# Deferred Resignation Program The **deferred resignation program** — announced in the January 28, 2025 "Fork in the Road" email sent government-wide by [[OPM]] — offered federal employees pay and benefits through a later separation date in exchange for resigning immediately. It was the opening instrument of the second term's workforce reduction, running ahead of the [[Reduction in Force]] wave and the probationary terminations. Its structural significance is that it produced departures **without any adverse action** — no notice, no cause requirement, and therefore nothing for the [[Merit Systems Protection Board]] to review. The employees who left were disproportionately the ones with options. See [[Federal Workforce Structure Tree]]. This is a stub — expand with the acceptance counts by round and agency, the funding-authority objections, and the litigation. ## See Also - [[Federal Workforce Structure Tree]] - [[Reduction in Force]] - [[DOGE and Federal Workforce]]