Federal retirement records mine eyes digital shift

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has been processing and storing federal retirement records in a limestone mine in Boyers, Pennsylvania, since 1960. The mine, located about an hour outside Pittsburgh, provides natural climate control that makes it ideal for storing documents. Even in today’s digital age, the retirement process is still largely done on paper. OPM program manager Alita Haniwalt said, “It is still done on paper. I think it becomes overwhelming because no two retirements are the same.” The warehouse-like space inside the mine houses over 400 million individual records, stored in 26,000 file cabinets, some stacked 10 high. Cardboard boxes and paper files fill shelves and tables as they move from station to station. Recently, the mine caught the attention of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia was recruited to help modernize the operation. In February, OPM processed its first digital federal retirement under DOGE’s direction.

Digital upgrade for federal retirements

The team completed it in just two days, well within their one-week goal. “It really became a proof point and a rallying cry to everyone to say this is possible. Now we get to go build the product behind that and actually do something that’s scalable,” Gebbia said. Matt MacIsaac, who has been an OPM employee since 2009, runs daily operations at the mine and supports the modernization efforts. “We’re ready to make this process better, make it more efficient, and really get what we need for the civil servants,” said MacIsaac. Gebbia assured that the mine office, which employs 450 OPM staffers, will remain open. “So the mine will always be here, and so will these paper records, but we can build a process where there’s no new paper added to the mine, and no paper has to leave the mine,” he explained. Federal retirees could see changes as soon as May 1. “We’re working at startup speed, so we’re working through iterations right now, and our next one will be testing with retirees on May 1,” Gebbia said. “We’re moving at an incredible pace.”