Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 10:18     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My spouse was DOGE'd and took the 2nd fork offer, with "voluntary" early retirement supposed to happen on 9/30. Spouse had been on paid leave since June so this will be the last paycheck and then...I have no idea what.

He's had no emails, no word from OPM, nothing. He's says there is no one to call. I don't know how OPM could keep up with processing all of the tens of thousands of additional VERA applications that are hitting on 9/30 anyway...and I doubt they will all be able essential workers in a shutdown, so what happens now???

I am nearly ready to divorce my spouse over his level of avoidance about this (and the whole end of his federal career in general, because it has paralyzed him completely) but that won't help us in the short term. He is just sticking his head in the sand and assuming an annuity payment will happen in October shutdown or no but I am freaking out with literally zero information, zero communication from OPM, zero anything, so if any one of my dear DCUM pocket friends could help me with ANY general information about what to expect or who to ask or where to go for answers, I would be grateful.


That part was not needed. Let your husband be. Your nagging is not helpful. Lockdown (or threat of lockdown) has happened many times before. Unless you are living paycheck to paycheck, just stay calm and live your life. It will get sorted out. OPM backlog of retirement paper is 6months+ meaning your DH will not see his final numbers until next year, most likely. However that does not mean you won’t get paid (pension checks) until then. You will get interim checks (estimated amounts) until then. So, please, step back and give him some space. The last thing he needs is his wife getting on his back. Give it a rest.


I'm not nagging him. But basic, BASIC information is utterly missing. Coooes of the paperwork he supposedly filed. (Did he file everything correctly? I have no idea. He has no idea. He doesn't remember.) It is an absolute black hole of information and he doesn't remember absolutely nothing to follow up, call, ask any human he knows, nothing.

I do understand that this is traumatic. It's a trauma for me, too. Our entire financial future has been blown up. I fully supported him leaving because the stress of having absolutely unqualified and reckless DOGE idiots trample over everything he had down for 3 decades was killing him. He is still young but after 3 decades becoming an expert in a niche field and assuming he would have that job for another 8-10 years until retirement, he can't even think yet about starting over. I try to keep my mouth shut as talking about it at all shuts him down.

But we do not have a big savings cushion. I have a steady job for now but that will be at risk too, with further federal funding disasters looming. We both have had major mid-life situations with elderly parents and an adult child that blew up our financial safety net, and we are now both mid-50s with school aged children and a mortgage and we cannot survive with just my income for very long.

I am venting here because I am NOT nagging him. Nagging does no good. He is in complete shut down. And he shuts down absolutely like this with all kinds of other crises in life and I always handle things, take the lead, call who needs to be called, do the paperwork that needs to be done, stanch the bleeding, call in the experts, research options, fix what I can. But in this case, I have no information, no contacts, no access to anything, no one to call, no copies of anything, no information whatsoever, and, yeah, it's stressful. I have no estimates, no idea how much health care will cost, no way to make a budget, no information whatsoever.

And yes, we have been on the brink of divorce for years, but I have tried to hold this ship together with duct tape and sheer will for a long time. But now I feel like the duct tape is over my eyes and the leaking ship with my kids on it is heading for...I have no idea...a steep falls? A tanker coming at is is at full speed? Calm waters and I'm making a crisis over nothing?

The black hole of guidance is what is terrifying.




OP, I wish I could offer some specific guidance but I don’t have any. I just wanted to say I hope in the middle of this shitstorm you are able to do something for yourself every day, even if it is just a brief walk outside, listening to some upbeat music. People talk about the 50s as such a great age where you are confident in your skin, know what your priorities are etc etc. Yeah whatever. Being on your 50s in this area, in a job sector that has been destroyed by the maniac in charge, sandwiched between kids whose futures are more uncertain by the day and aging vulnerable parents. Throw in some perimenopause, marital challenges and a he daily barrage of negative news when you are living in a budding autocracy and well..it’s A LOT. Something will give one way or another and the next step in your life will become clearer with time. In the meantime take care of yourself and try to prioritize sleep and exercise. You don’t want to fall ill.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 10:02     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Who are these people who have no skills and can't get re-hired at 50 and must retire? What have you been doing your entire life that doesn't translate into marketable skills?


Age discrimination! That plus less jobs. My field is a common one in this area. 100 percent they will choose someone younger. Despite how awesome i am.


Monopoly Economy. When few companies exist in each industry, fewer jobs exist. It's one reason that we should never have abandoned antitrust (plus monopoly economies are closely correlated with autocracy)
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 09:35     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
I thought they were supposed to give you interim annuity checks that are like 75% of the value of your annuity until your retirement is fully processed. Also, he should receive a substantial leave payout check too.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 09:30     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My spouse was DOGE'd and took the 2nd fork offer, with "voluntary" early retirement supposed to happen on 9/30. Spouse had been on paid leave since June so this will be the last paycheck and then...I have no idea what.

