GovernmentExecutive.com

A nonprofit organization warned this week that if federal agencies do not move quickly to recruit new employees and retain experienced ones, impending retirements could affect the services Americans receive from government.

"We hope that federal agencies will act before that becomes a reality," said Bob Lavigna, vice president for research at the Partnership for Public Service. For example, he said, "When you look at the Social Security Administration, at the same time the 78 million baby boomers are beginning to retire and the [agency is] going to be called on to serve those folks, they are looking at relatively high levels of retirement."

The Partnership reported that between fiscal 2002 and 2006, annual separations from federal service -- which included employees who retired, left to seek other work or died on the job -- increased from 5 percent to 6.7 percent. A little more than 30,000 people retired in fiscal 2002, while 45,000 left in 2006.

In particular, the Office of Personnel Management projected significant retirements at a number of agencies where the workload was increasing. OPM estimates that one third of the nation's air traffic controllers, 24 percent of SSA employees and 19 percent of contracting officers governmentwide will retire by 2012. Those retirements could add to already-mounting flight delays, slow processing of Social Security claims, and delay approval of the growing number of government contracts.

OPM also estimated that there will be significant leadership gaps in agencies. Projections indicate that 36 percent of Senior Executive Service members will retire by 2012 and 76 percent of SESers will be eligible to retire. In addition, 27 percent of supervisors will leave government by 2012, OPM says.

Lavigna said he thought it was important that agencies move beyond general fears about impending retirements to pinpoint where their greatest needs will be and to craft specific strategies to address impending shortfalls.

But, he said, the public needs to be engaged as well. The Partnership's next annual report will focus on the ways the federal government affects Americans' day-to-day lives, and Lavigna said the organization has considered doing more outreach to the general public.

"Heading off this brain drain will require federal agencies to aggressively recruit a new generation of top talent at all levels, will require Congress to conduct much-needed oversight and consider legislative reforms, and will require the American public to hold government accountable for addressing its workforce needs," the Partnership said in announcing its report.

COMMENTS

• I personally know that over 70 veteran Customs agents left the New York City office since Customs Investigations was merged with Immigration to form ICE in 2003. Very few of them were facing mandatory retirement, but they saw the writing on the wall, after the amateur political operatives screwed up royally with the unnecessary and costly creation of DHS. ICE is now primarily an immigration enforcement outfit, and customs enforcement is a joke. Nice work, gang! Customs Vet Posted May 27, 2008 7:32 PM
• During the last 5 yrs I have watch numerous experience professional engineers (PE)leave federal employment for much higher paying positions with industry. Corporations do pay top dollor for every PE they can get their hands on. Now do you think our senior leaders care if these highly trained engineers stick around and work under NSPS where they get a performance award that is laugh at by their peers on the outside. Our Federal Civil Service must start to replace these highly trained engineers/managers if we are to have any credibility with the professional engineering community. Now will our senior managers take this and run with it...not in a million years...two more years to go! Profession Engineer Posted May 19, 2008 11:51 AM
• One of the reasons we are not effectively and efficiently backfilling to meet our future personnel requirements is that Congress, GAO and the media have so vilified the Civil Service that young people looking for a career don't see the Federal Government as a place where they'd like to work. And as we continue to be downsized, while simultaneously gaining more and more mission and responsibilities, all Congress and the audit functions want to do is berate us even more for any mistake they can uncover. The work environment is now so demoralizing that everyone is looking for a way out. Ready to retire Posted May 19, 2008 11:07 AM