JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- The Air Force’s Personnel Center implemented an automated process today that provides Airmen with an immediate determination of their retirement eligibility and prevents unnecessary application processing.
The retirements branch currently receives about 1,300 eligibility reviews each month, each requiring an AFPC employee to manually process and validate through multiple data sources, resulting in the requesting member waiting several days for a response.
“This automation of the retirement eligibility review eliminates the current customer wait time and gives them instant, accurate feedback,” said Ann Lacey, AFPC Military Retirement Policy and Procedures. “That’s the most valuable part of this automated process. The instant eligibility determination allows the customer to immediately proceed with next steps in their retirement process.”
The eligibility review is the first step for lieutenant colonels and below in the Regular Air Force or Active Guard Reserve to apply for retirement. Using existing Air Force enterprise software called Oracle Policy Automation, AFPC created code to evaluate an Airman’s record using 15 eligibility review checklists. OPA imports data from the Military Personnel Data System for the review process and provides immediate on-screen responses based on the results of the check.
If eligible, Airmen may exit the system or continue with the application process. If ineligible, or if the Airman needs a waiver, the system will provide a detailed response explaining why and any necessary next steps.
“As part of cost effective modernization, we are committed to reducing costs across program lifecycles,” Lacey said. “Keep in mind that the automated retirement eligibility review is only as good as the data it receives. Airmen must ensure their information is accurate in MilPDS and work with their Military Personnel Flight to correct any discrepancies.”
The automated review is now hosted on the Airman’s Retirements home page on myPers rather than virtual MPF. The retirement application process remains the same, with an email to the commander for their recommendation and then final decision from AFPC sent from myPers.
For more information about Air Force personnel policies and programs, visit our website at www.afpc.af.mil.