Carol Polis’ routine when she returns home from chemotherapy is agonizingly the same.
“I sit there and dial, and dial, and dial,” Polis said.
The number the Spotsylvania County resident calls is the main line for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
Since Polis’ husband, John, died last May, she’s sought survivor benefits resulting from his years of service with the federal government at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and Fort A.P. Hill. OPM’s website states that survivor annuity claims are processed within 24 days, but after conflicting statements from OPM — including a 60-day wait each time she submits benefits paperwork — Polis has waited for a year.
Her brother-in-law, Robert Beck, assisted her in filing a formal complaint with the OPM Office of the Inspector General, alleging “gross mismanagement and administrative negligence” because of a repeated loss of records and a failure to authorize interim payments, a mechanism designed to provide relief during OPM backlogs.
Polis notified the agency of her husband’s death last May and first submitted the paperwork for the benefits last June. The 74-year-old was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in 2024 and is living solely off social security.
“I’m kind of burned out after a year,” Polis said … “It’s so insane. If someone told this story to me, I wouldn’t believe them.”
‘A faceless bureaucracy’
After Polis submitted her first claim last June, OPM confirmed receipt of the packet on July 24 but later claimed to have no record of it.
In late 2025, she submitted a duplicate packet, but that didn’t result in any action from the federal government agency.
On Jan. 12, Polis alerted the office of U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-7th District) about the matter.
On Feb. 11, Polis sent a third packet to OPM via certified mail. The U.S. Postal Service confirmed the paperwork was delivered and that OPM officials received it. However, on April 13, when Polis called OPM for an update, no one answered the phone.
“I have spent the last year of my life fighting a faceless bureaucracy instead of focusing on my recovery,” Polis said. “I am sharing my story because OPM is effectively ghosting a grieving widow with cancer, ignoring my legal filings and my congressman’s inquiries.”
Polis is seeking immediate adjudication of her claim; full issuance of the 11 months of retroactive back-payment; and accountability for why her requests have gone unanswered.
Vindman wrote to Polis earlier this year that “significant changes to the workforce,” including the 2025 layoffs orchestrated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) contributed to the delay of her benefits. He said reduced OPM staff created a significant backlog.
He added that because the President Trump administration encouraged federal employees to participate in the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), OPM was suddenly tasked with processing more than 100,000 retirement applications, all with a reduced staff.
“Please don’t take this as an excuse,” wrote Vindman to Polis, “but important context to what may be contributing to the extended delays.”
Poor planning led to backlogs
Vindman told the Free Press on Thursday that if all goes well, Polis’ case should be resolved by June 2, 60 days after her most recent filing.
Representatives from his office noted that the discrepancy between the 24 days and the 60 days is that OPM’s policy pledges that civilians will hear back from them in 24 days, but once OPM exceeds that mark and there is congressional intervention, the agency has 60 days to respond to a legislator’s office.
Vindman blamed the current OPM backlog on “poor planning” from the Trump administration because, in his estimation, it offered the resignation program without considering how the plan would impact OPM.
Vindman’s constituents are seeking assistance with more than 40 OPM cases, which is higher than any other government agency. The average amount of days to close OPM cases is also longer than any other agency, representatives in Vindman’s office said.
“In my opinion, that’s unacceptably high,” Vindman said.
DOGE-ing responsibility?
A timeline of Spotsylvania widow’s dealings with OPM, which has a policy to process survivor annuity claims within 24 days.
May 2025: Polis’s husband passed away.
June 2025: She submitted first pension packet.
July 24, 2025: OPM confirmed receipt of first packet but later claimed they had “no record” of it.
Late 2025: Polis submitted a second, duplicate packet.
Jan. 12, 2026: Rep. Vindman’s office initiated a congressional inquiry.
Feb. 11, 2026: Polis sent a third packet via Certified Mail. USPS confirmed it was “Delivered and Picked Up” by OPMApril 3, 2026: Vindman initiates a second inquiry, resetting OPM’s timeline for another 60 days
April 13, 2026: More than 60 days after receiving the third inquiry, Polis called OPM for an update. No one answered the phone.April 16, 2026: Polis files complaint with the OPM Office of Inspector General
In January, after learning of Polis’ situation, Vindman inquired to OPM Director Scott Kupor about the wait times for processing benefits.
Kupor wrote that as of Jan. 9, 103,000 retirement applications were in OPM’s digital retirement system with 48,200 transmitted for adjudication.
Kupor also admitted that more than 100,000 simultaneous retirements caused a backlog in the agency.
