Over 75,000 workers accepted the acquisition program. This was part of an effort to reduce the size of federal officials.
As the federal government concludes with a second round of buyout offers tweaking more government workers from the bureaucracy, the Epoch Times spoke with several employees who made the first acquisition, as well as employees who were not allowed to take it.
Democrats weren’t the only ones who made the takeover. It was Trump’s supporters who spoke about their decisions during the Epoch era, and accepting the offer was based on personal reasons rather than political reasons. Most people were asked to remain anonymous about privacy concerns.
The elephant elephant told the Epoch Times that the acquisition was too good to hand over. He was already focusing on retirement, and by government offer he allowed them to jump on those plans.
This was the most common reason for several others who made the deal.
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Bill Page, former curriculum manager at the Army College, said he and most of his colleagues were in the same situation.
“Almost everyone in my section took it, too. We were all old, or most of us were old and were thinking about retirement anyway. And this opportunity was born.”
Page said his department was somewhat unnecessary anyway. Employees who were too young to retire or simply wanted to continue working were allowed to move to other departments. Those who are already eligible to retire have extended their acquisition fees until December, making it easier to move to retirement.
The Epoch Times asked the page about his next chapter.
“I’m 71, my next chapter is probably dying or something,” he joked. “But one of the reasons I never retired until now is because I didn’t know what I was going to do for myself. I didn’t think I had anything to do. I was wrong. I did all sorts of things… and I enjoy myself.”
The former cybersecurity agent told the Epoch Times that the acquisition was a “blessing.”
By this time, cybersecurity agents said he and his wife had moved to the Midwest and had little desire to return to the East Coast.
Luckily, he was eligible to retire in September after ten years of service.
“So it worked for me. Like I said, I don’t know if anyone has that experience, but it really worked for me.”
Not everyone was keen on the decision to take the offer.
The 58-year-old property manager said during the Epoch era that the ban on remote work essentially forced him to accept the acquisition.
He said he had worked remotely for years when he was called to return to his office. His agency had a building that only had a 20-minute drive that he hoped was enough.
However, he later learned that due to his particular set of duties, he might need to work from his Washington office on the other side of the country. He said he doesn’t think such a move is desirable or financially viable. Therefore, he felt compelled to make the acquisition two years earlier and retire.
“I’ve never lost retirements since I was 60,” he said.
However, he said that the information available at the time was “full and not complete.” His division completed its final decision on remote workers across the window and made the acquisition.
Uncertain about whether he had to move, he said he received an offer to just be safe. However, he expressed concern that a decline in retirement benefits could create a slight financial burden in the future.
Not everyone is allowed to buy it. This was only available to those who were not considered “required.”
One young woman, an acquisition expert, jumped at the opportunity to live her dream of becoming a full-time housewife when she learned about the offer. She said the delayed economy forced her to work for more than a decade as she and her husband needed extra income to support their two small children.
Her husband expects to receive sufficient military disability benefits to support his family, but that won’t be until later this year. In the interim, she suggested that her family was struggling.
“At the moment, it’s a bit difficult, just something so expensive and not enough resources.”
She wanted to use the acquisition to quit her job early and allow her to start homeschooling at a 5-year-old. However, the government rejected her request and named her an “essential” worker.
“It was a bit frustrating. They promised you, you know, you’ll be paid until September, and they made it seem like everyone is approved.”
She was said in advance that rejection was rare, but in her department the opposition turned out to be true. Less than 20 employees were approved, perhaps because departmental work was deemed particularly important. However, she insisted there was still a lot of fat to trim there.
“We see a lot of positions that can be removed in order to save government money. We feel that there are a lot of employees who do similar jobs that they can kind of cuts down,” he said.
Everyone who spoke with the Epoch Times was in favour of the program and in favour of reducing the size of the government that encouraged it, but they also felt that all of the Trump administration’s plans were a bit rushed.
Like meteorologists, there was considerable federal bloating to remove it at some institutions, but noted that their own division was already “severe understaffed.”
One former employee said his younger colleague was set to get promoted, but had to wait until the workforce cuts concluded. If he was promoted when he scheduled the promotion, it would have placed him on “probation status” and he could have been targeted for fire.
Josephrod contributed to this report.
