OPM Retirement Backlog Falls to 8 Year Low

The OPM retirement backlog has dropped to levels not seen since 2016.

As of the end of November 2024, the total outstanding retirement claims at the Office of Personnel Management is 13,844. The last time it was at or below that level was June 2016 when it was 13,529.

OPM received 6,808 new retirement claims in November and processed 7,872. It took an average of 55 days to process claims.

So far in 2024, the average level of the OPM retirement backlog is 16,083. The average number of retirement claims submitted by federal employees to OPM each month has been 7,558, and the average number processed each month is 7,599.

The end of a year is the peak time for federal employees to retire, so it’s good news for federal employees who plan to retire soon that the number of pending retirement claims at OPM has fallen as the end of 2024 approaches.

However, even though most federal employees retire at the end of a calendar year, the impact on the processing doesn’t hit until January. The peak time at OPM for processing retirement claims is January through March, and January is typically the month with the largest spike in the retirement backlog based on past data. For example, the OPM retirement backlog grew by 46% last January.

How Interim Retirement Payments For Federal Employees Work

When federal employees first retire, they receive interim payments until OPM finishes fully processing the retirement application. These payments represent a portion of the final annuity payment and are usually made on the first business day of each month.

According to OPM:

Interim pay is a portion of your estimated annuity payment (approximately 60–80% of your finalized net payment for most people). It is intended to help cover expenses while OPM is processing your case.

• Interim payments do not include deductions for health benefits, life insurance, dental, vision, or long-term care.
• The only deduction taken from interim payments is for federal tax. State tax is not deducted from interim payments.
• You must manage your dental, vision, and long-term care insurance through BENEFEDS while in interim pay.
• Your interim payment does not take into account any annuity supplement you may be eligible to receive.

As of the time of this writing, OPM estimates that it will take 3-5 months for federal employees to receive their full annuity payments per the agency’s Retirement Quick Guide. This has the potential to be even longer, however, something probably more likely to happen if OPM is farther behind in processing retirement claims. It can also be exacerbated if there are errors in a retirement application as this delays the process.

As recently as two year ago, the retirement claims inventory was over 30,000. At the end of March 2022 for instance, it was 36,349. That means the inventory has been reduced by 163% since March 2022 to the end of November 2024.

In light of this, what has your experience been? If you have recently retired or are currently going through the process, please share details of your experience in the comments at the end of the article.

OPM Retirement Backlog Processing Status – November 2024

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 36 days to complete; whereas cases that were produced in more than 60 days, on average, took 116 days to complete.