The OPM retirement backlog continued its downward trend last month, falling 4.5% during September.
The Office of Personnel Management received 5,618 retirement claims from federal employees last month and processed 6,302 which helped to bring the total outstanding retirement claims count down to 14,494. It is now back to close to where it was at the end of May 2024 when it was 14,035.
It is good news for new federal retirees or any federal employees who plan to retire soon that the OPM retirement backlog has been reduced since the agency’s busy season is coming up soon. More federal employees retire at the end of a calendar year than at any other time which always pushes the retirement backlog higher. In January 2024 for example, the OPM retirement backlog grew by a whopping 46%, going from 14,292 at the end of December 2023 to 20,822 at the end of January.
To help process the unusually large influx of retirement applications, OPM enlisted help from other federal agencies with the retirement applications pouring in at the end of 2023 during what it calls the annual “surge period” which is the first quarter of the calendar year (January – March). This is the timeframe when OPM has the most retirement applications that need to be processed. In an average year, approximately 25% of the total annual retirement claims arrive during this period.
OPM also encourages agencies and prospective federal retirees to use the Retirement Quick Guide which contains tips for avoiding delays with the retirement application process as well as the current estimate on how long the process should take for federal employees who are about to retire based on the latest OPM figures. The Guide was launched last year to give federal employees another tool to help them better understand and be prepared for the retirement process.
As of September 2024, OPM estimates it will take 3-5 months from the date of separation to receive the first regular monthly annuity payment.
The most important tip for federal employees planning to retire soon is to make sure they have a retirement application that is free from errors. This includes ensuring all necessary signatures are in place on forms and that the Official Personnel Folder (OPF) is complete.
OPM Retirement Backlog Processing Status – September 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 |
| August 2024 | 7,083 | 7,702 | 15,178 | 64 | 61 |
| September 2024 | 5,618 | 6,302 | 14,494 | 63 | 62 |
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 41 days to complete; whereas cases that were produced in more than 60 days, on average, took 115 days to complete.
