Riding the Retirement Wave

It looks like the long-anticipated tidal wave of retirements is finally starting to sweep the federal government. Federal Times reports that retirement applications have risen sharply -- by 24 percent -- over the first 10 months of 2011, according to Office of Personnel Management statistics.

The total number of retirements has topped 92,000 this year, and if that rate continues, nearly 104,700 federal employees are projected to retire in 2011. That means the government could see its highest level of retirements since at least 2001, Federal Times reports. According to OPM, retirements over the past decade have fluctuated between 75,000 and 95,000 annually, aside from 2006, when more than 103,000 employees retired.

Federal News Radio also reports that retirements are not the only problems plaguing agencies. Regular attrition, particularly due to the two-year federal pay freeze, agency buyouts and early-out retirements, are also causing a "brain drain" for agencies, said John Palguta, vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service.

So what are agencies to do? Palguta urges federal managers to prepare through workforce planning, assessing budgets and communicating with employees. "When your boat is riding low in the water, you don't need a tsunami to be swamped," Palguta told Federal News Radio. "You just need an unexpected swell that comes over the gun rails."

Meanwhile, OPM has issued guidance to agencies on how they can temporarily rehire retirees without affecting their pension benefits and without seeking OPM approval.

Have retirements and attrition impacted your agency over the past year?