He's had no emails, no word from OPM, nothing. He's says there is no one to call. I don't know how OPM could keep up with processing all of the tens of thousands of additional VERA applications that are hitting on 9/30 anyway...and I doubt they will all be able essential workers in a shutdown, so what happens now???

I am nearly ready to divorce my spouse over his level of avoidance about this (and the whole end of his federal career in general, because it has paralyzed him completely) but that won't help us in the short term. He is just sticking his head in the sand and assuming an annuity payment will happen in October shutdown or no but I am freaking out with literally zero information, zero communication from OPM, zero anything, so if any one of my dear DCUM pocket friends could help me with ANY general information about what to expect or who to ask or where to go for answers, I would be grateful.


That part was not needed. Let your husband be. Your nagging is not helpful. Lockdown (or threat of lockdown) has happened many times before. Unless you are living paycheck to paycheck, just stay calm and live your life. It will get sorted out. OPM backlog of retirement paper is 6months+ meaning your DH will not see his final numbers until next year, most likely. However that does not mean you won’t get paid (pension checks) until then. You will get interim checks (estimated amounts) until then. So, please, step back and give him some space. The last thing he needs is his wife getting on his back. Give it a rest.


I'm not nagging him. But basic, BASIC information is utterly missing. Coooes of the paperwork he supposedly filed. (Did he file everything correctly? I have no idea. He has no idea. He doesn't remember.) It is an absolute black hole of information and he doesn't remember absolutely nothing to follow up, call, ask any human he knows, nothing.

I do understand that this is traumatic. It's a trauma for me, too. Our entire financial future has been blown up. I fully supported him leaving because the stress of having absolutely unqualified and reckless DOGE idiots trample over everything he had down for 3 decades was killing him. He is still young but after 3 decades becoming an expert in a niche field and assuming he would have that job for another 8-10 years until retirement, he can't even think yet about starting over. I try to keep my mouth shut as talking about it at all shuts him down.

But we do not have a big savings cushion. I have a steady job for now but that will be at risk too, with further federal funding disasters looming. We both have had major mid-life situations with elderly parents and an adult child that blew up our financial safety net, and we are now both mid-50s with school aged children and a mortgage and we cannot survive with just my income for very long.

I am venting here because I am NOT nagging him. Nagging does no good. He is in complete shut down. And he shuts down absolutely like this with all kinds of other crises in life and I always handle things, take the lead, call who needs to be called, do the paperwork that needs to be done, stanch the bleeding, call in the experts, research options, fix what I can. But in this case, I have no information, no contacts, no access to anything, no one to call, no copies of anything, no information whatsoever, and, yeah, it's stressful. I have no estimates, no idea how much health care will cost, no way to make a budget, no information whatsoever.

And yes, we have been on the brink of divorce for years, but I have tried to hold this ship together with duct tape and sheer will for a long time. But now I feel like the duct tape is over my eyes and the leaking ship with my kids on it is heading for...I have no idea...a steep falls? A tanker coming at is is at full speed? Calm waters and I'm making a crisis over nothing?

The black hole of guidance is what is terrifying.


Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 09:21     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Op, I took the first round and VERA. I submitted my completed package in March,
HR told me they will submit the paperwork end of August.i received ORA online for OPM access couple weeks ago...I can confirm that VERA and retirement is going to happen for your husband and everyone else.
Be patient, the payment will take time.
Even during normal times, they can three months but with the online process might be faster than before!
Hang in there. This is why we need to have 6 months of ICE fund.
Read this

https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/retirement-quick-guide/opm-retirement-quick-guide.pdf
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 09:14     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Anonymous wrote:Who are these people who have no skills and can't get re-hired at 50 and must retire? What have you been doing your entire life that doesn't translate into marketable skills?


The tradeoff for many people working as a fed is that you get job security, but are often in a very niche area that doesn’t translate well to the private sector (which is why it isn’t a private sector job to begin with). And with the recession in white collar jobs, companies aren’t hiring based on skills, they want specific expertise.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 08:58     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Anonymous wrote:Who are these people who have no skills and can't get re-hired at 50 and must retire? What have you been doing your entire life that doesn't translate into marketable skills?


Age discrimination! That plus less jobs. My field is a common one in this area. 100 percent they will choose someone younger. Despite how awesome i am.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 08:43     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Anonymous wrote:Who are these people who have no skills and can't get re-hired at 50 and must retire? What have you been doing your entire life that doesn't translate into marketable skills?


