OPM retirement claims backlog climbs for second straight month

For the second month in a row, the Office of Personnel Management’s backlog of retirement claims increased in August. The 17,963 claims are an increase of 924 from July’s 17,047, and 4,963 claims higher than the steady state goal of 13,000.

In August, 7,383 claims were filed, an increase of 123 more than July’s 7,261. For the second month in a row, OPM processed fewer retirement claims. The agency says it completed 6,467 claims in August, 117 fewer than in July.

While the backlog continued to grow, the monthly average processing time in days shrank to 74 days, compared to July’s 85 days. This was more inline with the previous five months averages.

The fiscal year-to-date average processing time in days has stayed steady since May at 78 days.