A. Employee Express is an innovative automated system that Federal employees use to make their personnel and payroll transactions electronically.

A. No. Only employees of agencies that subscribe to Employee Express can use it.

A.

• It saves time.
• It's convenient.
• It's reliable.

Employee Express eliminates the need for completing and submitting forms by replacing forms with user-friendly technology. You'll never again have to make a special trip to personnel to drop off forms; instead, you can process changes or review your current information anytime and nearly anyplace. And perhaps best of all, Employee Express automatically checks your transaction -- a feature that wasn't available using paper forms.

A. You can use Employee Express anytime, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

A. You can change most "discretionary" personnel and payroll transactions, including your:

• Financial allotments
• Savings bonds
• Health benefits
• Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
• Direct deposit
• Federal and state tax withholdings
• Your home address
• Combined Federal Campaign (CFC)
• Your Employee Express PIN
• New! -- You can also get a copy of your Leave and Earnings Statement for the current pay period and two previous pay periods.

(You can't change your life insurance on Employee Express.)

Contact your Human Resources office to find out what other services your agency may provide through Employee Express.

A. Not all screens are accessible by all employees or available at all agencies. For example, if you participate in premium conversion, you may not change from self and family to self only or cancel your FEHB enrollment at any time. Therefore, this menu option will not appear. You may still be able to change your enrollment if you have experienced a qualifying life event, or QLE. If you don't find the change option on your menu, see your Human Resources office.

A. You can use Employee Express by touch-tone phone and through the Internet. For security reasons, we don't recommend using a cellular phone. For information about Employee Express in your agency, contact your Human Resources office.

A. To use Employee Express, you'll need to provide your social security number (SSN) and an Employee Express personal identification number (PIN). For a few transactions, you may need to give more information.

A. The Office of Personnel Management in Macon, Georgia (OPM-Macon), will mail a PIN to you within your first two weeks on the job.

A. Call the OPM-Macon Help Desk at 478-757-3030, choose the PIN option, and request a new PIN. The Help Desk will mail your new PIN the next day. Since the Help Desk will mail your new PIN to the address your agency has on file, make sure that your Human Resources office has your current address. We suggest you change your PIN to something easy to remember and be sure to keep your PIN in a safe place. You won't be able to use Employee Express until you get your new PIN.

A. Your information is as secure as using an ATM. Your using a combination of SSN, PIN, and agency-specific information makes it secure.

A. Help is always there when you use Employee Express. You can call the OPM-Macon Help Desk at 478-757-3030 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST. At other times, leave a message and someone will call you back. You can also send email to EEXHELP@opm.gov. Contact your Human Resources office if you have questions about your specific personnel or payroll records.

A. The Help Desk:

• Tells you what transactions you can do (link to question #4) and how to do them using Employee Express;
• Gives numbers for the Employee Express phone system;
• Gives locations for touch screens (kiosks) and contacts for Human Resources offices;
• Gives the Employee Express email address;
• Issues new PINs
• Automatically sends a verification letter to you for health benefits changes you make in Employee Express. (For paperwork on other changes, contact your Human Resources office.)

A. You can reach the Help desk by phone at 478-757-3030 or email at EEXHELP@opm.gov. When you email the Help Desk, be sure to include this information in your message:

• Your full name
• Your agency's name
• Your phone number
• A brief description of your problem

Do NOT include your SSN or PIN in your email.

A. You can check Employee Express for pending actions. You will also see the change on your Leave and Earnings Statement. Employee Express will set an effective date of change and give you the date the change should show on your Leave and Earnings Statement.

A. See your Human Resources office if the effective date Employee Express gave you is passed and you do not see the change on your Leave and Earnings Statement. (If Employee Express did not give you a confirmation date, call the OPM-Macon Help Desk at 478-757-3030 or email them at EEXHELP@opm.gov; they will track the transaction to verify the change was made.)

A. Employee Express is essentially paperless. The only time you'll get a paper confirmation is when you make a health benefits change.

A. The agency you are leaving will file a report in your Official Personnel Folder of all the health benefits and Thrift Savings Plan changes you made using Employee Express. You can get a copy from your Human Resources office.

A. Your Human Resources office will get a history of your FEHB enrollments from Employee Express, and will send it to OPM with your retirement application.

A. You can't cancel a change. You can, however, make another change, using Employee Express. You can change most discretionary personnel and payroll transactions such as direct deposit, Federal and state tax withholdings, savings bonds, etc. at any time. Changes to FEHB and TSP are generally limited to open season. During FEHB open season, you may change your enrollment and/or waive or begin participation in premium conversion at any time up until the last day of open season. Employee Express will process only the last transaction.

A.

• A TDD number is available -- 478-757-3117 or 1-888-880-0412; and
• Employee Express is available through the Internet.

A. Questions pertaining to retirement and benefits, salary and pay, and employment verification. (However, leave balances and biweekly pay amounts are displayed on your Earnings & Leave Statement -- which is now available on Employee Express.)

A. During the FEHB Open Season, you may:

• enroll in any health benefit plan for which you are eligible;
• change from one plan, option, or type of enrollment to another;.
• cancel your enrollment;
• Change your pre-tax waiver status.

A. Look at the FEHB brochure for the plan that interests you. Brochures are on the OPM web site at www.opm.gov/insure. You can also ask the health benefits officer in your Human Resources office for help. When you know the plan you want to enroll in, you can make the change in Employee Express. You'll need the 3-character enrollment code for the plan.

A. You do not need to change the enrollment. New eligible family members are automatically covered by your self and family coverage. However, you should let your plan know about the addition right away so they can adjust their records.

A. Employee Express is set up to accept only your name, plus 10 family members. If you have more than 10 family members to list, you will need to use the paper SF 2809 Health Benefits Election form. Submit it to your Human Resources Office.

A. If you are not enrolled in FEHB and are in a non-pay status during open season, you cannot use Employee Express. Submit a paper SF 2809 Health Benefits Election form to your Human Resources office . Your Human Resources office will process your enrollment but FEHB coverage will not begin until you return to a pay status.

A. OPM-Macon notifies plans weekly of changes requested through Employee Express. Employee Express automatically confirms each electronic transmission to the plans.

A. You should receive your ID card a few weeks after you make the change in Employee Express. For open season changes, you should get it by the effective date of your change — usually the first Sunday in January. (Check with your Human Resources office for the exact date.)

A. Don't use Employee Express for open season changes if you are planning to retire, separate from the Federal government or transfer to another agency. Contact your Human Resources office for instructions about what you should do instead.

A. Yes, if you experience one of the following Qualifying Life Events:

• You are enrolled in a FEHB Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and you (or a covered family member) move or become employed outside the geographic area from which your FEHB carrier accepts enrollments; (or, if already outside this area, you move further from this area);
• You lose coverage due to discontinuance in whole or part of your FEHB plan;
• You experience a change in your family status. (Family status changes include marriage, legal separation, divorce, death of spouse or dependent, loss of coverage by your last dependent child.)