Maryland <\/a>resident Felicia Jones is among them.<\/p>\n\u201cScary, nerve-wracking \u2014 just unbelievable that I\u2019m in this situation right now,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
Jones retired from the federal government on Sept. 30, 2025, after 38 years of service across six different agencies, most recently the Internal Revenue Service. Her final paycheck came in early October.<\/p>\n
Since then, she says, nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been more than 90 days,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI have not received any earned annuity payments, and my annual leave payout remains unprocessed. Both are retirement benefits that I\u2019m entitled to \u2014 so I have no income coming in.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Record Surge in Retirements<\/p>\n
New data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) shows 112,679 federal employees retired between October 2024 and September 2025 \u2014 the second-highest number in a single year.<\/p>\n
More than half of those retirements \u2014 56,911 \u2014 occurred in just the final three months of that period, creating an unprecedented surge in applications.<\/p>\n
As of the most recent report, more than 50,500 retirement claims are still awaiting full processing at OPM. That figure does not include applications stalled in the HR offices of federal agencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat 50,000 number is now like, we own it,\u201d OPM Director Scott Kupor said in an interview with 7News. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n
No Pay, No Timeline<\/p>\n
Jones says the delay has reached what she describes as a \u201ccritical point\u201d in her life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had to continue paying monthly obligations without having any money coming in,\u201d she said. \u201cEven with savings, I\u2019m exhausting those funds.\u201d<\/p>\n
While financial experts often recommend retirees have three to six months of savings, Jones says even careful planning can only go so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the delays continue \u2014 another six months, another 12 months \u2014 I will have depleted most of my personal savings,\u201d she said. \u201cJust like other retirees, I\u2019ll be put in a real, real bad situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones says she has received little information about where her retirement application stands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be completely honest with you \u2014 I\u2019m completely in the dark,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She says she has emailed her assigned retirement specialist multiple times, copying a manager, and asking for status updates, clarification on remaining steps, and an estimated timeline.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe response I received was basically, due to the backlog and large volume of retirement applications, we\u2019re working as fast as we can,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have any information for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where the Process Breaks Down<\/p>\n
Kupor explained that delays often happen before applications ever reach OPM.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe three other places things could be is either the applicant hasn\u2019t finished doing their part, the HR at the agency hasn\u2019t done their part, or the payroll provider hasn\u2019t done their part,\u201d Kupor said. \u201cUntil those get completed, they don\u2019t show up at OPM.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kupor confirmed that retirees who have not received interim retirement pay are likely still stuck at the agency or payroll level.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means it hasn\u2019t even come to us yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Jones said conversations with former colleagues suggest she is far from alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in constant communication with my ex-coworkers,\u201d she said. \u201cSome had their retirement packages reviewed and sent to OPM back in November \u2014 and they\u2019re still in limbo as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
OPM Points to Improvements \u2014 Once Paperwork Arrives<\/p>\n
Kupor says OPM anticipated a surge in retirements and made changes to prevent retirees from going months without income once their applications are received.<\/p>\n
Under a revamped interim pay system, OPM now places 75% of applications into estimated retirement payments immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin seven days of us receiving an application, 100% of those have been processed for interim pay,\u201d Kupor said. \u201cThat was really important to minimize the gap between a retiree\u2019s last paycheck and when money starts coming in.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, those improvements do not help retirees whose paperwork never reaches OPM.<\/p>\n
7News reached out several times to the IRS for comment about retirement processing delays but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n
A Call for Accountability<\/p>\n
After nearly four decades of federal service, Jones says she never expected to be left in this position.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved my job. I absolutely loved working for the federal government,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve dedicated most of our careers to public service.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones says she agreed to speak publicly to bring attention to what she views as a growing crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a major crisis \u2014 not just for me, but for all of my fellow retirees,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope those in power prioritize the retirement application process.\u201d<\/p>\n
While she says she sympathizes with the workers tasked with processing retirement claims, she believes change is urgent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere needs to be accountability and immediate action to speed this up,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe need help. A lot of us are hurting. It\u2019s really devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n
As retirements continue at historic levels, federal officials say improvements are coming. For retirees like Felicia Jones, however, the future remains uncertain \u2014 and the wait continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON, D.C. (7News) \u2014 A historic wave of federal retirements is straining the system meant to support longtime…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418786,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,147,530],"class_list":{"0":"post-418785","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-personal-finance","10":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}