BATAVIA, Ohio — For 33 years, Donna Talbott worked for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), spending the majority of her years working remotely.
“I absolutely loved my job," Talbott said. "I helped taxpayers, I always said I worked for the good side.”
However, Talbott said the past year has been hard for federal workers. That includes a lot of questions over job security, as some federal jobs face staff reductions amid restructuring.
In April, federal workers were offered a voluntary exit through the deferred resignation program (DRP).
Those who opted in to DRP would be placed on paid administrative leave through Sept. 30.
For Talbott, it wasn’t an easy decision, but one she felt would benefit her and her husband. It also aligned with her retirement plans. In addition to opting in to DRP, she chose to retire. She said she was paid through September.
Since then, she hasn't seen a dime of the money she's owed.
"It's the end of December now, and I have not received anything," Talbott said.
WATCH: We talked to Talbott about how the lack of payments has impacted her family
Talbott said she's still owed thousands of dollars from unused vacation hours. She said she also hasn't received any money from her retirement pension.
She said she's tried to get answers on what's taking so long, but said she's only been told to wait.
"I'm not even out of HR," Talbott said. "HR is still reviewing."
Talbott isn't alone with delayed payments. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees opted into DRP, and Talbott said many others are still waiting for payments.
"There are so many people that are hurting, that are not having a Merry Christmas, probably not a great New Year either," Talbott said. "We don't know when we're going to get our money."
Talbott's explanation for why things are taking so long is simple.
“Lack of employees," Talbott said. "When you start cutting out some of the basic background and backbone of a government, that’s going to cause problems because you’re then going to have folks you are offering retirement, and no one to process.”
Talbott said part of why she retired was to take care of her husband, who is disabled. She said that means finding another job isn't easy.
“The expectation of me finding something else right now is really limited and hard," Talbott said.
Talbott said she's running out of money and has even relied on food pantries for meals.
“We have actually thought about 'do we need to get rid of everything' and, it’s going to make me tear up a bit and buy a camper?" Talbott said. "Buy a trailer? Live in our car? I honestly don’t know.”
Talbott said if she knew this is how the program would work out, she would have never opted in.
For Regina Parker, stories like Talbott's have become far too common in the past few months.
Parker is the president of the National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 9. The union represents workers with treasury agencies like the IRS.
Parker said the government shutdown in October and the release of federal workers are causing a backlog of payments.
“I really think they were more concerned about getting rid of federal employees than they were concerned about what it would do to federal employees," Parker said.
She said their union has opposed the program since it was offered.
Parker said, unfortunately, the solution for people still waiting for payments isn't clear.
“I tried to find an answer, but a lot of it is, we don’t know," Parker said.
As for Talbott, she said all she can do is wait and hope her money comes sooner rather than later.
She said she hopes people like her can get clarification on the process and when they can expect their money.
“This is not how I wanted to end my career," Talbott said.
