ELLICOTT CITY, M.D. (WMAR-2 News) — Unprecedented numbers of federal workers have retired under the Trump administration, further amplifying existing issues in retirees receiving their full pension payments in a timely manner.
Some, like William Nichols, are reporting they’re still only getting a fraction more than six months after their retirement officially began.
Nichols spent nearly 30 years commuting from Woodstock, Maryland, to Washington, D.C. to work at the Environmental Protection Agency.
He took a deal under the Deferred Resignation Program last year, which granted him six months full pay before his retirement benefits were to kick in on January 1, 2026.
“I signed it, and dated it. And that was it: Out the door,” he said.
He’s one of nearly 140,000 federal workers who took advantage of the retirement offer. Nichols was about a year and a half shy of planning to retire anyway.
He, along with colleagues, was advised to check finances thoroughly and prepare to go without their full benefits for at least six months, which he says he was ready for.
What’s come next, not so much.
“At this point, I was supposed to be getting 80%, and I’m only getting like 30%. I’m okay financially, but it’s a contract. And it was a promise,” he said. “It’s like, when you’re doing the zip lining or whatever, you’re like: ‘Okay, can I make this next leap?’ That’s what I really worry about. There’s just people that can’t do it.”
“These are individuals that have worked very hard for the federal government. Now the government should be taking care of them in their retirement, and this is kind of like a kick in the butt on the way out,” federal employment attorney and founding partner of the Tully Rinckey law firm Greg Rinckey said.
He explains the delays in full pension payments have been a longtime complaint of federal retirees, even since he began practicing in the ’90s. But it’s only gotten worse.
According to OPM’s website, the agency aims to finalize cases within 60 days, being short-staffed to begin with and now handling a historic retirement surge, processing times have grown to more than 100 days as of June.
The Federal News Network reports there are still about 34,000 pending applications as of June.
“It’s just been a problem that’s been festering for years,” Rinckey said.
OPM has been shifting from a manual to a digital process in an effort to speed up processing.
Rinckey suggests retirees can call their congressperson to try and speed up their case.
Meanwhile, Nichols is calling on Congress to address the issue head-on.
“It’s a bipartisan solution. Just get some more people into OPM and help them out,” Nichols said. “I know they’re being overworked, and I feel bad for them.”
He’s also expecting backpay on the partial funds, but there’s no timetable for when he can expect to see that money either.
