services
(telephone, letter, Internet, etc.)?

r A.

Once

r B.

Twice

4.

r C. Three times

It is easy to find someone from OPM
Retirement Services who can answer
my questions.

r D. Four or more times

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r E.

r B.

Disagree

Not at all

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree
2.

It is easy to do business with OPM
Retirement Services.

r D. Agree

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r B.

Disagree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree
r D. Agree
r E.

Strongly Agree

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5.

6.

I have adequate access to OPM Retirement
Services personnel for advice and
assistance.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

What difficulties, if any, have you
experienced in trying to find someone in
OPM Retirement Services to assist you?
(Mark ALL that apply)

r A.
r B.

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

No difficulties
Telephone rang without
answer or stayed busy

r D. Agree

r C. Telephone messages were

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

r D. Telephone calls were

No Basis to Judge

not returned

transferred multiple times

r E.
r F.

I was left on hold for a long
time
Automated phone service
proved difficult to use

r G. E-mail was forwarded
multiple times

r H. E-mail was not answered
r I.
r J.
r K.
r L.

2

Letters were not answered in
a timely manner
Letters were not answered
I have not tried to find
someone
Other (specify):

7.

OPM’s automated phone system
(202-606-0500 or 1-888-767-6738) is
easy to use.

r A.

Telephone

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

E-mail

r B.

Disagree

r C. Internet

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r D. Fax

r D. Agree

r E.

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

r F.

8.

9.

How do you usually request OPM
Retirement Services information, services,
or products? (Mark only ONE response)

Postal mail
I have not requested anything
from OPM Retirement
Services since October 1,
2008.

10. Do you use the Internet?

How do you prefer to receive OPM
Retirement Services information, services,
or products? (Mark only ONE response)

r A.

Telephone

r B.

E-mail

r A.

No

r B.

Yes

11. Have you accessed OPM’s Web site
(www.opm.gov/retire) since October 1,
2008?

r C. Internet

r A.

No

r D. Fax

r B.

Yes

r E.

Postal mail

r F.

Other (specify):

12. OPM Retirement Services personnel are
willing to help me.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree
r D. Agree
r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

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15. OPM Retirement Services personnel are
knowledgeable.

13. OPM Retirement Services personnel are
courteous.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r D. Agree

r D. Agree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

r F.

No Basis to Judge

16. Explanations of technical issues by OPM
Retirement Services personnel are
understandable.

14. OPM Retirement Services personnel give
individual attention to my requests for
information or service.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r D. Agree

r D. Agree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

r F.

No Basis to Judge

17. OPM Retirement Services personnel are
able to explain their products and services.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree
r D. Agree

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r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

21. I usually receive my monthly annuity or
survivor annuity payment by the first
business day of the month.

18. When someone in OPM Retirement Services
does not know the answer, they refer me to
an expert who does.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r D. Agree

r D. Agree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r E.

r F.

No Basis to Judge

Strongly Agree

22. OPM Retirement Services personnel give
me accurate information.

19. In general, OPM Retirement Services
provides timely service.

r A.

Strongly Disagree
Disagree

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

r B.

Disagree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r D. Agree

r D. Agree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

r F.

No Basis to Judge
23. OPM Retirement Services personnel keep
accurate records.

20. I am satisfied with the amount of time
it took OPM Retirement Services to
respond to the letter(s) I wrote on or
after October 1, 2008.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r B.

Disagree

r D. Agree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r D. Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

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24. OPM Retirement Services provides services
when promised.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

26. I am satisfied with the appearance of
manuals, brochures, reports, and other
communications materials (e.g., OPM
Retirement Services Web site, account
statements) prepared by OPM Retirement
Services.

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r D. Agree

r B.

Disagree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

r D. Agree

25. The communications materials I received
from OPM Retirement Services were clear
and understandable (e.g., letters, written
information).

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

27. Problems and complaints are resolved
quickly by OPM Retirement Services
personnel.

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree
r D. Agree

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

r D. Agree

No Basis to Judge

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

28. Problems and complaints are resolved with
minimal effort on my part.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree
r D. Agree

6

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

31. I am satisfied with the way OPM Retirement
Services personnel handle problems or
mistakes.

29. OPM links my customer feedback and
complaints to the OPM Retirement Services
personnel who can act on this information.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r D. Agree

r D. Agree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r E.

Strongly Agree

r F.

No Basis to Judge

r F.

No Basis to Judge

32. Overall, how satisfied were you with the
content of the response(s) to the letter(s)
you wrote to OPM since October 1, 2008?

30. OPM Retirement Services personnel are
flexible in finding solutions to problems.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

r A.

Very Dissatisfied

Disagree

r B.

Generally Dissatisfied

r C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

r C. Neither Dissatisfied nor

r D. Agree

Satisfied

r E.

Strongly Agree

r D. Generally Satisfied

r F.

No Basis to Judge

r E.

Very Satisfied

r F.

No Basis to Judge

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33. Since October 1, 2008, I experienced a
customer service problem with my annuity
account in the following areas: (Mark ALL
that apply).

r A.
r B.

34. If you applied for survivor annuitant benefits
on or after October 1, 2008, as the result of
the death of a Federal retiree, how satisfied
were you with the assistance you received
from OPM Retirement Services in filing the
paperwork needed to obtain benefits?

Initial claim for retirement
benefits
Initial claim for survivor
benefits

r C. Allotment
Federal tax withholding

r F.

State tax withholding

Very Dissatisfied

r B.

Dissatisfied

r C. Neither Dissatisfied nor
Satisfied

r D. Cost of living increase
r E.

r A.

r D. Satisfied

r G. Change in health benefits

r E.

