Some federal retirees are on the verge of financial ruin waiting on retirement benefits that have yet to arrive, they say<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 An internal email obtained by WUSA9 shows federal officials warned more than a year ago that large-scale workforce reductions would overwhelm the system responsible for processing retirement benefits\u2014delays that retirees now say are leaving them financially strained and without answers.<\/p>\n
In an April 2025 email, a deputy director within the Internal Revenue Service warned that staffing shortages would significantly slow the processing of retirement applications as thousands of employees exited the agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe currently have 5,876 retirement applications,\u201d the deputy director wrote. \u201cIf all who elected TDRP 2.0 retire, the number will rise to 11,000 retirements or more. This team will be operating at 50% capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n
At that pace, the deputy director warned it would take more than two years to complete the workload\u2014and more than five years if all remaining employees who signed up for the program ultimately retired.<\/p>\n
Today, dozens of federal retirees tell WUSA9 those warnings have become reality.<\/p>\n
\nRetirees Still Waiting for Benefits <\/p>\n
Dozens of federal retirees say their new lives in retirement have been anything but peaceful. Some say they felt pressured\u2014or were forced\u2014to retire from federal jobs they held for decades. Many are still waiting to receive the retirement benefits they earned.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been very stressful,\u201d said Tajuana Brown, who retired from United States Agency for International Development. \u201cI’m paying what I can at a minimum. I’ve got to keep my lights on. I\u2019ve got to keep a roof over my head.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thousands of retirees appear caught in a matrix of delays, where retirement packages have yet to reach their final destination\u2014the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), where initial payments can be approved and disbursed. Instead, many packages remain stuck at employees\u2019 former agencies months after their departure.<\/p>\n
Among the dozens of complaints reported to WUSA9, two agencies topped the list: the IRS and USAID.<\/p>\n
\nIRS Retirees Describe Delays and Errors <\/p>\n
Becky Ratcliffe enjoyed a 27-year career with the IRS. Like many of her colleagues, she opted to participate in the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), part of the Trump administration\u2019s effort to shrink the federal workforce. The program allowed employees to leave on administrative leave and formally separate at a later date.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked with people\u2014I can\u2019t even explain the connection that I had,\u201d said Ratcliffe, who worked in IRS management. \u201cYou spend more time with them than with your own family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ratcliffe\u2019s final day in the office was May 19, 2025. Under the terms of her DRP agreement, she officially separated at the end of September. Familiar with the federal system, she expected some delay\u2014but not months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t separate me in the employee personnel system for about two weeks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Karen Atchison, another IRS retiree, also took the DRP and separated in September. Like Ratcliffe, she said records still show her as an active employee, even though paperwork reflects that she formally separated last year.<\/p>\n
Records show 322,049 federal workers left the workforce in 2025, trimming what the Trump administration described as a \u201cbloated\u201d federal workforce. The reductions placed added strain on human resources professionals responsible for processing thousands of retirement applications with fewer staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to blame the IRS, and I have to blame the lack of planning,\u201d Ratcliffe said. \u201cWe\u2019ll just let it happen and apologize while people are losing things. I\u2019ve heard of people having to file for bankruptcy.\u201d<\/p>\n
WUSA9 reached out to the IRS for two weeks requesting an interview or comment but received no official response.<\/p>\n
\nUSAID Retirees Face Unique Challenges <\/p>\n
USAID retirees told WUSA9 their experience has been especially frustrating following the dismantling of the agency, which came after President Donald Trump alleged that \u201cbillions of dollars had been stolen.\u201d The administration provided no evidence to support those claims. Thousands of employees were fired or left the agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very chaotic. Of course, it was stressful,\u201d said Rochelle Sales, who worked at USAID for 17 years.<\/p>\n
Sales left the agency in 2025, confused by what she described as the politicization of USAID\u2019s humanitarian work. Her last day was June 30, 2025\u2014the final month she received a paycheck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve called OPM three times, and each time they tell me, \u2018We don\u2019t have you in the system,\u2019\u201d Sales said. \u201cThey tell me to contact my HR department. Unfortunately, because they dismantled our HR and our entire agency, we don\u2019t have a contact person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the retirees was Dawn Freeman, who said she was forced to leave the agency just one month shy of her 20-year anniversary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just hoping my packet goes to OPM and I get a case number,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n
She is still waiting for her retirement benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much does a person have to lose?\u201d Freeman asked. \u201cPeople are becoming homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cynita Minor said she was forced into early retirement from USAID in 2025. According to OPM retirement criteria, she was not eligible for full retirement at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have given almost 25 years of federal service, and this is how I am treated,\u201d Minor said.<\/p>\n
\nOfficials Acknowledge Delays, Cite Systemic Constraints <\/p>\n
Federal officials acknowledge the processing delays. WUSA9 spoke with individuals responsible for\u2014or with direct knowledge of\u2014retirement application processing. They said some cases take longer due to the complexity of a retiree\u2019s work history, compensation, and benefits. They added that additional personnel are needed and that OPM contractors have been hired to assist.<\/p>\n
Some retirees have turned to their members of Congress for help. U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks\u2019 office said it received 12 inquiries from constituents still waiting on retirement benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Constituent Services Team has been in contact with those individuals, has reached out to the Internal Revenue Service, and is currently working to get answers,\u201d her office said in a statement to WUSA9.<\/p>\n
U.S. Senator Todd Young of Indiana also received at least one inquiry.<\/p>\n
OPM Director Scott Kupor said efforts are underway to address the delays but emphasized that OPM\u2019s ability to act depends on agencies completing their portion of the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re doing everything we can right now to try to accelerate it,\u201d Kupor said. \u201cUntil we get the applications\u2014which in most cases require both an HR and payroll component\u2014our ability to start processing is gated by agencies completing the full application.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kupor also acknowledged significant delays at the IRS.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problems you\u2019re hearing about are real,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a big backlog of cases at the IRS that have not made it to OPM yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Kupor, OPM fast-tracked approximately 2,000 backlogged retirement applications and processed them directly. While that helped, thousands of additional applications remain delayed.<\/p>\n
The IRS did not respond to multiple requests for comment or an interview.<\/p>\n
Kupor cited another contributing factor: the continued use of paper retirement applications rather than OPM\u2019s Online Retirement Application (ORA). About 60% of applications are still submitted on paper.<\/p>\n