Your Federal Life

After upheavals across the federal workforce, and hundreds of thousands of public servants leaving their jobs, grassroots organizations have been rising to meet the moment. We hear from a co-founder of one of those organizations, Karen Lee of FedsForward. Her group has building tech-enabled tools to help civil servants navigate career change. Plus, we hear from another organization that’s been fue...

During 2025, more than 348,000 federal employees quit, retired, were laid off or otherwise left their jobs. The losses affected a broad swath of the federal workforce, but seem to have disproportionately affected younger and less experienced employees. We take a look back with some data analysis from Drew DeSilver, a senior writer at Pew Research Center. And after those major reductions under...

The federal workforce faced a tumultuous year in 2025. There was a long hiring freeze, hundreds of thousands of employees leaving their jobs, a return-to-office directive — and lots more. Navigating through these changes has been a challenge not only for employees, but for the supervisors and managers overseeing them. At ATARC’s public sector workforce summit on March 19, Federal News Network’s Dr...

After a year of deep disruptions to the career civil service, lawmakers have created a bicameral caucus attempting to defend federal workers and promote long-term reforms. Its goals range from protecting the nonpartisan public service to improving federal pay and retention. We hear more from a co-leader of the new Federal Workforce Caucus, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.). Plus, we tap into the persp...

We the Doers is a new organization proposing a different path forward for government reform and improvements to agency performance. In our last episode, we featured the first part of this conversation. Now, we dive into the final piece of Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller’s discussion with the co-founders of We the Doers, April Harding and Maureen Klovers. Plus, the Office of Pers...

Over the last three decades, there has been no shortage of ideas for how to improve federal agency performance. But now, a group of former federal executives called We the Doers is offering a different path to reforming the government, based on more than 88 years of combined federal service. For more on what We the Doers is proposing, Federal News Network’s Jason Miller sat down with the organizat...

From TSP contributions to investment choices and building a stronger safety net, a few smart moves now can set federal employees up for financial confidence all year long. Certified financial planner Thiago Glieger joins us with helpful hints for building a strong financial plan in 2026. Plus, financial strain, workforce upheaval and uncertainty marked the past year for service members and veteran...

Federal senior executives have some new training and development opportunities from the Office of Personnel Management. The optional courses cover many of the Trump administration’s new priorities for the federal workforce. OPM launched the training programs in November, but there will be continuous updates to the content moving forward. We get more from OPM Director Scott Kupor. Plus, the Trump a...

With Open Season underway, rising premiums may be top of mind for enrollees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. But there are other changes employees and annuitants will want to be aware of — like the plans entering or leaving FEHB, and benefits changes across the government’s insurance programs. We hear more from Kevin Moss, director of marketing and fundraising at Consumer’s Checkb...

Today we are diving into all things Open Season. Whether you’re enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, or the Postal Service Health Benefits program — and whether you’re an active employee, or a federal retiree — there’s a lot to know about the upcoming one-month enrollment period that starts Nov. 10. Premium rates are on the rise again with another year of double-digit in...

The deferred resignation program has largely reshaped the federal workforce this year. The new program from the Trump administration asked employees to agree to quit their jobs in exchange for seven months of paid leave. The program ultimately led to more than 154,000 employees officially leaving the government’s rolls on Sept. 30. But even after that deadline passed, many federal employees who to...

After the Office of Personnel Management canceled this year’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, competing ideas have emerged on how to approach the requirements for agencies to survey their employees, and what OPM’s role should be in those surveys for the long haul. We get perspectives from Rob Shriver, former OPM acting director and current managing director of the Civil Service Strong...

Agencies are facing tons of changing expectations from the Office of Personnel Management this year. In the last few weeks alone, OPM has told agencies how to think differently about awarding employees for good work, as well as how to implement recent changes to the federal probationary period. There’s also new guidance on where agencies should limit, or add more flexibility, on paid administrativ...

The final version of the One Big Beautiful Bill left most federal benefits untouched. But the reconciliation bill did introduce several new tax provisions that could impact how Americans save, contribute and plan for retirement. Thiago Glieger, a wealth advisor with RMG Advisors, joins us to help make sense of it all. Later in the show, we hear advice about what to do when you get called in to tes...

As it tries to cut hiring time, the Office of Personnel Management has converted the application process for senior executive positions to a two-page resume. The standard ECQ essays will be replaced by structured interview questions. Federal News Network's Terry Gerton got some advice on how to make those application conversions from Diane Hudson, director of the Certified Professional Career...

After President Trump’s return-to-office orders, some agencies are unsure how to proceed with updating their remote work and telework policies. The Government Accountability Office says the administration needs to issue new guidance to help agencies better measure the effects of their telework policies on performance. A new report from GAO also details the results of a 2024 survey, which found tha...

Some federal employees have historically relied on remote work as a reasonable accommodation to help them make meaningful contributions in their jobs. But the Trump administration's blanket return-to-office directive has upended those remote work arrangements — and caused uncertainty for feds who depended on that flexibility. Federal News Network’s Terry Gerton got insights on the reason...

Federal employee benefits could be on the chopping block. That’s as GOP lawmakers move forward with their budget reconciliation bill. Republicans are considering everything from cutting annuity supplements, to charging a fee to file a case with the Merit Systems Protection Board. It’s all to save about $50 billion out of the trillions needed to balance the budget and making the choice harder for f...

How to manage the government, it's the national topic at the moment. Right now the government is managed by Elon Musk and Doge. Or by cabinet secretaries who seem hell-bent on cutting away at their departments. Or at least it looks that way. Should we have a Department of Management? My next guest thinks so. I spoke with an outspoken retired federal chief human capital officer, and former politica...

Some 40,000 federal employees did decide to resigned per the Trump administration's early fork-in-the-road offer. They've been promised full pay for the rest of the fiscal year. What about pension benefits? Or access to the Federal Employee Health Benefits plans? We get some answers from long-time federal employment attorney Alan Lescht. Plus, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is...

Just what do you get if you're caught up in a reduction in force? Like those Education Department employees RIF'd just this week. And what about if you decide to retire early? Federal retirement expert Tammy Flanagan has been getting lots of these questions lately. She joins me now with a few answers. Plus, is the goal of reducing the federal workforce by 10% wrong? Or just the way the Trump admin...

Federal employees worried about their jobs are also worried about their family finances and health care coverage. In fact, cash flow and health care *should* be at the top of your concerns now. More now from RMG Financial Advisors certified financial planner Thiago Glieger. Plus, whether the Trump administration will be great for the economy, as promised, is yet to be seen. Tariff-induced trade wa...

Events of the last few weeks have caused federal managers' heads to spin. The resignation offer, the closure of agencies, the new policy schedule. All these developments have sparked lawsuits. One of the litigants is the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. For some of the what's and wherefores, I spoke to NARFE staff vice president John Hatton. Plus, with a little planning f...

With the Fork-in-the-Road memo asking every federal employee to consider resigning, lots of feds are suddenly thinking of retiring. Don't let the weirdness of the situation push you into a hasty decision, though. I went over this in detail with federal retirement expert Tammy Flanagan of Retire Federal. Plus, the government barely avoided a shutdown last month. Anything could happen in March thoug...