Apr 17, 2026
You'd think having a long-time 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, served 29 years as a postal worker in Waxahachie, Texas, retiring last November. Like a number of his peers, he's been waiting months for his first annuity check to show up.
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"I feel like they just forget about you," Wright told CBS News Texas. "It feels like you're at the hands of a bureaucracy (1)."
He's tried calling the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees all federal retirement benefits, but gets a message that they can't help.
"No one answers your questions," he said, and "you can't get a hold of anybody."
In the meantime, he's struggling to pay his bills. He's receiving interim pay — you receive a portion of your benefits while your claim is being processed — but, for Wright, that only amounts to $400 a month.
He's had to take on a side job, dip into his retirement savings and borrow money from family and friends — which probably isn't how he anticipated the start of his golden years.
Tens of thousands of fed workers face pension delays
Scott Kupor, director of OPM, acknowledged that the system "has just not served retirees well" telling 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 was facing a backlog of nearly 55,700 federal retirement applications. They processed about 22,000 claims in March, but another 14,800 retirement applications entered OPM's system that month (4).
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There's a perfect storm of reasons for this. One of the big ones is staff shortages at the OPM.
Last year, as part of the Trump administration's drive to reduce (5) the federal workforce, the OPM laid off 129 staff. Nearly 800 OPM employees took buyouts to retire early or resign. Another 150 quit. In all the agency lost about 1,000 employees — or about a third of its staff — last year (6).
Unfortunately, the very cuts that reduced the OPM's ability to process retirement benefits have driven up demand for those same benefits. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers took buyouts last year.
In a letter published on Jan. 23, OPM's Kupor said the agency experienced "an historically large number of federal employees retiring from September through December last year," estimating that retirement volumes "will be roughly 50% higher" than normal (7).
In fact, more than 317,000 federal employees left 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 are "unable to reach their former agency's HR offices, uncertain about their benefits and trapped in a processing backlog (9)," according to a release from Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (10).
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It doesn't help that the OPM employees still on the job must contend with outdated technology. They are transitioning from an archaic paper-based system to a digital one.
Another concern? The USPS recently announced it was temporarily suspending its employer contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System in order to conserve cash. Those contributions add up to $200 million a month — or $2.5 billion this year. The agency will still send employees’ contributions to the system.
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How to survive while waiting for your retirement benefits
If you're a federal worker about to retire (or recently retired), this isn't exactly great news.
With the current backlog, processing an application takes 71 days on average, according to FedTools. However, paper applications take an average of 95 days, while digital applications average 34 days (11).
To speed the process, consider sending your application digitally, and make sure your information is accurate and that you've completed all fields to avoid further delays.
But, as FedTools points out, it can still take an average of six to nine months at minimum to get your first full annuity check.
While federal workers might receive interim payments (a portion of their overall benefit) while waiting for the paperwork to go through, it may not be enough to cover the bills — as Wright discovered.
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Even if you're not a federal worker, it's a good idea to build up a buffer before you retire — one that covers up to six months of expenses so you can pay the bills if there are any unexpected delays with your annuity or pension.
Ideally, this money should be easily accessible, such as in a high-interest savings account.
Social Security retirement checks usually arrive 30 days after approval, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA), which recommends applying four months ahead of time (12).
But delays can happen for a number 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 hit up your retirement savings before you're ready (which would have tax implications and could hurt your nest egg down the road).
If you don't have a buffer — especially if you'll be heavily reliant on a pension or annuity in retirement — you may want to delay retirement or downsize your lifestyle until you have enough of a cash cushion to cover any gaps.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
CBS News (1),(2); U.S. Office of Personnel Management (3),(4),(7); The New York Times (5); Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (6); FedTools (8),(11); Office of Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (9),(10); Social Security Administration (12)
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Vawn Himmelsbach is a veteran journalist who has been covering tech, business, finance and travel for the past three decades. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, Metro News, Canadian Geographic, Zoomer, CAA Magazine, Travelweek, Explore Magazine, Flare and Consumer Reports, to name a few.
