House Committee Highlights Issues with OPM: Financial Literacy

The House Appropriations Committee released a statement listing their concerns with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The majority of the topics dealt with information technology (IT) or hiring in some aspect, but this final article on the subject discusses the financial issues raised regarding Feds.

Constituency Services & Financial Firms

OPM Constituency Services was developed to provide both members of Congress and Federal Employees, including retirees, access to timely information about their pay, pension, and other benefits. The legislative committee noted the engorged backlog of requests that had piled up as people try to access this service. Typically the wait time for a response is a month or longer. The representatives issuing this statement on OPM recommended that the personnel agency should formulate a plan that revolves around accelerating the time it takes to process a submission, and if needed, hire more caseworkers. The advisors at Serving Those Who Serve are Chartered Federal Employee Benefits Counselors (ChFEBC℠), and are able to meet with Feds to discuss their federal benefits while waiting to hear from Constituency Services.

Minority and Female-owned companies that are involved in investment banking, asset management, and financial advisory services should be promoted to Federal Employees to the greatest extent possible, the committee stated. Ownership is defined as owning 51% or more. Women in the financial field fill only 11% of total senior management positions, and minority and female-owned investment firms manage just 1.3% of the industry’s $69 trillion in total assets. The lag in equality is something that has stained the investment community for decades.

Until Next Time,