Roughly two million federal employees are staring at an unusual email in their inboxes this week: an offer to resign now and keep getting paid through September.
The Trump administration calls it a "deferred resignation" program.
Employment lawyers call it something closer to a gamble.
Agree to step down by the deadline, and your salary and benefits continue uninterrupted for months without you showing up to work.
The Office of Personnel Management has framed it as a generous off-ramp for workers who don't want to return to the office full time.
But the fine print is where things get murky.
The offer explicitly says the government can't guarantee your agency will honor it, and Congress hasn't appropriated the money to fund it.
That means the paycheck you're counting on in July could depend on a budget fight happening in Washington right now.
There's also the question of what you give up.
Federal employees who resign under pressure typically forfeit appeal rights and, in some cases, protections built up over decades of service.
Unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers have told members not to sign anything until they talk to a lawyer.
A worker who takes the deal and finds a private-sector job by spring effectively double-dips for a few months.
A worker who takes it and doesn't find something new could be filing for unemployment by October with no severance and no recourse.
The ripple effects reach beyond Washington.
Federal salaries support local economies in places like Huntsville, Alabama, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, where government jobs anchor entire housing markets.
A mass exodus would hit small businesses, landlords, and school districts that depend on those paychecks.
Mortgage lenders are already fielding questions from borrowers worried about qualifying for loans while their employment status is in limbo.
Some loan officers are advising clients to lock in financing before making any resignation decision, since an employment gap can complicate approval even if income continues.
If you're a federal worker weighing this, three things matter most.
First, get the offer reviewed by an employment attorney, not just a coworker.
Second, check whether your specific agency has issued its own guidance, because the program's terms vary by department.
Third, run your household budget on the assumption the payments stop early, and decide whether you could survive that scenario.
The deadline pressure is real, but so is the risk of signing away rights you can't get back.
A rushed decision made in a few days could shape your finances for years.
Our take: this offer is designed to look like a windfall but functions more like a bet on Washington behaving predictably, which is never a safe wager.
Final Thoughts
If you don't, at least make the choice with your eyes open and a lawyer on the phone.