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Federal Employment Statistics

Link to beginning of Retirement Statistics Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Federal Employment Statistics
What are the major types of retirement from the Federal service?  How many employees retire in a typical year?   Which agencies have the most retirees?  How many employees are likely to retire in the next few years?

Our answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are very direct.  Use our FAQs index on the left to quickly navigate to all 18 questions and answers.
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Retirement Statistics
18 Frequently Asked Questions
  1. How many total retirements from Federal service occurred in Fiscal Year (FY) 1999?
    2. Answer: 49,281 Average Age: 57.7 Average Service: 25.7
    Note: The 49,281 included voluntary, disability, mandatory, and early-out retirement types.
    Visit Definitions and Sources for key definitions, data coverage and sources.
  2. How many voluntary retirements from Federal service occurred in FY 1999?
    3. Answer: 31,524 Average Age: 60.8 Average Service: 26.7
  3. How do FY 1999 total numbers compare to the average figures for the last 10 years? 
    4. Answer: 52,497 Average Age: 58.2 Average Service: 26.1
  4. How do FY 1999 voluntary numbers compare to the average figures for the last 10 years?
    5. Answer: 33,659 Average Age: 61.3 Average Service: 27.1
    Visit the Highlights and Trends section for more retirement highlights pertaining to questions 1-4 above.
  5. What agencies had the most total retirements during FY 1999 (Over 1,400)?
    Answer:
    6. Agency

    Number
    Army

    7,573
    Navy

    7,001
    Air Force

    6,971
    Veterans Affairs

    5,538
    Other Defense Agencies

    4,288
    Treasury

    3,069
    Social Security Administration

    2,779
    Agriculture

    1,922
    Interior

    1,672
    Transportation

    1,479
    Visit the Agency Demographic Profiles section which includes detailed retirement demographic tables for 27 major Federal agencies.
  6. What agencies had the most voluntary retirements during FY 1999 (Over 1,000)?
    Answer:
    7. Agency

    Number
    Army

    4,727
    Air Force

    4,393
    Navy

    4,426
    Veterans Affairs

    2,981
    Treasury

    2,667
    Defense (Civilian Agencies)

    2,584
    Agriculture

    1,504
    Social Security Administration

    1,179
    Transportation

    1,079
    Justice

    1,078
  7. How many "early-out" retirements were there in FY 1999?
    8. Answer: 12,246 Average Age: 52.8 Average Service: 26.8
  8. How do "early-out" numbers compare to the average figures for the last 10 years?
    9. Answer: 13,001 Average Age: 53.8 Average Service: 27.1
  9. How many "disability" retirements were there in FY 1999?
    10. Answer: 5,202 Average Age: 50.0 Average Service: 17.4
  10. How do "disability" numbers compare to the average figures for the last 10 years?
    11. Answer: 5,436 Average Age: 49.4 Average Service: 16.6
  11. On average, how many persons were eligible for voluntary retirements during FY 1999?
    12. Answer: 178,000 Percent of Average Employment: 9.9
  12. On average, how many persons were eligible for "early-out" retirements during FY 1999?
    13. Answer: 285,000 Percent of Average Employment: 15.9
  13. How many Federal employees are projected to retire in the next 5 years?
    14. Answer: About 281,000 employees (19.0 percent of total employment) are projected to retire in the FY 2001-2005 period.
    To Retirement Projections (Fiscal Year 2001-2005)
  14. How can an agency project the expected number of retirements over the next 5 years?
    15. Answer: One way is to use historical patterns of retirements based on retirement system/eligibility category and current on-board employment.
    To Methodology for Retirement Projections
  15. For persons retiring voluntarily, how long did they stay in service before actually retiring?
    16. Answer: 3.1 years
    Any difference between males and females?
    Answer: Males: 3.2 years; Females: 2.9 years
    Any differences between employees who had been working in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA’s) vs employees working in non-MSA’s?
    Answer: Working in MSA’s: 46,062 personnel retired
    Average Stay: 3.1 years

    Working in non-MSA’s: 3,219 personnel retired
    Average Stay: 2.7 years
  16. Among the Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 retirees and those from the FY 1990-1999 period, were there differences in "stays" considering the occupations of the retirees?
    Answer:

    17. Type of Federal Occupation

    FY 1999
    (years)

    FY 1990-1999
    (years)
    Professional

    3.7

    3.6
    Administration

    2.9

    3.0
    Technical

    3.0

    3.0
    Clerical

    3.2

    3.4
    Other White-Collar

    2.6

    2.9
    Blue-Collar

    2.5

    2.7
  17. In Fiscal Year (FY) 1999, what was the most popular month to retire?
    18. Answer: January (9,792 retirements)
    What were other popular months?
    Answer: September (7,919 retirements)
    July (5,216 retirements)
    Lowest number month?
    Answer: November (1,953 retirements)
  18. In FY 1990-1999, what was the most popular month to retire?
    19. Answer: January (76,817 retirements)
    What were other popular months?
    Answer: September (63,722 retirements)
    December (50,726 retirements)
    Lowest number month?
    Answer: February (24,356 retirements)
Federal Employment Statistics
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