Jan 7, 2026
Georgia resident Karen Atchison started the new year with no income and no idea of when that would change — not what she expected after decades of working for the federal government and faithfully paying into the designated pension plan (1).
Atchison and her former colleague Tracy Hinnant, who worked for the federal government for 37-and-a-half years are two of almost 29,000 retired workers still waiting on the checks they’re due from the federal government after being rushed into taking early retirement last year in the midst of an aggressive campaign to reduce its workforce (2).
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It was the letter from the Department of Government Efficiency that arrived in April that made Atchinson feel like she had little choice in the matter, she told Atlanta’s WUSA9 (2): She was given seven days to choose between early retirement or unemployment effective September 30th.
After witnessing colleagues being abruptly pink-slipped, both Atchison and Hinnant opted for what is known as the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), joining the ranks of more than 300,000 federal employees who left their jobs in 2025 as the result of a combination of DOGE cuts, early retirements and voluntary buyouts.
While May was the last month Hinnant worked, her actual retirement date was Sept 30th 2025. With that much lead time, she expected to see annuity payments from the pension she had paid into for over 37 years start within weeks, but as of the new year, the total received from the federal government remains at $0. This makes covering basic living expenses for the two retirees difficult. And they’re not alone.
“Four reductions for every new hire”
Emails from the IRS to retirees have referred to the "unusually high volume of September retirements” as requiring the onboarding of contractors to process the "unprecedented volume of retirements (2).”
Figures from the Office of Personnel Management put the number of federal employees who retired during the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025 at over 112,000 — a figure almost 18% higher than the year before (2).
As the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Scott Kupor, phrased it in a November blog posting, “the president set a target of four reductions for every one new hire into government. We exceeded this goal — the government hired roughly 68,000 people this year, while approximately 317,000 employees left the government (3).”
But all Atchison and Hinnant know is that even the payout of accrued annual leave, which would have provided a means of cushioning the wait for the arrival of the first annuity checks, hasn't arrived.
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After almost four decades of paying into the designated pension, Atchison calculates that she would be entitled to about $6,000 a month in annuity payments; with just under four decades of paying into the system, Hinnant was expecting to be in receipt of a little over $7,000 a month.
So what are the fresh retirees to do to cover expenses until the government finishes processing their applications? Atchison says she has been lucky enough to have help from family, while Hinnant says her main strategy is to “pray.”
If you find yourself in a similar situation here are a few steps you can take.
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Dave Ramsey’s playbook for riding out the storm
Plain-spoken finance expert Dave Ramsey has long been vocal about the need to take control of your own situation so you are always at the tiller when it comes to sailing through choppy waters.
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Tap your emergency fund: Ramsey preaches the need for at least a starter emergency fund of $1,000 if you have consumer debt. Once that’s cleared, building to a war chest of three to six months’ worth of expenses is the goal. This step alone will take a lot of the fire out of an unpredictable situation like waiting on an overdue payout.
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Pause debt repayments: And for those still carrying consumer debt? “It’s okay to pause your debt snowball temporarily for unexpected or expensive life events,” Ramsey advises, adding that borrowers should still keep up minimum payments during the pause (4).
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Four walls first: Ramsey’s “four walls” framework emphasizes covering necessities first, in this order (5): Food Utilities Shelter Transportation
As Ramsey says, “We’re going to eat before we do anything. Not eat out. We’re going to pay the utilities — not cable — before we do anything. We’re going to pay rent. And until you clear food, utilities, housing and transportation and get them all current, you don’t spend anything else on anything.”
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Find ways to save: Tightening your belt could mean ditching subscriptions, canceling upcoming social plans, or using coupons at the supermarket (6).
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Use this as a wake-up call: Emergencies of the kind Atchison and Hinnant are facing end eventually, but it never stops being a good idea to have a handle on your finances.
If you don't have a budget in place already or haven't built an emergency fund, such an unexpected life event might provide the push you need.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
IRS (1); @WUSA9news (2); U.S. Office of Personnel Management (3); Ramsey (4, 6); @ramsey.solutions (5)
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Libby MacDonald is a Senior Staff Reporter at Moneywise. She has extensive experience in business and consumer reporting, having covered topics including insurance, wealth management, housing and equities.