You can’t be serious. Age discrimination is very real. Entire fields of study have disappeared overnight. And there just aren’t as many jobs to go around right now. It is so incredibly bleak. If you’re not looking, you have no idea.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 08:42     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Anonymous wrote:Shutdown will delay payments. It’s not a big deal, particularly for retirees who have large savings (which is why they can retire).


It’s not the biggest problem for the shutdown but people who are in process of retiring but it’s stuck at OPM probably don’t have access to penalty free withdrawals from TSP or have emergency funds tied up in CDs so, even assuming TSP is functioning during a shutdown, they may have difficulty accessing their savings.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 08:39     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Who are these people who have no skills and can't get re-hired at 50 and must retire? What have you been doing your entire life that doesn't translate into marketable skills?
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 08:34     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Anonymous wrote:Shutdown will delay payments. It’s not a big deal, particularly for retirees who have large savings (which is why they can retire).


It is a big deal for most feds who don't have large savings. People with kids. People with mortgages. I have no confidence you will get this money - the shutdown will start on Tuesday. If the shutdown benefits the president (MAGA podcasters are saying it gives the president more control over spending and spending cuts), the shutdown may last indefinitely.

If I were the OP, I would start thinking as if the money will not come. Make a plan for what you can do now to live without it (second job, spend less, move) - and if it does come, that is a bonus.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 08:05     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Shutdown will delay payments. It’s not a big deal, particularly for retirees who have large savings (which is why they can retire).
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 07:56     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Sounds like OP needs a Xanax. Seriously, chill out.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 07:11     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Anonymous wrote:My spouse was DOGE'd and took the 2nd fork offer, with "voluntary" early retirement supposed to happen on 9/30. Spouse had been on paid leave since June so this will be the last paycheck and then...I have no idea what.

He's had no emails, no word from OPM, nothing. He's says there is no one to call. I don't know how OPM could keep up with processing all of the tens of thousands of additional VERA applications that are hitting on 9/30 anyway...and I doubt they will all be able essential workers in a shutdown, so what happens now???

I am nearly ready to divorce my spouse over his level of avoidance about this (and the whole end of his federal career in general, because it has paralyzed him completely) but that won't help us in the short term. He is just sticking his head in the sand and assuming an annuity payment will happen in October shutdown or no but I am freaking out with literally zero information, zero communication from OPM, zero anything, so if any one of my dear DCUM pocket friends could help me with ANY general information about what to expect or who to ask or where to go for answers, I would be grateful.


That part was not needed. Let your husband be. Your nagging is not helpful. Lockdown (or threat of lockdown) has happened many times before. Unless you are living paycheck to paycheck, just stay calm and live your life. It will get sorted out. OPM backlog of retirement paper is 6months+ meaning your DH will not see his final numbers until next year, most likely. However that does not mean you won’t get paid (pension checks) until then. You will get interim checks (estimated amounts) until then. So, please, step back and give him some space. The last thing he needs is his wife getting on his back. Give it a rest.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 06:22     Subject: DOGE'd Feds and impending shutdown
Anonymous wrote:My spouse was DOGE'd and took the 2nd fork offer, with "voluntary" early retirement supposed to happen on 9/30. Spouse had been on paid leave since June so this will be the last paycheck and then...I have no idea what.

He's had no emails, no word from OPM, nothing. He's says there is no one to call. I don't know how OPM could keep up with processing all of the tens of thousands of additional VERA applications that are hitting on 9/30 anyway...and I doubt they will all be able essential workers in a shutdown, so what happens now???

I am nearly ready to divorce my spouse over his level of avoidance about this (and the whole end of his federal career in general, because it has paralyzed him completely) but that won't help us in the short term. He is just sticking his head in the sand and assuming an annuity payment will happen in October shutdown or no but I am freaking out with literally zero information, zero communication from OPM, zero anything, so if any one of my dear DCUM pocket friends could help me with ANY general information about what to expect or who to ask or where to go for answers, I would be grateful.


I reread this. I’m sure there were issues in your marriage before and sounds like he probably had been irresponsible in the past. Please know that this is an awful way to end a career. It was traumatic. It was shocking, out of the blue MAJOR life change. I highly doubt that I will find another full time filling job at my age and in this climate. It is sad. I have accepted that part of my life is over. Massive life changes. I took VERA. I’m over 50. I work part-time now making $20 per hour and am enjoying retirement. I volunteer at the high school my kids attend. Life is good but very different and it takes time to adjust. Did for my husband too who for budget reasons had to give up things he loves.

There is NOONE to contact. Try again in six months. You just have to wait.