Army changes voluntary retirement policy

Army officials say the change will allow the service to better predict personnel losses, synchronize personnel movement cycles and support soldiers.

Michele Sandiford

April 28, 2026 11:13 am

< a min read

The Army is changing when soldiers can request voluntary retirement. Under the new policy, soldiers can submit voluntary retirement requests at least 12 months, and no more than 24 months, before their preferred retirement date. Army officials say the change will allow the service to better predict personnel losses, synchronize personnel movement cycles and support soldiers transitioning out of the military. Soldiers who are being considered for a new assignment or have received official orders for a permanent change of station will not be able to submit a voluntary retirement request. A Senate Democrat is pressing Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg about Golden Dome contracts awarded to companies tied to his former private equity firm. Before joining the Trump administration, Feinberg was a co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, which has significant holdings and investments in a number of companies that do business with the Defense Department. While he was required to divest from the firm and recuse himself from matters involving Cerberus, including transferring his holdings to trusts benefiting his adult children, he reversed that commitment earlier this year, allowing him to maintain financial ties to the firm. DoD has revealed that at least four Cerberus-linked companies have received Golden Dome contracts, but has not disclosed their value. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is now calling on Feinberg to sever all ties to Cerberus, including those involving his immediate family.The Education Department is turning up its scrutiny of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid program. Education said it has added new anti-fraud capabilities directly into FAFSA with every applicant now being evaluated in real-time using risk-based identity screening. The agency said applicants who display a certain level of fraud risk will now be required to present government-issued identification before accessing federal student aid funds such as Pell Grants and federal student loans. The new anti-fraud capabilities build on Education’s ongoing review of all previously submitted FAFSA forms using new screening technology. The agency believes this review already has saved over $1 billion from going to fraudsters.Agencies saw more money go out the door in 2025 as improper payments, but that’s not necessarily bad news. Agencies paid more than $183 billion in improper payments last fiscal year. That is a $24 billion dollar increase over 2024. But the Government Accountability Office and other experts say the reason for the increase is better data and increased oversight rather than poorly run programs. GAO said 82% of the improper payments are considered overpayments. Programs at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency reduced the amount of money paid out improperly last year. At the same time, eight programs reported year-over-year increases. GAO didn’t make any new recommendations, but making permanent the data sharing between the Death Master File and the Do Not Pay platform will go a long way to further reduce improper payments.]]>

The Department of Homeland Security’s research arm is exploring how artificial intelligence could help screen airport passengers and luggage. DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate is gathering feedback from industry on screening technologies and automated image analysis software. The research will support the Transportation Security Administration, which projects passenger screening throughput will increase over the next decade from three million to 10 million passengers per day. DHS said new and advanced passenger and baggage screening technologies will handle those projected loads while also improving passenger experience. The Social Security Administration is setting aside additional funds this year to ensure a larger-than-usual pool of employees gets performance awards. SSA employees typically receive their annual performance awards in the summer, but the agency is giving them out earlier than usual. The agency is also expanding eligibility. Employees who received at least a 3.5 on last year’s performance evaluation will get some kind of financial bonus. The agency said its commissioner secured additional funds for these awards to ensure employees didn’t get smaller awards than what they’re used to. The Department of Health and Human Services is limiting how many employees get a bump in salary as a reward for getting top marks on their latest performance review. The department said only 3% of employees who quality for a Quality Step Increase (QSI) will actually get one. QSIs are rarer than one-time cash awards because employees who get them move up a step on their pay scale. At some offices within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only a handful of staff chosen at random will receive QSIs.The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency documented hundreds of classified security violations within cleared industry. DCSA conducted more than 4,600 security reviews at cleared contractor facilities in 2025 and found 815 violations. That’s according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Most of the violations were data spills, while others included improper storage, unauthorized disclosures or physical losses. GAO also found DCSA has struggled to keep pace with the required number of facility security reviews. Pentagon officials are considering changing the requirements or having the military departments take on more industrial security oversight.

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