“The DRP was an unprecedented one-time event that increased retirement intake nearly three-fold,” Kupor wrote. “OPM has responded by extending work hours, authorizing overtime, reassigning staff, and leveraging automation to reduce casework.”
Kupor said Congress can assist the agency by funding system modernization, streamlining outdated retirement processing statutes and encouraging interagency cooperation.
But, despite OPM’s issues, Polis doesn’t exempt Vindman’s office from criticism.
Granting OPM ‘a free pass’?
Beck, who serves as Polis’ designated representative, said Vindman’s office has been inconsistent in its communications and didn’t send a formal letter to OPM until last week despite working on the case since January. Vindman reached out to OPM in January with general questions about the backlog, and Kupor responded. His office staff said they also reached out to OPM on Polis’ behalf in one-on-one communications.
At one point, Polis requested that the office of U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D) replace Vindman and take the lead on the matter. She was perturbed that Vindman’s office was “adhering” to OPM’s policy of a 60-day timeline restarting each time she submitted paperwork.
“By citing April 3 as a new start date, you are granting OPM a free pass for the previous 11 months of negligence,” Polis wrote to Vindman’s office.
However, Paula Sherman, a senior caseworker for Kaine, recommended that Polis continue to work with Vindman.
Sherman informed Polis that even if a federal legislator expedites a review of her case, that doesn’t mean it’ll be rectified immediately. She also said OPM doesn’t allow duplicate submissions.
“While we do our very best to get a response for our constituents as quickly as possible, we do not have the ability or authority to circumvent OPM’s standing administrative policies and procedures,” Sherman wrote.
Polis sent 11 questions to Vindman’s office asking for answers. Among the inquiries were why she was instructed to wait for a new set of papers in January if Vindman’s office had the authority to demand a search for records OPM possessed and signed for in July.
She also wanted to know if the office was corresponding with a liaison at OPM or only receiving updates via a portal; and why did the office accept a 60-day response window when OPM has a 24-day survivor processing standard? Vindman’s office did not respond to Polis’ email, but he answered one of the questions Thursday.
“I have to check on exactly what that [24-day] survivor benefit processing is,” Vindman said. “But obviously I feel for her and we’re doing the best job we possibly can to get the payments facilitated.”
Vindman said he understands Polis’ frustrations with OPM, but added that his office will continue to push for a resolution. He said his office has helped return more than $6 million in benefits to constituents, and encouraged anyone with similar issues to reach out to his staff.
“There are too many Virginians who have waited far too long for the benefits they are owed,” Vindman said. “This administration used DOGE to gut the federal workforce, resulting in never-before-seen delays. Regardless of the challenge, my team will continue to work diligently until the over 40 cases with OPM are closed and Virginians get paid what they are due.”
Nearing a ‘breakdown’
That’s little consolation for Polis. Before her husband died, he informed her that she should expect at least approximately $800 per month in support. While the amount isn’t astronomical, Polis said it would provide some much-needed relief.
“It’s not like they’re going to send me a check for $20,000 a month or something,” she said.
After holding on the telephone for more than an hour one day, Polis said she told the OPM representative that she was nearing a mental breakdown. The representative informed her that she saw the paperwork completed but said it was in the processing department.
“It’s like some magic place no one can reach,” Polis said.
Polis expressed frustration at that point that it had been several months since a representative said they would call to provide an update on her case, but no one reached out to her. The representative told her that OPM employees aren’t allowed to provide direct phone numbers of specific members of the agency.
“I said, ‘Do you understand it takes weeks to get a person?” Polis said. “Literally, I’m not making any of this up. It’s insane.”
Continued health concerns
Polis was first diagnosed with Leukemia in July 2024 while living in South Carolina, where she was given a few months to live.
Beck and his wife brought Polis and her dying husband back to Virginia for better treatment. Polis is under the care of Dr. Sudeep Menachery at Hematology Oncology Associates of Fredericksburg. She’s technically in remission but requires ongoing chemotherapy and monthly infusions, which are often debilitating and will never end.
Polis said she’s declining mentally and physically. She believes she has “chemo brain,” a common side effect of the treatment, with symptoms including memory loss, trouble concentrating, and difficulty multitasking.
She expressed weariness to Beck, who encouraged her to remain calm. Polis said she’s typically laid-back, but this ordeal has exhausted her patience.
For his part, Vindman said he’s hopeful that after June 2, Polis will have the response she’s seeking and — eventually — a check from the federal government.
“I didn’t want to take this so far,” Polis said. “It’s out of my comfort zone. But I don’t know what else to do. I’m winding down with my health, and I just want an answer.”
