You might think that having a long-standing government job would mean secure retirement benefits, but not so much for dozens of recently retired United States Postal Service (USPS) workers.
Billy Wright, 60, worked for 29 years as a postal worker in Waxahachie, Texas, and retired last November. Like many of his peers, he has been waiting months for his first annuity check to arrive.
“I feel like they just forget about you,” Wright told CBS News Texas. “It feels like you are in the hands of a bureaucracy (1).”
You tried calling the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees all federal retirement benefits, but get a message that they can’t help.
“No one answers your questions,” he said, and “you can’t reach anyone.”
Meanwhile, he struggles to pay his bills. He receives an interim payment (you receive a portion of his benefits while his claim is processed), but for Wright, that only equates to $400 a month.
He had to take a side job, dip into his retirement savings, and borrow money from family and friends, which probably wasn’t how he anticipated at the start of his golden years.
Scott Kupor, director of OPM, acknowledged that the system “simply has not served retirees well” and told CBS News that “we have work to do (2).”
Under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), federal workers hired after 1983 qualify for a basic defined benefit annuity, Social Security, and the Thrift Savings Plan (3).
As of March 2026, OPM faced a backlog of nearly 55,700 federal retirement claims. They processed about 22,000 applications in March, but another 14,800 retirement applications entered the OPM system that month (4).
There is a perfect storm of reasons for this. One of the biggest is the staffing shortage at OPM.
Last year, as part of the Trump administration’s campaign to reduce (5) the federal workforce, OPM laid off 129 employees. Nearly 800 OPM employees accepted buyouts to retire early or resign. Another 150 resigned. In total, the agency lost about 1,000 employees – or about a third of its staff – last year (6).
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Unfortunately, the same cuts that reduced OPM’s ability to process retirement benefits have increased demand for those same benefits. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers took buyouts last year.
In a letter released Jan. 23, OPM’s Kupor said the agency experienced “a historically large number of federal employees retiring between September and December of last year,” estimating that retirement volumes “will be approximately 50% higher” than normal (7).
In fact, more than 317,000 federal employees will leave their jobs in 2025, according to FedTools, and this has overwhelmed OPM’s processing capacity (8).
This has left thousands of federal employees in “administrative limbo,” who “can’t get to their former agency’s human resources offices, are unsure of their benefits, and are stuck in a processing backlog (9),” according to a statement from Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (10).
It doesn’t help that OPM employees still on the job must deal with outdated technology. They are moving from an archaic paper-based system to a digital one.
Another concern? The USPS recently announced it would temporarily suspend its employers’ contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System to conserve cash. Those contributions total $200 million a month, or $2.5 billion this year. The agency will continue to send employee contributions into the system.
If you’re a federal worker about to retire (or recently retired), this isn’t exactly good news.
With the current backlog, processing a request takes an average of 71 days, according to FedTools. However, paper applications take an average of 95 days, while digital applications take an average of 34 days (11).
To speed up the process, consider submitting your application digitally and make sure your information is accurate and that you have completed all fields to avoid further delays.
But, as FedTools points out, it can still take an average of at least six to nine months to get your first full annuity check.
While federal workers can receive interim payments (a portion of their overall benefit) while they wait for paperwork to be completed, it may not be enough to cover the bills, as Wright discovered.
Even if you’re not a federal worker, it’s a good idea to create a reserve before when you retire, one that covers up to six months of expenses so you can pay the bills if there are unexpected delays to your annuity or pension.
Ideally, this money should be easily accessible, such as in a high-interest savings account.
Social Security retirement checks typically arrive 30 days after approval, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA), which recommends requesting them four months in advance (12).
But delays can occur for a variety of reasons, not just staff shortages or outdated technology. Even an error or incomplete information on your application could cause a significant delay.
With a cash cushion, you won’t have to build up your retirement savings before you’re ready (which would have tax implications and could affect your savings in the future).
If you don’t have a cushion, especially if you will rely heavily on a pension or annuity in retirement, you may want to delay retirement or reduce your lifestyle until you have enough of a cash cushion to cover any gaps.
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CBS News (1), (2); US Office of Personnel Management (3), (4), (7); The New York Times (5); Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (6); FedTools (8), (11); Office of Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (9), (10); Social Security Administration (12)
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com with the title: Retired USPS Workers Wait Months to Receive Retirement Benefits. Pension crisis leaves federal workers in limbo
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