Very Satisfied

r F.

No Basis to Judge

plans or option(s)

35. Overall, how satisfied are you with the
services you received from OPM Retirement
Services since October 1, 2008?

r H. Change in life insurance
option(s)

r I.
r J.
r K.
r L.

Change in mailing address
Direct deposit of annuity
payment

r A.

Very Dissatisfied

r B.

Dissatisfied

r C. Neither Dissatisfied nor

Adjust annuity payment after
change in marital status

Satisfied

r D. Satisfied

I have not experienced a
problem

r E.

r M. Other (specify):

Very Satisfied

36. If you had a choice of service providers,
would you use OPM Retirement Services
again?

r A.

No

r B.

Not Sure

r C. Yes

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37. How important was the availability of
retirement and insurance benefits in your
decision to accept a job with the Federal
Government?

r A.

Not at all important

r B.

Somewhat important

39. After you applied for your annuity benefit,
when did you receive your first Interim
Payment from OPM Retirement Services?

r E.
r F.

Long-Time Retirees have no further questions to answer.
Thank you for answering these questions. We appreciate
your participation. New Retirees (retired on or after
October 1, 2008) should continue to answer the following
questions.

If you retired from Federal service on or after October 1,
2008, please answer the following questions regarding
how well OPM and your agency served you during your
initial retirement process. Long-Time retirees (retired
before October 1, 2008) should not answer these final
questions.

I never received an Interim
Payment

r A.

No, it was not correct

r B.

Not sure

r C. Yes, it was correct
41. When you applied for retirement benefits,
how satisfied were you with how well OPM
Retirement Services handled all aspects of
your retirement claim?

38. In most cases, Interim Payments are paid
until an applicant’s annuity claim is
processed and regular payments begin. Was
this the case for your initial annuity claim?

Not Sure

Much sooner than I expected

40. After your Interim Payments ended, was
your first regular retirement check
computed correctly?

New Retirees Only - Please
Continue with the Survey

r B.

A little later than I expected

expected

Very important

No

r B.

r D. A little sooner than I

r D. Important

r A.

Much later than I expected

r C. About when I expected

r C. No opinion/Not sure
r E.

r A.

r A.

Very Dissatisfied

r B.

Generally Dissatisfied

r C. Neither Dissatisfied nor
Satisfied

r C. Yes

r D. Generally Satisfied
r E.

Very Satisfied

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42. OPM Retirement Services provided me with
useful information regarding my retirement.

r A.

Strongly Disagree

r B.

Disagree

r

45. What did the counseling cover?
(Mark ALL that apply)

r A.
r B.

C. Neither Disagree nor Agree

I did not receive retirement
counseling
Overview of retirement
benefits

r D. Agree

r C. Amount of annuity

r E.

Strongly Agree

r D. Survivor benefits

r F.

No Basis to Judge

r E.

Health insurance benefits

r F.

Life insurance benefits

43. Did you receive retirement counseling?

r G. Social Security benefits

r A.

No

r B.

r H. Thrift Savings Plan

Not sure

r I.

Taxes

r J.

Long Term Care

r K.

Need for retirement savings

r C. Yes
44. At what point in your Federal career did
your agency offer counseling or training
about retirement planning? (Mark ALL
that apply)

r L.

How to calculate savings
needed for retirement

r A.

New employee orientation

r M. Retirement life style

r B.

Mid-career

r N. Setting retirement goals

r C. Annual training open to all

46. How satisfied were you that the information
from your agency was accurate?

employees

r D. More than 3 years before
retirement

r E.
r F.

1 to 3 years before
retirement

r A.

Very Dissatisfied

r B.

Generally Dissatisfied

r C. Neither Dissatisfied nor

Less than 1 year before
retirement

Satisfied

r D. Generally Satisfied

r G. Agency did not provide

retirement counseling or
training

r H. Not sure
10

r E.

Very Satisfied

r F.

No Basis to Judge

47. How satisfied were you with how your
agency helped you take appropriate actions
(e.g., submitting retirement forms, decisions
on health/life insurance, etc.)?

r A.

Very Dissatisfied

r B.

Generally Dissatisfied

49. How did your agency’s estimate of your
annuity compare to the annuity computed
by OPM?

r A.
r B.

r C. Neither Dissatisfied nor
Satisfied

r D. Generally Satisfied
r E.

Very Satisfied

r F.

No Basis to Judge

Very Dissatisfied

r B.

Generally Dissatisfied

The annuity estimate was
significantly different from
the annuity computed by
OPM

r C. I did not receive an annuity
estimate from my agency

r D. Not sure
50. Which of the following describes how you
planned your retirement? (Mark ALL that
apply)

48. How satisfied were you with how your
agency helped you learn what to expect
after you retired (e.g., how long until annuity
payments begin, tax withholding, etc.)?

r A.

The annuity estimate was
close to the annuity
computed by OPM

r A.
r B.

r C. Neither Dissatisfied nor

I attended agency training
I used agency provided
resources such as Web links,
on-line training, brochures,
etc.

r C. I received individual

Satisfied

counseling

r

D. Generally Satisfied

r

E. Very Satisfied

r F.

r D. I used outside sources such

as a financial planner, books,
workshops, etc.

No Basis to Judge

r E.
r F.

I did not plan for my
retirement
Not sure

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51. Comments or suggestions about products or services provided by OPM Retirement Services?

This completes the survey. Thank you for your participation.

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United States Office of
Personnel Management
1900 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20415
202-606-0283
mib_survey@opm.gov

RI 10-72
Revised July 2009
Previous editions are not usable.