Federal retirees will soon have to contend with a new login process when they visit the OPM Retirement Services website to verify their annuity accounts online.
Effective May 26, 2022, federal retirees will notice a new website login process. The login process will now be handled through the federal government’s Login.gov website and will require you to create a new login.gov username and password if you do not currently have one.
According to the Office of Personnel Management, the change is being made to better protect the personal information of federal retirees who use the website.
What is Login.gov?
The Login.gov website says it’s a service to “use a single account for secure and private access to participating government agencies.” He further adds:
Login.gov is a secure login service used by the public to log in to participating government agencies. Participating agencies will require you to create a Login.gov account to securely access your information on their website or app.
You can use the same username and password to access any Login.gov partner agency. This streamlines your process and eliminates the need to remember multiple usernames and passwords.
Think of it as the government’s comparable solution to a single sign-on process similar to what you would use if you logged into a website using your Google or Twitter account instead of creating a new username. and a separate password for that particular website. The idea is to simplify the process by having one less account to manage and increasing security since your email, password, etc. have already been established and verified by the controlling website (Google or Twitter in this example).
What should federal retirees do?
According to an announcement released by OPM, starting May 26, 2022, the new login process will come into effect. It is said:
Effective May 26, 2022, you will notice a new Online Services sign-in process to better protect your personal information. To login, you will be prompted to create a new username and password with login.gov. After that, each time you log in to [OPM Retirement] Services Online, you will use the login.gov username and password, and a special code to authenticate your identity and protect your account. You will no longer be able to log in with a claim number and password.
OPM has also provided a detailed guide on how to create a new username and password with Login.gov.
The new process involves creating an account, verifying your email address, creating a password of at least 12 characters, securing your account by confirming a mobile phone number (although other options are available, such as using a security key or your government employee ID), then linking the new Login.gov account to your account/profile with OPM Retirement Services Online which requires entering your current claim number and password with this website.
Federal retirees who already have a Login.gov account will not need to create another new account and can simply use their existing Login.gov account to log into the OPM Retirement Services Online website.
Each individual needs their own Login.gov account; accounts cannot be shared.
OPM has stated that nothing will happen to the data stored in your Services Online account; only the connection process changes.
People needing help can visit the Login.gov Help Center.
Which federal agencies use Login.gov?
According to login.gov, some of the agencies or services already using this service are USAJobs, TSA PreCheck, and the Small Business Administration. No doubt more federal agencies will also be added in the future.
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