The Government Accountability Office has identified 14 priority recommendations for the Office of Personnel Management, with only three implemented as of July 2026, according to a GAO report released this month.
The GAO removed priority status from three additional recommendations in July 2026, leaving eight open items requiring urgent attention. The agency is zeroing in on three specific problem areas: preventing improper payments, strengthening IT management, and managing the federal workforce.
The most critical issue centers on improper payments. The GAO estimates that addressing its recommendations in this area could prevent up to $1 billion per year in improper payments to individuals ineligible to receive federal health insurance benefits. The watchdog also found significant waste in software licensing across federal agencies—redundant or unnecessary licenses are driving up costs unnecessarily.
Implementation of GAO recommendations on workforce management could improve federal agencies’ ability to recruit and retain top talent, the report states. A GAO spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for additional detail on the specific recommendations or timeline for implementation.
The OPM, which oversees federal employee benefits, payroll, and human resources policy across the government, has had difficulty executing the changes the GAO outlined. The agency implemented just three of the 14 recommendations identified in August 2025, according to the report.
“Taking action to implement all of GAO’s open priority recommendations could help enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of operations across OPM,” the report states.
The GAO has been flagging priority recommendations to federal agencies since 2015, targeting items that warrant urgent attention from agency leadership. The office prioritizes recommendations based on potential savings, improvements to congressional and executive branch decision-making, elimination of fraud or mismanagement, and progress on addressing high-risk issues or duplication.
The eight remaining open recommendations span multiple operational areas within OPM. The agency faces ongoing pressure to modernize its IT systems and tighten controls over benefit payments as federal workforce costs continue to rise.
For more information on the recommendations, the GAO lists Cardell Johnson as a contact point.
