The OPM retirement backlog declined by 5% to finish November. It is at the lowest point it has been so far in 2023 and a level not seen since 2017.
The total outstanding retirement claims at the Office of Personnel Management went from 16,678 at the end of October to 15,826 at the end of November, a decrease of 5%.
OPM received 5,207 new claims during the month and processed 6,059. The average processing time also improved over October, going from 73 days to 66. All of these factors combined to help bring down the total inventory.
Retirement Application Errors by Agency – November 2023
OPM reports which federal agencies collectively have the most and fewest errors on retirement applications during the month. The listings are for error rates for agencies with at least 15 cases reviewed during the month.
For November 2023, the percentages of cases with errors ranged from zero on the low end (NASA) to 36% on the high end (Commerce and State Departments).
| Agency | Cases with Errors | % |
|---|---|---|
| ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE US COURTS – AOUSC | 98 | 8 |
| BUREAU OF THE FISCAL SERVICE – BFS (formerly BPD) | 22 | 27 |
| DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE – USDA | 156 | 27 |
| DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE – DOC | 59 | 36 |
| DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE – All DOD | 1779 | 23 |
| DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY | 20 | 15 |
| DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES – DHHS | 126 | 17 |
| DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY – DHS | 326 | 26 |
| DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE – DOJ | 238 | 24 |
| DEPARTMENT OF LABOR – DOL | 30 | 23 |
| DEPARTMENT OF STATE | 28 | 36 |
| DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR – DOI | 112 | 13 |
| DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY | 171 | 27 |
| DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | 109 | 10 |
| DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS – VA | 726 | 15 |
| ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY – EPA | 25 | 8 |
| GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION – GSA | 23 | 13 |
| JOINT PAYROLL OFFICE | 111 | 2 |
| NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION – NASA | 31 | 0 |
| SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION – SSA | 84 | 8 |
| UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE – USPS | 1392 | 8 |
| GOVERNMENT-WIDE | 5771 | 17 |
Why Are Errors on Retirement Applications Important?
It is important to have a retirement application package that is what OPM calls “healthy,” that is, one that is free from errors. If applications have errors, it slows the processing time down considerably.
When errors are present, the retirement application remains within OPM’s Retirement Services Retirement Development Section office for further development. This means that staff there usually have to process the application further by performing activities such as contacting a former employing agency for additional information, contacting the retiree for a decision on benefit election such as a service credit deposit or to obtain a document (i.e. a marriage certificate), or contacting another agency, such as the Social Security Administration if a benefit from that agency would impact the retirement claim.
It is therefore in federal employees’ best interests to eliminate errors within their retirement application packages to the extent that they can do so.
OPM Retirement Backlog Processing Status – November 2023
| Month | Claims Received | Claims Processed | Inventory (Steady state goal is 13,000) | Monthly Average Processing Time in Days | FYTD Average Processing Time in Days |
| January 2023 | 12,404 | 9,142 | 24,858 | 93 | 90 |
| February 2023 | 9,562 | 10,920 | 23,500 | 65 | 84 |
| March 2023 | 8,354 | 8,929 | 22,925 | 69 | 81 |
| April 2023 | 8,298 | 10,839 | 20,384 | 70 | 79 |
| May 2023 | 6,096 | 8,355 | 18,125 | 71 | 78 |
| June 2023 | 4,854 | 6,609 | 16,370 | 74 | 78 |
| July 2023 | 7,261 | 6,584 | 17,047 | 85 | 78 |
| August 2023 | 7,383 | 6,467 | 17,963 | 74 | 78 |
| September 2023 | 6,768 | 8,879 | 15,852 | 70 | 77 |
| October 2023 | 6,924 | 6,098 | 16,678 | 73 | 73 |
| November 2023* | 5,207 | 6,059 | 15,826 | 66 | 69 |
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 39 days to
complete; whereas cases that were produced in more than 60 days, on average, took 119
days to complete.
