FY 2027 Budget Overview

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) serves as the chief human resources agency and personnel policy manager for the Federal Government executing the President's vision for a streamlined, merit-based, and efficient civilian workforce.

Under the leadership of Director Scott Kupor, OPM is advancing a resilient, accountable, and high-performing Federal workforce that reflects the values and priorities of the Administration, including an effort to modernize mission-critical Human Resource (HR) systems and advance significant government-wide reforms. This vision guides OPM’s operations and budget strategy for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027.

Building on OPM’s record of accomplishments, the FY 2027 priorities focus on three core areas: attracting and retaining America’s best talent; delivering high-quality, efficient service to the taxpayers and the Federal workforce we serve; and helping ensure the workforce has the appropriate skills to lead in a technologically advancing economy.

OPM requests $375,000,000 in discretionary resources to support executive leadership, administrative operations, and services to Federal employees, retirees, and the public. This request represents a decrease from the FY 2025 and FY 2026 budget requests, as OPM continues to find ways to invest in increasing service delivery while decreasing the costs of operations.

OPM operates on the principle that everything OPM does must serve customers, candidates, employees, and retirees. Behind this is a commitment to timely, clear, responsiveness, and continuous improvement. OPM rewards top performers with meaningful recognition, empowers supervisors to address performance issues quickly, and encourages innovation that reduces waste and improves operational efficiency.

Over the last few months, OPM has advanced Government-wide workforce transformation by issuing formal guidance for key Administration priorities including:

Restoring Merit and Accountability in Hiring

• Issued guidance implementing Executive Order (EO) 14170, Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service, including eliminating broad self-assessments for most positions and requiring structured, competency-based evaluation.
• Issued guidance establishing Schedule G in the excepted service for designated policy‑influencing positions.
• Updated probationary period guidance to strengthen certification and ensure timely, evidence‑based retention decisions.
• Supported government-wide performance standards for non‑Senior Executive Service (SES) employees to increase differentiation and accountability.

Modernizing Performance Management

• Implemented new SES performance management requirements under Presidential Memorandum on restoring accountability for career senior executives.
• Issued updated performance management expectations for Senior Level and Scientific/Professional employees.

Workforce Restructuring and Optimization

• Issued guidance implementing EO 14210, Implementing the President's "Department of Government Efficiency" Workforce Optimization Initiative, on agency restructuring, workforce reshaping, and Reduction in Force (RIF) planning.
• Issued exclusions guidance under EO 14251, Exclusions From Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs, clarifying positions outside collective‑bargaining coverage.
• Partnered with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to review annual headcount plans across government agencies to help reinforce key Administration priorities.

Implementation of Executive Orders and Presidential Memoranda

• Issued guidance implementing EO 14171, Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce, on policy‑influencing positions and required agencies to identify covered positions.
• Continued providing compliance and implementation guidance related to EO 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.

Additionally, OPM modernized Federal systems by completing the Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) cloud migration and transferring 442 million files and 5 million accounts to a secure, modern platform. OPM deployed the Online Retirement Application (ORA) system, an effort designed to improve completeness and accuracy of retirement submissions, reduce manual rework, and move the agency toward faster, more predictable processing times as digital adoption increases. OPM also advanced development of the Digital File System, which, in combination with the ORA, greatly reduces OPM’s reliance on paper and improves processing efficiency. Since February 2025, OPM has received more than 97,000 online retirement applications through ORA and has significantly decreased approval time compared to the traditional paper applications (as of November 2025, average digital approval time was 38 days compared to 94 days for paper files). OPM also overhauled FedScope, now Federal Workforce Data (FWD), to transform government-wide workforce data analytics, which allows for greater transparency and more timely data reporting to the American people.

OPM strengthened workforce performance and accountability by issuing updated Guidance on Awards for Federal Employees (August 11, 2025), replacing all prior awards policies; supporting SES hiring modernization through structured interviews, updated qualification guidance, and a defined Quality Review Board timeline; and providing agencies technical assistance and structured reporting tools related to workforce optimization.

OPM advanced policy and compliance by issuing templates for administrative leave policies; updated Selective Service registration guidance exempting veterans under the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (July 30, 2025); and memoranda on Reasonable Accommodations for Religious Purposes (July 16, 2025) and Protecting Religious Expression (July 28, 2025).

OPM is committed to implementing Administration directives while ensuring compliance with merit system principles and maintaining stakeholder trust. OPM continues to monitor legal and operational risks associated with these reforms and is prepared to adjust implementation strategies as needed.

OPM's track record demonstrates they can rapidly implement complex policy changes, modernize legacy systems, and maintain operational continuity under pressure. As the Federal Government’s central HR authority, these capabilities position OPM to deliver measurable returns on budget investments.

