October 14, 2025
The federal government is spending about 16% more on federal employee retirements this year compared to last year.
There has been a historic wave of federal retirements and departures in the workforce, putting a strain on the government. The backlog is worsening amid the government shutdown as it enters the second week.
As first reported by The Washington Post, there has been an unprecedented mass exodus at the federal level. At least 154,000 federal employees accepted buyout offers. Among them are over 100,000 employees who took regular retirement, which is an estimated 18% increase from the previous year.
There are more than 10,000 cases still waiting to be processed. Adding to the backlog is the government shutdown that began on Oct. 1. Some staff who handle the paperwork and payroll are currently furloughed, and there appears to be no end in sight.
Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), recently said the U.S. is “barreling” toward “one of the longest shutdowns in American history,” signaling that he has no plans of working across the aisle with Democrats to reopen the government. Democratic leaders are demanding that Republicans make concessions to healthcare and expand the health subsidies for Americans under the Affordable Care Act, which are expected to expire at the end of the year.
OPM Remains ‘Optimistic’ About Powering Through Federal Retirements Backlog
Despite the backlog that some fear will only worsen, Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Scott Kupor, said that he remains optimistic his office will power through it.
“I’m excited about the work we’re doing, but the reality is, as you know, is there is a big volume that’s coming in a short period of time, and so we’re going to have to do everything we can to make sure that we continue to invest in those efforts that are going to improve the efficiency of the process significantly,” Kupor told The Washington Post.
The OPM has reportedly reduced its more than 3,000 personnel by about one-third through deferred resignations, early retirements, and other buyouts. The office is currently processing more than 35,000 retirements. In the last fiscal year, which ended in September, the agency processed nearly 105,000 immediate retirement cases compared with 88,608 the year prior.
Currently, the federal government is spending about 16% more on federal employee retirements this year, compared to last year, according to the Federal News Network.
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