The OPM retirement backlog climbed for the last three months of the year to finish 2021.
According to the latest figures, the backlog of outstanding federal retirement claims at the Office of Personnel Management finished the year at 26,730. That figure is just above both the 2021 monthly average (26,614) and median (26,595) figures.
The 2021 average monthly figure is also the second-highest average of the OPM retirement backlog since 2012 at which time the monthly average ended up being 53,294. There were three months that year when the total backlog was above 50,000, and the highest it was that year was 61,108 at the end of January.
OPM received 7,569 new claims in December and processed 7,200. Both of those figures are below the monthly averages for the year: 8,725 applications received; 8,138 claims processed.
The average monthly processing time in December was 92 days. This was well above OPM’s average for the year (83 days) and likely a contributing factor as to why the backlog went higher last month.
The fact that the retirement backlog climbed for the last three months of the year is not the best scenario to close 2021 since a flood of retirement claims normally come in the first two months of the year with many federal employees retiring at the end of a year. Presumably, the backlog will go even higher at the end of January, but we will find out more when next month’s data are released.
For federal employees who recently retired or plan to retire soon, a higher backlog means they might be waiting longer to have their applications processed. OPM provides an interim estimated annuity payment until the application is fully processed after which time a full annuity payment then begins to be issued. For details, see OPM’s retirement FAQs.
December OPM Retirement Backlog Over the Last Five Years
How does December 2021 compare to other years? Here is a snapshot of the last five years:
| Year | Total Backlog |
| December 2021 | 26,730 |
| December 2020 | 19,687 |
| December 2019 | 16,908 |
| December 2018 | 18,019 |
| December 2017 | 14,515 |
OPM Retirement Processing Status – December 2021
The latest retirement processing data from OPM are included below.
| Month | Claims Received | Claims Processed | Inventory (Steady state goal is 13,000) | Monthly Average Processing Time in Days | FYTD Average Processing Time in Days |
| Oct-20 | 8,323 | 6,992 | 19,605 | 77 | 77 |
| Nov-20 | 5,876 | 5,459 | 20,022 | 74 | 76 |
| Dec-20 | 5,135 | 5,470 | 19,687 | 74 | 75 |
| Jan-21 | 13,850 | 6,569 | 26,968 | 85 | 78 |
| Feb-21 | 7,495 | 8,003 | 26,460 | 77 | 78 |
| Mar-21 | 9,664 | 8,756 | 27,368 | 69 | 76 |
| Apr-21 | 9,414 | 11,396 | 25,386 | 71 | 75 |
| May-21 | 7,684 | 8,451 | 24,619 | 70 | 74 |
| Jun-21 | 7,264 | 6,884 | 24,999 | 78 | 75 |
| Jul-21 | 8,922 | 6,920 | 27,001 | 91 | 76 |
| Aug-21 | 8,976 | 7,412 | 28,565 | 93 | 78 |
| Sep-21 | 7,589 | 7,344 | 28,810 | 94 | 79 |
| Oct-21 | 8,006 | 10,711 | 26,105 | 95 | 95 |
| Nov-21 | 8,266 | 8,010 | 26,361 | 79 | 88 |
| *Dec-21 | 7,569 | 7,200 | 26,730 | 92 | 89 |
Disability determinations are included in the pending number after approval. Average Processing Time in Days represents the number of days starting when OPM receives the retirement application through final adjudication.
*Initial retirement cases produced in less than 60 days, on average took 44 days to complete; whereas cases that were produced in more than 60 days, on average, took 114 days to complete.
