Pallone, Walkinshaw Press Trump Admin Over Tax Filing Failures Impacting Retirees

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) and Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11) are leading members of Congress in demanding immediate action from the Trump Administration after retirees across the country reported they never received their required Form 1099-R tax documents from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and were unable to reach live assistance to resolve the issue. When OPM fails to deliver required tax documents or provide live assistance, retirees are left at risk of filing late, incurring IRS penalties, or losing access to refunds they rely on to cover everyday expenses.

In a letter to Trump’s OPM Director Scott Kupor, the lawmakers pressed for answers after constituents said they did not receive their Form 1099-R, the document required to report federal retirement income, despite OPM’s stated policy that physical copies would be mailed to annuitants without an email address on file after January 31.

“It is unacceptable for the federal agency responsible for the tax documentation of millions of retired Americans to fall short in providing timely, reliable service to all of them. We strongly urge you to address this serious gap in support and ensure that every impacted retiree can obtain the documents they need to file their taxes,” the lawmakers wrote.

Constituents report waiting well beyond the two-week delivery window communicated by OPM. Many who attempted to contact the agency’s Retirement Services helpline encountered jammed phone lines, excessive wait times, or were unable to reach a representative at all.

In their letter, the members requested detailed information on how many 1099-R forms remain unmailed, current call wait times, customer service performance metrics, and what corrective actions OPM plans to implement.

The letter is also signed by Wesley Bell (MO-01), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (VA-08), J. Louis Correa (CA-46), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), and Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10).

Full text of the letter is here.