OPM inspector general flags top management challenges for fiscal 2026

On Nov. 24, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general released its list of top management challenges for Fiscal Year 2026.

Recent retirees and federal employees working with reduced staffing may be affected by these challenges, particularly those who separated using last year's Deferred Resignation Programs.

The OIG noted concerns about OPM losing more than 1,000 employees, or about one-third of its staff, by the end of 2025. The Retirement Services office is working to reduce retirement application processing times and improve customer service for annuitants, but the loss of more than 100 staff members due to the deferred resignation program, regular retirements, and canceled hiring actions could slow progress and affect the office’s ability to respond to roughly 6,000 calls each day.

Retirement processing

OPM administers federal retirement programs, serving roughly 2.8 million active employees, including Postal Service workers, and more than 2.7 million annuitants and eligible family members. In fiscal 2024, OPM paid more than $106 billion in CSRS and FERS defined-benefit retirement payments. The Office of Management and Budget has identified OPM Retirement Services as one of the federal government’s 38 high-impact service providers.

Between January and July 2025, OPM processed 66,385 retirement claims, more than 11,000 over the same period in 2024.

December retirement processing statistics

Source

For all of 2025, OPM processed 112,368 retirement claims, up from 88,393 in 2024, an increase of more than 25%. Claims submitted through the new Online Retirement Application (ORA) were processed faster than paper applications:

• October: 45 days (digital) vs. 79 days (paper)

• November: 38 days (digital) vs. 66 days (paper)

• December: 40 days (digital) vs. 67 days (paper)

During this period, OPM received two to three times more paper applications each month as ORA continues to be phased in.

Improper payments

Preventing improper payments remains an ongoing challenge. Over the last five years, OPM reported more than $1.24 billion in improper payments through PaymentAccuracy.gov. In fiscal 2024, $243.7 million of overpayments were within OPM’s control.

While OPM understands the root causes of improper payments, outdated systems complicate program integrity efforts. Reducing improper payments depends on modernizing retirement systems. Effective planning and decision-making will be critical to ensure the programs continue to meet obligations to annuitants.

The Deferred Resignation Program, along with various Voluntary Early Retirement offers across agencies, has made this one of the largest mass-retirement events in federal government history.

Retirement Services’ customer service

Customer service remains a concern. Annuitants, especially survivor annuitants, often call the OIG hotline when frustrated by long hold times.

With the surge of retirees from the Deferred Resignation Program and the increased use of Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority—contributing to the federal workforce shrinking by about 300,000 employees, or 12.5%—OPM must anticipate increased customer contacts while continuing to serve annuitants.

Tip for retirees: Call OPM Retirement Services at 7:40 a.m. EST when lines open. This does not guarantee immediate service but improves the chance of reaching a helpful representative.

Contact OPM by phone:

• Phone: 1-888-767-6738

• TTY: 711

• Hours: Monday through Friday, 7:40 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET (closed on federal holidays)

• Busiest time: 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. ET

Call if you cannot find an answer on OPM.gov, cannot sign in to Retirement Services Online, or need assistance with special or complex cases.