 FY 2027 Priorities and Investments:

In FY 2027, OPM will make targeted investments to deliver immediate improvements in human resource management and operational effectiveness. OPM will deliver the following:

• Federal HR 2.0: OPM is leading the consolidation of government-wide human capital systems. This centralized, modern human capital system includes unified platforms for hiring, classification, performance, and workforce analytics.  HR 2.0 reduces duplication, increases consistency, strengthens accountability, and provides agencies with a modern, interoperable HR ecosystem supported by high-quality service delivery.
• Building the Technology Workforce of the Future: OPM will strengthen the suite of Federal talent programs designed to rapidly address critical workforce needs. These programs will provide agencies with access to top-quality talent in technology, cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), data science, and project management to deliver the most skilled technology workforce in the history of the U.S. Government and help win the global race for modern technology dominance. These programs include the U.S. Tech Force and other early career recruitment initiatives, such as Semester of Service, in connection with all other Federal agencies. OPM will engage in a targeted Government-wide recruitment strategy to help address the critical early career shortage across the Federal Government (only 7% of the workforce is early career). This will include more pooled hiring/shared certificates to increase the efficiency of hiring and improve the applicant experience.
• Health insurance technology upgrades that will increase the accuracy, speed, and user experience for both the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) and Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) programs. Modernized systems will streamline enrollment and improve data reliability for millions of beneficiaries. Importantly, OPM will deploy the special appropriations received from the Working Families Tax Cut Act to verify the integrity of FEHB and PSHB enrollments.
• Transforming Retirement Services’ operations through the deployment of modern automation technology to both dramatically improve customer service to annuitants and increase the efficiency of service-delivery.
• Deploy new functions to strengthen Federal workforce accountability. These include investments in suitability regulation and suitability processes to support enforcement and adjudication capabilities as employees are held accountable for their conduct. In addition, Merit Systems Accountability and Compliance (MSAC) organization will invest in RIF and probationary adjudication functionality to ensure greater consistency and accountability across the Federal Government.
• A shift to a merit-based award structure, ensuring differentiated recognition connected directly to employee performance. This new approach will focus rewards on quantifiable outcomes and top performers, increasing motivation and aligning recognition with organizational priorities.

OPM will continue to serve as the Government’s source of Federal workforce policy while strengthening its role as a service provider and strategic manager of human capital by modernizing systems, clarifying accountability, and providing agencies with the tools needed to meet mission requirements.

Appropriations Language

Office of Personnel Management

Salaries and expenses (including transfer of trust funds)

For necessary expenses to carry out functions of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) pursuant to Reorganization Plan Numbered 2 of 1978 and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, including services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. § 3109; medical examinations performed for veterans by private physicians on a fee basis; rental of conference rooms in the District of Columbia and elsewhere; hire of passenger motor vehicles; not to exceed $2,500 for official reception and representation expenses; and payment of per diem and/or subsistence allowances to employees where Voting Rights Act activities require an employee to remain overnight at his or her post of duty, $145,973,000: Provided, That of the total amount made available under this heading, $10,898,000 may remain available until expended, for information technology modernization, and shall be in addition to funds otherwise made available for such purposes: Provided further, That, in addition to amounts otherwise available, $229,027,000, for administrative expenses, to be transferred from the appropriate trust funds of OPM without regard to other statutes, including direct procurement of printed materials, for the retirement and insurance programs: Provided further, That the provisions of this appropriation shall not affect the authority to use applicable trust funds as provided by sections 8348(a)(1)(B), 8958(f)(2)(A), 8988(f)(2)(A), and 9004(f)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code: Provided further, That no part of this appropriation shall be available for salaries and expenses of the Legal Examining Unit of OPM established pursuant to Executive Order No. 9358 of July 1, 1943, or any successor unit of like purpose: Provided further, That the President's Commission on White House Fellows, established by Executive Order No. 11183 of October 3, 1964, may, during fiscal year 2027, accept donations of money, property, and personal services: Provided further, That such donations, including those from prior years, may be used for the development of publicity materials to provide information about the White House Fellows, except that no such donations shall be accepted for travel or reimbursement of travel expenses, or for the salaries of employees of such Commission: Provided further, That not to exceed 5 percent of amounts made available under this heading may be transferred to an information technology working capital fund established for purposes authorized by subtitle G of title X of division A of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Public Law 115–91; 40 U.S.C. §11301 note): Provided further, That the OPM Director shall notify the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate at least 15 days in advance of any transfer under the preceding proviso: Provided further, That amounts transferred to such a fund under such transfer authority from any organizational category of OPM shall not exceed 5 percent of each such organizational category's budget as identified in the report required by section 608 of this Act: Provided further, That amounts transferred to such a fund shall remain available for obligation through September 30, 2030.

