The number of incoming retirement claims shot up in October, pushing the OPM retirement backlog up to unusually high levels for this time of year.
The Office of Personnel Management received 20,344 new retirement claims last month which drove the total backlog of outstanding claims up to 34,587, a 46.9% increase over the end of September. Many of these new retirement claims were undoubtedly from the deferred resignation program which ended September 30 at the end of the government’s fiscal year.
OPM processed 8,751 retirement claims last month, and the monthly average processing time was 79 days, the highest of any month so far this year. The average number this year so far has been 59 days, and the median number has been 55 days.
October is normally among the slower months for incoming retirement applications at OPM, but this year was obviously an anomaly. The table below shows how the OPM retirement backlog has fared during October since 2020.
| Claims Received | Claims Processed | Inventory | |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2025 | 20,344 | 8,751 | 34,587 |
| October 2024 | 6,872 | 6,458 | 14,908 |
| October 2023 | 6,924 | 6,098 | 16,678 |
| October 2022 | 6,423 | 7,838 | 25,227 |
| October 2021 | 8,006 | 10,711 | 26,105 |
| October 2020 | 8,323 | 6,992 | 19,605 |
Even looking back farther, no October in the past has even come close to this year. The next highest figure I could find was October 2014 when OPM received 10,155 retirement claims.
January is normally the busiest month for retirements, and October 2025 has surpassed even that month in comparison to how it has fared in recent years. The table below shows the retirement figures for the month of January since 2020.
| Claims Received | Claims Processed | Inventory | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | 16,101 | 6,700 | 23,277 |
| January 2024 | 12,997 | 6,467 | 20,822 |
| January 2023 | 12,404 | 9,142 | 24,858 |
| January 2022 | 13,266 | 8,689 | 31,307 |
| January 2021 | 13,850 | 6,569 | 26,968 |
| January 2020 | 17,134 | 10,059 | 23,983 |
The busy month of October follows an unusually busy summer with higher than usual retirement claims at OPM due in large part to the ongoing efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce.
This table shows the total number of retirement claims received from May to September each year since 2020:
| Year | Total Claims Received (May–Sep) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 33,041 |
| 2021 | 40,435 |
| 2022 | 39,310 |
| 2023 | 32,362 |
| 2024 | 32,822 |
| 2025 | 52,284 |
2025 saw a 59% increase over 2024 for the same period.
Summary of OPM Retirement Claims and Backlog Trends (2012–2025)
| Year | Avg. Monthly Claims Received | Avg. Monthly Claims Processed | Avg. Inventory |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 9,515 | 9,524 | 53,294 |
| 2013 | 9,558 | 10,705 | 25,218 |
| 2014 | 8,464 | 8,545 | 15,526 |
| 2015 | 8,086 | 8,109 | 16,622 |
| 2016 | 7,809 | 7,501 | 16,548 |
| 2017 | 7,994 | 8,042 | 18,404 |
| 2018 | 8,968 | 8,676 | 18,960 |
| 2019 | 8,465 | 8,558 | 18,897 |
| 2020 | 7,674 | 7,442 | 19,847 |
| 2021 | 8,725 | 8,138 | 26,614 |
| 2022 | 8,568 | 8,996 | 29,715 |
| 2023 | 7,398 | 8,006 | 18,652 |
| 2024 | 7,346 | 7,381 | 15,899 |
| *2025 | 11,450 | 9,423 | 23,324 |
This summary table shows the average monthly claims received, processed, and backlog inventory from 2012 through 2025. It highlights the fluctuations in the retirement claims inventory and processing efficiency over time, with 2025 showing a notable increase in claims received and backlog compared to recent years.
OPM’s Retirement Modernization Efforts
OPM announced on June 3 that it had launched a new Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) platform and completed the migration of more than 400 million files and over five million user accounts to the new system.
It said that the new system replaces the legacy Official Personnel Folder (OPF) system that was decommissioned at the end of May. Some of the enhanced new features include:
- Files can be viewed directly in the platform without downloading PDFs
- A cleaner, more intuitive interface for seamless access to personnel records
- Streamlined options for printing and downloading documents
At the end of October, OPM announced two new online tools designed to make retirement services faster, and easier for federal retirees. These let federal retirees securely download their 1099-R tax forms without logging into Retirement Services Online and also view current processing times to better understand the expected timeline for completion of their retirement applications.
The online processing times are an expansion of the retirement quick guide which OPM launched in May 2023 to help federal employees better understand the retirement process and facilitate submitting complete and accurate retirement applications.
“These new self-service tools are another step toward delivering the efficient, transparent, and customer-focused experience federal retirees deserve,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said. “By expanding digital access and improving automation, we’re giving retirees more control over their information and freeing up our team to focus on complex cases that require extra care.”
Kupor also recently wrote in a blog post that about 75% of new federal retirees are currently receiving automatic interim pay which is up from 30-40% under OPM’s old process. The agency’s ultimate goal is for 100% of retiring federal employees to receive their interim annuity payments within 30 days as they wait for their applications to be processed.
OPM Retirement Processing Status: October 2025
The latest retirement processing statistics are included below for reference.
| 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-23 | 6,924 | 6,098 | 16,678 | 73 | 73 |
| Nov-23 | 5,207 | 6,059 | 15,826 | 66 | 69 |
| Dec-23 | 5,662 | 7,196 | 14,292 | 68 | 69 |
| Jan-24 | 12,997 | 6,467 | 20,822 | 66 | 68 |
| Feb-24 | 8,794 | 10,025 | 19,591 | 47 | 62 |
| Mar-24 | 7,943 | 10,711 | 16,823 | 55 | 61 |
| Apr-24 | 6,901 | 7,647 | 16,077 | 61 | 61 |
| May-24 | 6,751 | 8,793 | 14,035 | 60 | 61 |
| Jun-24 | 6,919 | 5,614 | 15,340 | 64 | 61 |
| Jul-24 | 6,451 | 5,994 | 15,797 | 65 | 61 |
| Aug-24 | 7,083 | 7,702 | 15,178 | 64 | 61 |
| Sep-24 | 5,618 | 6,302 | 14,494 | 63 | 62 |
| Oct-24 | 6,872 | 6,458 | 14,908 | 62 | 62 |
| Nov-24 | 6,808 | 7,872 | 13,844 | 55 | 58 |
| Dec-24 | 5,020 | 4,988 | 13,876 | 57 | 58 |
| Jan-25 | 16,101 | 6,700 | 23,277 | 64 | 60 |
| Feb-25 | 9,637 | 12,364 | 20,550 | 44 | 55 |
| Mar-25 | 7,803 | 11,559 | 16,794 | 50 | 54 |
| Apr-25 | 8,332 | 8,953 | 16,173 | 49 | 53 |
| May-25 | 15,048 | 9,739 | 21,483 | 49 | 52 |
| Jun-25 | 13,430 | 8,585 | 26,328 | 45 | 52 |
| Jul-25 | 8,295 | 8,485 | 26,138 | 59 | 52 |
| Aug-25 | 9,416 | 11,195 | 24,359 | 70 | 54 |
| Sep-25 | 6,095 | 7,902 | 23,552 | 76 | 56 |
| Oct-25 | 20,344 | 8,751 | 34,587 | 79 | 79 |
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 45.8 days to complete; whereas cases that were produced in more than 60 days, on average, took 97.8 days to complete.
**Retirement Services transitioned from paper to digital applications in fiscal year 2025. Retirement Services is changing the approach used to report claims received so that the number of digital claims received may be tracked.
