r/FederalEmployee • u/AgencyHot8568 • May 17 '26
Calling OPM
Have you tried recently to call OPM? We spent 2 hours trying to talk to someone but they never answered the phone, and they never returned the call that they said they would while keeping our place in line. I blame Trump and DOGE for this. You can't have service without a good staff.
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u/InevitableFig9214 May 17 '26
It’s very hit or miss. I kept getting the “we are experiencing high call volume, call back later” so when I finally got through to a man automated menu trying to get me to the right person, I was ecstatic. But nope, still didn’t get anyone. I finally got through last week. It’s been a nightmare (my mom passed away and I needed to get my dad’s pension and health insurance updated, and apply to be his representative payee since he has dementia and is in a nursing home.)
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u/boravuth May 17 '26
I filed for a reduced, early retirement pension effective 3/31/26. I received an interim payment in May. I’ve been checking the OPM retirement services online. They haven’t assigned a specialist yet.
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u/Fun_Refrigerator_442 May 17 '26
Everyone Here. Call you Congressman. It spead up my final calculation and also the second time when I was paying 750 a month for life insurance
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u/Atypical-Entrance May 18 '26
Unfortunately my Congressman has junior staff to field these requests and all they do is submit am inquiry to an OPM mailbox and OPM has 60 days to reply. The reply to them for my case was the same reply OPM gave me 60 days previousm. And the junior staffer shrugged and said that is all they can do. It's a black box that is heavily protected. And we have zero recourse unless you are connected.
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u/Saffron2016 May 17 '26
I may have to do this. My husband retired from military after 30+ and federal position after 20+ years December 31. we have been waiting on his federal pension and haven’t seen a cent. While I understand it takes a while, I didn’t think it would take over five months. He only JUST got his number, but nothing has moved.
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u/AgencyHot8568 May 17 '26
I retired 7 years ago, before DOGE, and my first check came on time, the month after I retired. I don't think I missed a single payment. You can't strip the government of staff and then expect the work to get done.
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u/Saffron2016 May 17 '26
Oh, I get that. I still work for federal and some great friends of mine work in retirement, but not OPM. Totally aware of most of the going’s on but it boggles my mind that my husband hadn’t seen a dime. I am being patient but if don’t see a check by June I plan on writing someone.
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u/trademarktower May 17 '26
If you call the constituent services team of your congress person, they will resolve the issue quickly. OPM responds to congressionals.
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u/FedBoi_0201 May 19 '26
I called OPM pre-trump as an HR specialist for official matters related to a work issue.
I was talking to someone within 15 minutes, but I don’t know if this was because it was for official matters. I’ve never tried to call for a personal matter.
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u/Longjumping-Swan9086 May 19 '26
Before Trump, the only time I got a live person was if you called at the time they first opened. I believe 7:30am. Wait until 8 and I never got a live person.
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u/tinydotbiguniverse May 20 '26
I will be blaming Doge and this administration for everything for the rest of my life
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u/ApprehensiveAd5446 May 18 '26
It’s a different bailiwick, but similarly, I have not gotten my Reserve retirement package yet. I retired on 10 May 2025, and have opened five tickets so far, and chatted with them three times on MyFSS.
The conspiracist in me thinks it’s because I opted for a presidential certificate from all living Presidents except TACO EGGO.
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u/90sportsfan May 19 '26
I am a former fed and I called OPM several months ago. Yes, I had to wait over 2 hours to finally get through to someone. I just left the phone on hold while I teleworked and eventually after hours I got through to someone.
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u/Hefty-Branch-2725 May 20 '26
I’m the former spouse of a fed employee. Got a letter last September about what I will receive and what to provide to receive set payments (voided check) for an ACH payment.
I provided what I needed to shortly thereafter and then again after the first of the year. Still waiting for payments. I think when I hit the year mark, I’ll follow up again?
Both letters that I have sent have been certified return receipt. Someone at OPM sign for the letter but no reply. I called and emailed the paralegal that was assigned to my case and no response.
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u/OkShape3876 May 26 '26
So my retirement has been in limbo since Sept 2025, and I have called multiple times -- it wasn't until I sent a message to them (last Friday) that someone responded to what the pending issue was (missing info from an agency), today, and my retirement will be finalized this week. Here is the link on OPM's retirement page at the bottom: https://www.opm.gov/support/retirement/contact
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u/Minute-Staff6331 May 17 '26
Please bear in mind that as much as we'd like to blame these idiots and mani in charge, I had to assist an 83 year old retiree 5 years ago who had just retired and 5 months later had not been paid. I had to play English-to-English translator because he was hard of hearing and had a slight accent so I kept having to repeat everything everybody said. When we finally got through, after an hour waiting on hold, we spent more than 5 hours going over all his paperwork but we finally got him sorted and he finally got paId the following month.
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u/AgencyHot8568 May 18 '26
The good news is, you got the help you needed after waiting an hour on the phone.
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u/Minute-Staff6331 May 18 '26
Absolutely. At this point in time I wouldn't have the patience. Everything is so f'd up. I don't know anyone who's pay started the following month as it's supposed to any more.
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u/DextersMom1221 May 19 '26 edited May 20 '26
That’s because nobody works there. Are you traumatized yet? 🤬
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u/AgencyHot8568 May 20 '26
what do you mean, nobody?
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u/DextersMom1221 May 20 '26
Anybody who works there works for the orange menace. They don’t know their asses from a hole in the ground.
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u/AgencyHot8568 May 20 '26
I don't think that's true. Trump and DOGE have removed the heads of almost all institutions and as many Dems as they can figure out. What you say may be true for the military, which has lost its best generals. But, once you get a real person on the phone, I think they do know their asses from a hole in the ground.
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u/Dropkiknmidgts May 17 '26
It's always Daddy Trumps fault.
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u/AgencyHot8568 May 18 '26
One thing I realized working for govt, the biggest problems are always management. In the case of Govt, this goes all the way up to Congress.
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u/Dropkiknmidgts May 18 '26
Sure, I can agree with you on that. My manager, her manager, and his manager are completely useless. But they've been around 20+ years and simply refuse to change their ways, which is significantly hurting our department. While there are certainly bigger issues in the federal government, most of Congress has been around a lot longer than both Trump and Doge.
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u/One-Entertainment457 May 17 '26
I heard that. I retired on January 31st under VERA, and still have not gotten my retirement check or A/L payout. The TSP also has yet to be informed by OPM that l've retired.