Iron Mountain facility in Boyers, PA (a converted limestone mine) housing OPM retirement records. Applications typically don’t reach OPM for several weeks after being filed, followed by processing time at OPM of 59 days in July and 70 days in August. Image: Iron Mountain
With the pending end of deferred resignation periods for many tens of thousands of federal employees (see related story) there is the prospect for a surge in retirements potentially exceeding the annual rise around the end of the year.
It is uncertain how many of those separating under deferred resignation—in most cases, September 30, although later for some—will be filing for retirement. About 15 percent of federal workers traditionally have already been eligible for retirement at any one time, and past experience with buyouts has shown a high rate of acceptance by persons in that position.
OPM data already show an upswing in retirement applications recently, with numbers received for processing there in July and August above the levels of those months in 2024. That followed a rise in applications received at OPM in May and June to about the levels typically seen around the turn of the year, when there always is a surge in retirements.
Applications typically don’t reach OPM for several weeks after being filed, due to processing time first at the employing agency. Those data also show that processing time at OPM alone averaged 59 days in July and 70 days in August.
The time that elapses between when employees leave their jobs and when they start receiving their full annuities has been a long-running issue, the subject of numerous reform efforts by OPM and pressure from Capitol Hill. Individual cases can take much longer than the average, in some instances a year or more. New retirees receive partial payments for the meantime, but many have said the amount leaves them in a financial hardship.
Processing time could be lengthened still further if the government goes into a partial shutdown starting October 1, with the potential that employees involved in that process will be furloughed. Processing of other retirement-related actions such as payouts for unused annual leave also could be affected by furloughs in personnel and payroll offices.
That would not be a factor regarding actions the new retirees may want to take with their TSP accounts, since that agency is self-funding and remains in full operation even during a shutdown.
Deferred Resignation Periods about to End for Many; Overall 12% Drop
Retirement Surge Likely as Deferred Resignation Periods End
Senate Rejects Bills to Defer Shutdown; Familiar Process Lies Just Ahead
Senate Bill Would Override Trump Orders against Unions
Report Describes Impact of Shutdown on Employees, Agencies
TSP Adds Detail to Upcoming Roth Conversion Feature
See also,
How to Handle Taxes Owed on TSP Roth Conversions? Use a Ladder
The Best Ages for Federal Employees to Retire
Best States to Retire for Federal Retirees: 2025