Office of Inspector General

Salaries and expenses (including transfer of trust funds)

For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General in carrying out the provisions of chapter 4 of title 5, United States Code, including services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, hire of passenger motor vehicles, $6,217,000, and in addition, not to exceed $26,211,000 for administrative expenses to audit, investigate, and provide other oversight of the Office of Personnel Management's retirement and insurance programs, to be transferred from the appropriate trust funds of the Office of Personnel Management, as determined by the Inspector General: Provided, That the Inspector General is authorized to rent conference rooms in the District of Columbia and elsewhere.

FY 2027 Budget Request by Fund

For FY 2027 OPM projects a total operating budget of $1,125,274,581. OPM’s funding includes Salaries and Expenses appropriations, Earned Benefit Trust Fund transfers, mandatory administrative authorities, revolving fund resources, advances and reimbursements. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) funding is provided through separate appropriation and separate Trust Fund transfer authority and is included in this total.

OPM Budget by Fund FY 2025 through FY 2027 - OIG Included in Table

OPM’s discretionary request consists of an appropriation for OPM’s program and leadership activities, and a limitation on transfers from the Earned Benefits Trust Funds under OPM management. OPM’s FY 2027 discretionary request is $375,000,000. The discretionary total reflects the combined amount of the Salaries and Expenses appropriation and the annual Trust Fund limitation.

OPM also manages mandatory appropriations that provide for the transfer of resources from the Government’s general fund to the Earned Benefits Trust Funds for Federal employees’ and annuitants’ benefits. The Trust Funds and the associated mandatory appropriations are discussed in more detail in the Earned Benefit Trust Funds section of this budget.

Salaries and Expenses

OPM requests $145,973,000 in Salaries and Expenses (S&E) funds for personnel and non-personnel resources. The S&E appropriation supports OPM’s core statutory responsibilities, including workforce policy leadership, program oversight, and delivery of services to Federal employees and retirees.

Trust Fund Transfers

For the administration of the civil service retirement and insurance programs, OPM requests $229,027,000 in administrative transfers from the Earned Benefits Trust Funds. OPM is responsible for managing the Federal Government’s health benefits under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program and since January 1, 2025, the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program, within the FEHB, for Postal employees, annuitants, and their eligible family members. OPM also manages the Government’s life insurance benefits via the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program. In addition, OPM administers the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which are financed by the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF). The administrative Trust Fund transfers in part fund the following organizations: Retirement Services (RS), Healthcare and Insurance (HI), Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), and Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO).

These transfers described as Trust Fund Annual finance the administrative costs required to operate Federal retirement and insurance programs on behalf of employees and annuitants. These come from the following Trust Funds subject to Congressional limitation:

• Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF);
• Federal Employees Health Benefits Fund (FEHBF); and
• Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Fund.

Mandatory Administrative Authorities

Several provisions under Title 5 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) and the Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Corrections Act (FERCCA) authorize OPM to administer specific retirement program and insurance activities, and to transfer funds for the administrative cost of these activities from the Trust Funds. These authorities provide additional administrative transfers from the Trust Funds. Per 5 U.S.C. §8348 (a)(1)(B), OPM incurs expenses from the CSRDF for the following activities:

• Administering survivor annuities and elections (§8339 and §8341) and other annuity alternatives (§8343a and §8420a);
• Making discretionary allotments and assignments (§8345(h) or §8465(b)) and withholding State income taxes on monthly annuities (§8345(k) or §8469) upon annuitant request;
• Administering Federal tax withholding pursuant to section 3405 of Title 26;
• Administering cost-of-living annuity adjustments (§8340 or §8462), and
• Administering fraud prevention (§8345, §8345a, §8466, and §8466a).

Within the CSRDF, OPM may also incur expenses as deemed appropriate for the administration of FERCCA (Public Law [P.L.] 106-265, Title II, Sept. 19, 2000, 114 Stat. 762). OPM may incur expenses to administer the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) from Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (Id. at Title I, §1002(a), codified at 5 U.S.C. §9004(f)(B)). Within the FEHB Program, OPM may defray reasonable expenses to administer the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) (5 U.S.C. §8958 (f)(2)(A) and §8988 (f)(2)(A)). Resources used to administer the FLTCIP and FEDVIP are reimbursed to the FLTCIP and FEDVIP funds by the participating insurance carriers from the respective Programs’ premium income, which is comprised entirely of enrollee-paid contributions.

Revolving Fund Activities

OPM operates several revolving fund programs that recover full costs through fees charged to federal agency customers for personnel vetting, human resources solutions, and related services, enabling these activities to function without direct appropriations

These activities fall into three groups: Suitability Executive Agent Programs, Human Resources Solutions, and Human Resources Solutions (HRS) Information Technology (IT) Program Management Office.

Services are delivered by Federal staff and contractors qualified to perform reimbursable work. The former Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI) and HR Line of Business (HRLoB) functions were absorbed within HRS in 2025 and the statutory requirement for OPM to provide credit monitoring services to individuals impacted by data breaches expires on September 30, 2026.

