Retired federal worker gets $87,500 payday with help from CBS News Philadelphia

Tens of thousands of former federal workers in the United States are awaiting their full retirement benefits amid a backlog. Until recently, that included Darryl Woodson, a Philadelphia man who spent 46 years working for the federal government, only to retire in 2025 and then not receive his full retirement benefits for nearly nine months.

After CBS News Philadelphia started digging for answers, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees the retirement payments for former federal workers, expedited his case. Last week, the 65-year-old Woodson received more than $87,000 in retirement money he was owed.

Woodson's story starts in 1979 when he was 18. His mother, who had taught him how to sew, made him take the government job.

"I would sit at the sewing machine, and I would make clothes for the Marines, for the Coast Guard, for the Air Force," Woodson said.

He made $5.26 per hour at first but kept getting promotion after promotion. Eight agencies and 46 years later, Woodson finally decided to retire in 2025 amid the Trump administration's push to downsize the federal workforce. But Woodson went nine months without receiving all of his retirement benefits. 

Last month, he told CBS News Philadelphia, "The savings have been exhausted. I'm relying on my good friends."

Woodson said he called OPM, sent emails and even wrote and sent more than 100 letters as he tried to find a solution.

OPM's website says it's experiencing a historic surge in retirements, all while the department itself lost 25% of its employees. Two weeks after CBS News Philadelphia reached out to OPM about Woodson's case, more than $87,000 hit his account.

"Can you believe that? Oh my God. It's like amazing. It was like, oh my God, I was just crazy," he said.

Woodson is now optimistic he'll start receiving his full retirement checks every month starting July 1.

"I didn't get no response from the congressmen, OK? I didn't get no responses from OPM, OK? But then, you got involved, and that's when I got a response and that when I get that money," Woodson said.

An OPM spokesperson said more than 36,000 former federal workers are still waiting for their full retirement benefits and a lot of the issues with the retirement system predate the current administration.