Retention incentives often have “requirements that limit their applicability to HUD employees.” Image: Mark Van Scyoc/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffIn a report whose findings may apply as well at other agencies, the inspector general’s office at HUD has found that government-wide restrictions on retention payments are hampering the department’s efforts to reduce attrition.
“Attrition has direct costs, such as time spent hiring and training new employees, and results in loss of institutional knowledge, both of which reduce HUD’s ability to achieve its mission or reach staffing goals,” said the report said, ordered by an appropriations bill.
The report said that while the 3.7 percent annual attrition rate at the department overall is slightly lower than at three agencies used for comparison—GSA, Education and SBA—rates are especially high in support functions such as HR, IT, legal, finance and field office management, as well as in field offices in large cities apart from Washington, D.C.
It said that to reduce attrition HUD offers training, coaching, mentoring and career development programs, offsite work, retention incentives and higher special pay rates. However, those financial incentives come with “requirements that limit their applicability to HUD employees.”
“In most circumstances, program offices may offer a retention incentive only to employees who are likely to leave the federal government,” meaning only the office of the chief information officer and Ginnie Mae regularly used them. Ginnie Mae similarly was the only office that made wide use of special pay rates but that is limited to a few occupations and “the remaining program offices did not discuss their reasons for not using special pay rates or stated that there were no special pay rates available for their use.”
It said management has taken action toward carrying out recommendations to more fully understand why employees intend to leave or actually do so, through analysis of results from exit interviews, the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and other data. Recommendations still pending involve developing office-specific action plans and resolving differences among components regarding identifying positions where the risk of attrition is the highest.
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