TSA, FDIC to offer early retirement options

The Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation plan to offer Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) options to eligible employees.

 In a recent town hall meeting, TSA told staff of plans to offer VERA options to eligible employees, according to a report in Federal News Network.

The Office of Personnel Management had already granted TSA authority to use VERA as an option for increasing voluntary attrition through April 30, 2021, while it is “undergoing substantial organizational change,” a condition for invoking early retirement.

VERA temporarily lowers the age and service requirements for retirement to increase the number of employees who can retire when an agency is undergoing substantial restructuring, reshaping, downsizing or reorganization. Besides providing an incentive for employees to voluntarily retire to avoid layoffs, VERA allows agencies to offer early retirement to employees in safe positions, making space those occupying surplus positions.

TSA’s Human Capital Office will notify employees it considers eligible for voluntary early retirement consideration. Those employees must have either 25 years of service or 20 years of service and be at least 50 years of age. 

The VERA options will not come with the VSIP buyout, a TSA spokesman told Federal News Network.

TSA employees can find more information on VERA here.

In March, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced it would offer voluntary retirement and early separation opportunities to approximately 20% of its employees.

A February report by the FDIC's inspector general noted that 60% of FDIC executives and 58% of managers are eligible for retirement and warned that “this wave of potential retirements could deplete the FDIC’s institutional experience and knowledge, especially during a crisis. Without proper succession planning strategies, these retirements can also result in leadership gaps.”

FDIC’s volunteer retirement program “is part of a deliberate strategy to further reduce layers of management, acquire new skillsets, and allow the agency to proactively address succession planning prior to any crisis or emergency situation," Chairman Jelena McWilliams said. "This program will enhance our agility, preparedness, and technological transformation."

The program is not designed to reduce the overall size of the workforce, FDIC officials said, adding that it plans to grow its examination and risk-related workforce and increase IT and loan review skills at various levels throughout the agency.

Under the program, employees who voluntarily separate or retire from the FDIC will generally receive six months of salary.

Find more information on VSIP here.