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Washington, D.C.— Today’s release by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) of the final rule for a phased retirement program is another positive step in bringing this program to life, said the president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

“For many federal employees, this program has been a long time in coming,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “NTEU pushed for the legislation on Capitol Hill, pushed OPM to issue the final rules, and now will push federal agencies to develop programs.”

The final rule will be published officially in tomorrow’s Federal Register, according to OPM. Ninety days after that, employees may be able to begin applying for the program.

However, agencies must have a written plan in place with defined criteria for the program, including which positions are eligible and how an agency decides which employees can move into the program.

“From the beginning, NTEU has believed that the program should be broadly available and that remains our goal,” Kelley said. “We will be talking to the agencies where NTEU represents employees about establishing a phased retirement program and all the details that surround it. We will also make use of labor-management forums and collective bargaining opportunities to bring the program to life.”

With NTEU support, the phased retirement program was enacted into law more than two years ago. Since then, NTEU has been closely monitoring OPM progress in issuing the necessary rule.

“OPM will next provide additional information and guidance to federal agencies for establishing programs,” said President Kelley. “NTEU will watch for those documents and do all we can to maintain momentum on phased retirement.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.