About 100,000 federal employees are formally leaving the federal government payroll this week, as September 30 marks the official resignation date for many workers who accepted the Trump Administration’s deferred resignation offer. That means many workers who have been on paid leave for months, will officially be out of their jobs. 

In the original offer, detailed in the “Fork in the Road” email, federal employees were given the option of resigning with pay and benefits until September 30, 2025. The September 30 deadline, the end of the fiscal year, was the most common deadline under the original government wide offer and individual agency offers that followed, although some exceptions were later made, particularly for retirement reasons. 

By the end of calendar year 2025, the federal workforce is expected to shrink by about one-eighth, or 300,000 workers, due to the buyouts, firings, voluntary resignations, and other changes. That’s on pace to be the largest single-year reduction in the federal workforce since World War II. 

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) says the reduced workforce will produce an estimated $28 billion in annual savings even as it costs about $15 billion in 2025. Nevertheless, critics warn the loss of so much experience will cause brain drain.  

“It takes years to develop deep knowledge and expertise to deliver government programs these people run. Now much of the knowledge is walking out the door,” said University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy Professor Don Moynihan.

But the administration insists that critical roles will continue to be filled. 

“The agency will continue to assess the types of skills and roles needed to meet our priorities,” said NASA spokesperson Cheryl Warner. NASA is losing about 4,000 employees due to the buyouts. 

Retirement Surge

Meanwhile, OPM is bracing for a surge in retirements with the resignation date now here. Retirements cannot be processed until the employee is officially off the federal payroll. 

“There’s no question there’s going to be a surge. We’re doing everything we can to try and address it,” said OPM Director Scott Kupor to NBC Washington. 

Adding to the worries, processing times could be extended if there is a government shut down. But Director Kupor insists that processing will go forward, saying his team of 400 retirement benefits specialists would not be impacted by a federal shutdown because OPM is funded outside of congressional appropriations.