OPM director Kiran Abuja defended federal employees’ expanded use of telework in a Congressional hearing last week and said that the government needs to make sure it keeps offering work-from-home options to keep the federal workforce happy.
Fewer incoming retirement claims than in past years and faster processing times helped slash the OPM retirement backlog in February 2023.
OPM has extended the COVID excepted service hiring authority after President Biden extended the pandemic national emergency.
Although it rose considerably in January 2023, the OPM retirement backlog indicates that fewer federal employees retired at the start of this year than in past years.
OPM has provided some guidelines for federal employees on ways to avoid delays with processing their retirement applications.
A recent report highlighting billions in potential waste in the FEHB program caught the attention of the House Oversight Committee.
A new GAO report says that payments made to ineligible family members under FEHB could be costing OPM as much as $1 billion every year.
The OPM retirement backlog was reduced by nearly 10% in December 2022. It also shows how many federal employees retired during the year.
OPM has issued new 2022 dismissal and closure procedures for federal employees heading into the winter season.
The OPM retirement backlog has fallen to its lowest point so far in 2022 as of the end of November.
