The OPM retirement backlog has topped the 30,000 mark thanks to the typical flood of federal employees retiring at the end of the year.
The Office of Personnel Management received 13,266 new federal employee retirement claims in January 2022. The total backlog now stands at 31,307, a 17% increase over last month when it closed 2021 at 26,730. This is the highest the backlog has been since 2013.
OPM was able to process 8,689 retirement claims last month which was the most processed in a month since last October when it processed a little over 10,000. However, the average monthly processing time in January was 94 days which was the highest that figure has been since last October.
January 2022 OPM Retirement Backlog vs. Other Years
Although the total backlog the highest it has been in almost a decade, how does January 2022 compare with past years?
The table below shows the total number of federal employee retirement claims received in the month of January as well as the number processed and where the backlog stood going back to 2016.
2022 has the highest total backlog, but one of the lowest numbers of incoming retirement claims to start the year, meaning fewer federal employees retired at beginning of this year than in past years.
| Claims Received | Claims Processed | Inventory | |
| January 2022 | 13,266 | 8,689 | 31,307 |
| January 2021 | 13,850 | 6,569 | 26,968 |
| January 2020 | 17,134 | 10,059 | 23,983 |
| January 2019 | 13,264 | 8,162 | 23,121 |
| January 2018 | 14,590 | 8,638 | 20,467 |
| January 2017 | 15,317 | 7,327 | 23,087 |
| January 2016 | 15,423 | 7,061 | 19,761 |
| Average | 14,692 | 8,072 | 24,099 |
For federal employees who have recently retired, a higher OPM retirement 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.
Did you retire recently? Have you encountered any delays with getting your application processed? Feel free to share your experience in the comments at the end of the article.
OPM Retirement Processing Status – January 2022
The latest complete 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 |
| *Jan-22 | 13,266 | 8,689 | 31,307 | 94 | 90 |
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 49 days to complete; whereas cases that were produced in more than 60 days, on average, took 113 days to complete.
