The Office of Personnel Management was able to make a slight reduction in the backlog of outstanding retirement claims last month.
The total backlog went from 17,125 to 16,828, a 1.7% reduction. Although OPM received quite a few new claims (8,810), the progress was due to the fact that it was able to process 9,107 claims, 65% of which OPM said were done in 60 days or less.
The current backlog is 11% higher than it was a year ago, something which has been the general trend throughout the year. The backlog started 2017 off 17% higher than it did in 2016 and has never been able to make up the lost ground even though the average number of claims received between last year and this year for the same time period has been nearly identical. On average, OPM has processed more claims so far this year than it did during the same time period last year (8,245 vs. 8,010) but still is struggling to keep the backlog in line with last year’s levels.
The table below illustrates the difference in the average numbers of claims from last year to this year for the same time periods.
Average Claims | ||
---|---|---|
Received | Processed | |
January to September, 2016 | 8,426 | 8,010 |
January to September, 2017 | 8,437 | 8,245 |
The latest complete figures provided by OPM are included below.
Month | Claims Received | Claims Processed | Inventory (Steady state is 13,000) | Avg. # of Days to Process Case in 60 days or less | Avg. # of Days to Process Case in more than 60 days |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct-15 | 8,374 | 10,438 | 12,642 | 38 | 86 |
Nov-15 | 6,019 | 6,099 | 12,562 | 37 | 98 |
Dec-15 | 4,753 | 5,916 | 11,399 | 40 | 104 |
Jan-16 | 15,423 | 7,061 | 19,761 | 38 | 94 |
Feb-16 | 11,293 | 8,362 | 22,692 | 36 | 96 |
Mar-16 | 5,741 | 9,222 | 19,211 | 44 | 118 |
Apr-16 | 7,241 | 11,935 | 14,517 | 50 | 92 |
May-16 | 7,210 | 7,692 | 14,035 | 37 | 103 |
Jun-16 | 5,929 | 6,435 | 13,529 | 37 | 115 |
Jul-16 | 9,238 | 7,205 | 15,562 | 38 | 110 |
Aug-16 | 6,818 | 6,046 | 16,334 | 42 | 112 |
Sep-16 | 6,946 | 8,134 | 15,146 | 45 | 100 |
Oct-16 | 7,326 | 5,795 | 16,677 | 49 | 91 |
Nov-16 | 5,065 | 5,723 | 16,019 | 48 | 94 |
Dec-16 | 5,483 | 6,405 | 15,097 | 52 | 95 |
Jan-17 | 15,317 | 7,327 | 23,087 | 53 | 89 |
Feb-17 | 9,114 | 8,285 | 23,916 | 38 | 104 |
Mar-17 | 7,216 | 10,602 | 20,530 | 38 | 105 |
Apr-17 | 6,581 | 8,179 | 18,932 | 51 | 80 |
May-17 | 5,548 | 8,340 | 16,140 | 48 | 89 |
Jun-17 | 6,141 | 7,751 | 14,530 | 47 | 99 |
Jul-17 | 10,070 | 7,509 | 17,091 | 45 | 98 |
Aug-17 | 7,136 | 7,102 | 17,125 | 47 | 105 |
Sep-17 | 8,810 | 9,107 | 16,828 | 45 | 93 |