The OPM retirement backlog grew for the second month in a row, increasing by 3% over the previous month.
The total retirement claims inventory at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) ended July at 15,797. OPM received 6,451 new claims and processed 5,994. It took 65 days on average to process retirement claims. The number of incoming retirement claims in July was the fewest OPM has received so far this year in a single month.
In May, the OPM retirement backlog fell to an 8-year low (14,035). Despite July’s growth, a 3% increase is relatively modest and less than the spike in June when it increased 9%.
The table below shows the trends in the OPM retirement backlog during July since 2020. July 2024 is by far the lowest total in the past five years.
| Claims Received | Claims Processed | Inventory | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2020 | 6,819 | 6,620 | 17,631 |
| July 2021 | 8,922 | 6,920 | 27,001 |
| July 2022 | 9,487 | 10,706 | 25,782 |
| July 2023 | 7,261 | 6,584 | 17,047 |
| July 2024 | 6,451 | 5,994 | 15,797 |
| Average | 7,788 | 7,365 | 20,652 |
As of June 2024, OPM estimates in its Retirement Quick Guide that federal retirees will get their first full annuity payments within 3-5 months of retiring.
OPM Retirement Backlog Processing Status – July 2024
| Month | Claims Received | Claims Processed | Inventory (Steady state goal is 13,000) | Monthly Average Processing Time in Days | FYTD Average Processing Time in Days |
| 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 |
| December 2023 | 5,662 | 7,196 | 14,292 | 68 | 69 |
| January 2024 | 12,997 | 6,467 | 20,822 | 66 | 68 |
| February 2024 | 8,794 | 10,025 | 19,591 | 47 | 62 |
| March 2024 | 7,943 | 10,711 | 16,823 | 55 | 61 |
| April 2024 | 6,901 | 7,647 | 16,077 | 61 | 61 |
| May 2024 | 6,751 | 8,793 | 14,035 | 60 | 61 |
| June 2024 | 6,919 | 5,614 | 15,340 | 64 | 61 |
| July 2024 | 6,451 | 5,994 | 15,797 | 65 | 61 |
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 42 days to
complete; whereas cases that were produced in more than 60 days, on average, took 121
days to complete.