The reason for the significant increase in the HRS line is a function of the activities related to Federal HR 2.0 in transitioning agencies onto the consolidated Core HCM platform. HRS continues to contract with various agencies to provide high-quality, low-cost HR-related services. The FTE decline reflects post-restructuring federal staffing levels. As agencies transition to Core HCM, HRS anticipates commensurate staffing increases to sustain operations.

* When obligations exceed revenue, it is because business lines use unobligated balances from prior years (i.e., carryover).

FY 2026 & FY 2027 Comparison of FTE - All Resources - OIG Included in Table

* This table reflects estimated Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) which are measures of compensated employment over the fiscal year. FTEs are not parallel to headcount, which count the number of employees at a point in time.

OPM's FY 2027 budget supports 2,073.8 full-time-equivalents (FTEs), including 101.0 OIG FTEs. The discretionary appropriation and mandatory Trust Fund transfers fund 1,512.0 FTEs. The Revolving Fund and Advances and Reimbursements fund an additional 460.8 FTEs. OIG operates under separate appropriation and Trust Fund authority.

The two tables below present FTE funding by fiscal year. The first table displays all funds for FY 2026, and the second table displays all funds for FY 2027 by major funding source, including discretionary appropriations, trust fund transfers, mandatory authorities, and revolving funds, excluding the OIG.

FY 2026 FTE by Organization and Fund — All Resources – OIG Not Included in Table

* This table reflects estimated Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) which are measures of compensated employment over the fiscal year. FTEs are not parallel to headcount, which count the number of employees at a point in time.

FY 2027 FTE by Organization and Fund — All Resources – OIG Not Included in Table

* This table reflects estimated Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) which are measures of compensated employment over the fiscal year. FTEs are not parallel to headcount, which count the number of employees at a point in time.

FY 2027 Budget Request by Object Class

The discretionary appropriation budget object class table shows how OPM intends to use its resources.

Discretionary Appropriation Budget by Object Class

Salaries and Expenses Budget by Object Class

The FY 2027 S&E fund request totals $145,973,000, representing a $21.6 million decrease from the FY 2026 budget level. This reduction is due to the following factors:

• Personnel Compensation and Benefits have decreased by approximately $12.1 million, reflecting the conclusion of residual personnel costs resulting from the agency restructuring efforts conducted in FY 2025 and extending into FY 2026.
• Communications, Utilities, and Rent increased by $253,000 due to a marginal increase in license costs within the OCIO.
• Other Services experienced a net decrease of $10 million, primarily due to reductions or eliminations in contracts carried out during FY 2025 and impacting FY 2026. Specifically, this includes a $23.3 million spending decrease in Centrally Funded Items, and a $4.1 million decrease in contract spending within Common Services financing. These reductions were partially offset by increased spending of $18.4 million across various offices: $737,000 within the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer based on revised contract estimates, $2.9 million within the OCIO, $2.4 million within the Office of the Director supporting the America by Design initiative, and $12.4 million within the Office of Workforce Policy and Innovation to support government-wide training for HR 2.0 initiatives and investments in job reclassification assessments.
• Equipment increased by $224,000 to purchase updated routers and switches within OCIO.

Trust Fund Limitation – Budget by Object Class

The FY 2027 Trust Fund Limitation fund request totals $229,027,000, which represents an increase of $14,422,000 over the FY 2026 enacted budget level. The adjustments are due to the following factors:

• Personnel Compensation and Benefits have decreased by approximately $3.5 million. This reduction reflects the completion of residual personnel costs from OPM restructuring efforts undertaken in FY 2025, offset by the realignment of labor-related costs within RS to reflect updated funding allocations between Trust Fund Annual (TFA) and Trust Fund Mandatory in support of ongoing work.
• Communications, Utilities, and Rent increased by $2.1 million, resulting in a $1.5 million rise in Common Services financing and a $627,000 increase in RS for higher licensing costs.
• Other services rose by $18.8 million, reflecting further investment in TFA-related activities. These investments include $5 million for mainframe migration (OCIO), $3 million for FEHB technology improvements (HI), $5 million for various technology enhancements (RS), a $1 million increase in contract costs for system support services provided by Human Resources Solutions Information Technology Program Management Office (HRSITPMO), and $2.8 million in Common Services financing.
• Insurance Claims and Indemnities decreased by $171,000, attributed to revised estimates on potential settlements within HI.

OPM Budget FY 2026 Enacted & FY 2027 CBJ by Organization and Fund — Discretionary Resources — excludes OIG

*Closed offices consist of the Office of Communications, Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility, Office of Procurement Operations, Office of Strategy and Innovation, and the Office of the Executive Secretariat, Privacy, and Information Management.