Federal Retirement Backlog Still Backed Up

Federal Retirement Backlog Still Backed Up

Despite efforts to reduce a massive federal retirement backlog, the Office of Personnel Management did not make much headway in August, according to numbers released by the OPM. The OPM began tracking their progress in May of 2014 as a way to help reduce the retirement benefits backlog.

Currently the Office of Personnel Management has a backlog of 16,350 applications for federal retirement. This number is only down by 105 from July. Although the Office of Personnel Management processed just under 7500 retirement claims last month, they fell short of their goal by about 150. Compounded with the 7,341 new government retirement claims received in August, (roughly 550 more than received the same time last year) the numbers may not be dropping anytime soon.

The Numbers Keep Growing

The Office of Personnel Management saw progress in backlog reduction from March through May, but new applications grew the backlog by almost 2,000 applications in June and July. The backlog grew from 14,511 to 16,455 between June and July. The OPM had projected a backlog of about 11,442 by July, but were stymied by the unexpected influx of new applications. As of May, the backlog of federal retirement benefits was reduced by 15.6 percent.

Percentages of claims processed each month have dropped 12 percent from the high of 83.7 percent in December of 2014. In the last six months, they have averaged just over 70 percent, with some months dropping as low as 68 percent processing.

In most years, the OPM receives a high volume or retirement applications in January, with levels lowering to a steadier flow throughout the year. It is common for some months to spike though.

Budget Cuts Complicate Matters

Retired federal employees may be concerned because government-wide budget cuts take effect in October, reducing the amount of overtime the OPM can pay to claims handlers. The budget cuts will also reduce the OPM’s ability to hire new employees to help tackle the overflow.

In addition, retired federal employees may face longer delays if the government cannot reach a budget agreement for funding agencies by midnight, October 1. A government shutdown would delay retirement benefits processing and potentially add to the backlog.

The OPM has struggled to clear the backlog for years and frequently deals with frustrated retired federal employees and complaints from Congress. The Office of Personnel Management set a goal to reduce the number of claims by just over 11,000 by the end of September, which does not appear to be likely.

According to the OPM website, retired federal employees should expect their first payment within 5 to 7 days from the time the OPM receives the electronic files. The OPM says that delays may be caused by missing information and that some 23 percent of applications filed are missing some information and about 11 percent fail to meet the 30-day deadline. The OPM typically attributes these errors to the agency from which the retiree completed their service.

August’s low numbers follow a backlog growth of 13 percent in July.