The One Big Beautiful Bill, President Trump’s reconciliation bill, has been in the works for the last few months and now it’s law. The bill covers lots of ground but as it’s worked its way through the House and Senate, different versions have listed proposals which could seriously impact federal workers and their retirement.
The OPM has announced that as of June 2, 2025, all federal applications for retirement will be paperless. This plan has been in the works for years, aiming to help streamline the process of applying for retirement. This plan is intended to make the application process and wait time more efficient for federal workers, but for many people, this may actually be a barrier.
The State Department will use a Reduction in Force (RIF) to cut 15% of its workforce starting July 1. Workers affected will have a short time between notice and separation. Employees will have between 60-90 days between notice and separation. Contract Employees will be terminated within 60 days. Foreign Service Officers will be separated or receive reassignment. Right now, these reductions only affect domestic employees and offices, but this is subject to change.
If you’re struggling to do your federal job because of a medical condition, reasonable accommodation may help you stay in your position a little longer – but it’s also a key step if you’re considering a way out of federal service through an option like Disability Retirement. Before you can apply for Disability Retirement, your agency has to explore whether adjustments can help you keep working. Here’s what you need to know about your options – and your rights.
After months of various incentives and plans to trim up the federal workforce, President Trump is now proposing a freeze in federal employee pay. That means that employees won’t get their raise in 2026. With unpredictable job security because of RIFs and layoffs, and the potential threat of agency closures, you might be thinking about how you can leave work before your job is eliminated. And now that your pay likely won’t increase in the new year, this might be an even better time to consider your options.
After using incentives like VERAs, VSIPs, and deferred resignations, to cut 10,000 federal workers, the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is now planning to use RIFs and layoffs to cut another 10,000 beginning May 27.
There’s some bad news for federal prison workers – retention payments will be greatly reduced or removed entirely by March 23. These retention payments were put in place because staff were dropping due to poor working conditions and low pay. Now, with the payments taken away, the outlook is even more concerning. This is a major loss for all federal prison workers, but it’s especially difficult for people already struggling with work because of a mental or physical health challenge. Some employees have already considered leaving the federal government for a job that would pay more and be less stressful.
In a March 13 letter to congress, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy agreed to cut 10,000 United States Postal Service workers and billions of dollars by April 18. DeJoy has outlined that Voluntary Early Retirement (VERA) will be used to hit this reduction. VERA was offered by USPS as early as January – now there’s an exact number of employees expected to leave.
As the federal workforce continues changing, it can be difficult to stay informed and know what the best plan of action is. One thing that can be confusing is Voluntary Early Retirement Authority or VERA. Here’s a list of some of the most common questions we’re seeing about this.
With Reductions in force (RIFs) on the rise for almost all federal agencies, federal employees need to understand what their options are and how they can protect themselves.
Read through to find answers to your most commonly asked questions.
If you haven’t already been targeted by one of the administrations cuts, you’re not out of the woods just yet. The next phase of President Trump’s plans to cut the federal workforce is here in the form of large-scale reductions in force – or RIFs. Job cuts will begin with people who are in positions that aren’t required by statute – meaning there’s no rule or regulation that says that position is necessary. Those who face furloughs when the government shuts down would also be in the earliest category to face cuts.
It goes without saying that there’s a lot going on in the federal government right now that directly affects federal employees. While this administration is trying to reshape and reduce the size of the federal workforce, there’s been a variety of resignation and early retirement offers mixed in with the looming threat of layoffs, RIFs, and being placed on administrative leave. One common method of encouraging workers to leave is called a VSIP.
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