The Office of Personnel Management reported that its outstanding backlog of retirement claims was reduced by 15.6% in May.
OPM received 7,845 new claims in May but was able to process 10,697 to bring the total backlog down to 15,374. At the end of April, the backlog stood at 18,226. OPM was able to process almost 24% more claims in May than in April according to the latest figures.
OPM is moving closer in line to its projected inventory of claims with the gains in May. The agency had estimated it would have 12,042, so it’s off of that figure by 3,332, however this is an improvement over last month.
OPM did receive more claims than it had estimated (7,845 vs. the projected 7,100) and also processed more than it projected (it had estimated it would process 9,100 in May).
Despite the improvements, OPM has still lost some ground relative to where it stood a year ago. At the end of last May, the backlog stood at 14,551. A flurry of new claims received in October, January and February in particular have pushed it higher, but if the agency can keep processing over 10k per month more progress should continue to be made.
The latest figures are included below.
| Month | Projected Claims Received | Projected Claims Processed | Projected Inventory | Claims Received | Claims Processed | Inventory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct-13 | 8,400 | 11,500 | 19,142 | 7,484 | 11,027 | 14,176 |
| Nov-13 | 8,400 | 11,500 | 16,042 | 5,672 | 5,714 | 14,134 |
| Dec-13 | 8,400 | 11,500 | 12,942 | 4,952 | 6,449 | 12,637 |
| Jan-14 | 19,000 | 8,700 | 23,242 | 17,383 | 8,724 | 21,296 |
| Feb-14 | 9,800 | 9,400 | 23,642 | 12,025 | 9,767 | 23,554 |
| Mar-14 | 6,400 | 10,400 | 19,642 | 6,831 | 11,812 | 18,573 |
| Apr-14 | 6,500 | 9,300 | 16,842 | 8,047 | 10,002 | 16,618 |
| May-14 | 6,800 | 9,000 | 14,642 | 8,431 | 10,498 | 14,551 |
| Jun-14 | 8,000 | 8,100 | 14,542 | 6,627 | 8,787 | 12,391 |
| Jul-14 | 8,000 | 8,100 | 14,442 | 9,101 | 7,872 | 13,620 |
| Aug-14 | 7,400 | 8,000 | 13,842 | 6,795 | 7,318 | 13,097 |
| Sep-14 | 7,300 | 8,000 | 13,142 | 6,350 | 6,680 | 12,767 |
| Oct-14 | 7,800 | 8,500 | 12,442 | 10,155 | 8,785 | 14,137 |
| Nov-14 | 7,600 | 7,800 | 12,242 | 5,746 | 5,844 | 14,039 |
| Dec-14 | 5,600 | 6,500 | 11,342 | 4,077 | 6,447 | 11,669 |
| Jan-15 | 19,000 | 8,700 | 21,642 | 18,629 | 7,662 | 22,636 |
| Feb-15 | 9,700 | 9,800 | 21,542 | 9,219 | 7,841 | 24,014 |
| Mar-15 | 6,400 | 11,000 | 16,942 | 5,478 | 8,898 | 20,594 |
| Apr-15 | 6,700 | 9,600 | 14,042 | 6,292 | 8,660 | 18,226 |
| May-15 | 7,100 | 9,100 | 12,042 | 7,845 | 10,697 | 15,374 |
| Jun-15 | 7,500 | 8,000 | 11,542 | |||
| Jul-15 | 8,000 | 8,100 | 11,442 | |||
| Aug-15 | 7,400 | 7,600 | 11,242 | |||
| Sep-15 | 7,300 | 7,500 | 11,042 |
