OPM's Retirement Backlog Ends the Fiscal Year at 8,814 Claims, Below Its Old Steady-State Goal

Bottom line

If you retire this fall, how long will OPM take with your claim? On the latest numbers, about two months for a typical digital application, and 66 days across all claims, the shortest average since March ^[1]. OPM ended September with 8,814 retirement claims in inventory, below the 13,000-case level its own reports once called the steady-state goal ^{[1, 2]}. The figure is a monthly snapshot, not a guarantee, and the agency’s busiest month is three months away ^[1].

What happened

The September report. OPM received 8,080 new retirement claims in September and finished 13,227, according to FedSmith’s account of the monthly processing report ^[1]. The inventory fell by 6,613 cases, or 43 percent, the largest one-month percentage drop in the data ^[1]. It was the seventh straight monthly decline since February, when the backlog stood at 65,237 ^{[1, 2]}.

Readers of the August 6 memo will recall the problem it described: a shrinking backlog alongside a record 109-day average wait. That gap has closed. The average claim completed in September took 66 days, after 79 in August ^[1]. September’s average was the lowest since March ^[1].

How low is low. CRS notes that OPM’s reports through fiscal 2025 labeled the inventory column with the phrase “Steady state goal is 13,000” ^[2]. FedSmith counts only seven earlier months since 2012 when the backlog ended under that mark, all between December 2013 and December 2015, with a floor of 11,399 ^[1]. September is the first month below 10,000 in that series ^[1].

Digital versus paper. Online Retirement Application filings made up 83 percent of September’s new claims, a high ^[1]. Digital cases averaged 56 days; paper cases averaged 149 ^[1]. Only 1,334 paper claims arrived in September, and FedSmith’s subtraction of the digital figures from the totals leaves fewer than 3,000 paper claims in inventory ^[1]. That follows OPM’s July 1 “Last Day of Paper” announcement, which said more than 95 percent of applications would now move electronically ^[3].

The fiscal year. Fiscal 2026 closed with 179,958 claims received and 178,551 processed, according to FedSmith’s tally of OPM data ^[1]. Both are the highest in the series; receipts were up 59 percent from fiscal 2025’s 112,857 ^[1]. FedSmith ties the first-half surge to the end of the deferred resignation period in September 2025 and to broader workforce reductions ^[1]. The year began with 23,552 claims pending ^{[1, 2]}.

The annual average tells a less flattering story. OPM’s average processing time for fiscal 2026 finished at 79 days, against 56 days for fiscal 2025 ^[1]. The monthly averages for fiscal 2025 ran from 45 to 79 days, per CRS ^[2].

The congressional backdrop. A Congressional Research Service Insight dated September 18 laid out what has slowed retirement processing for years: paper files, thin staffing and incomplete packages from agencies ^[2]. GAO has found that about 10 percent of applications arrive missing something, such as a form or a signature ^[2]. Retirement Services staff fell 16 percent, or 165 full-time employees, from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2026, CRS reports, citing GAO ^[2].

CRS also tested a claim. OPM Director Scott Kupor told House appropriators in March that OPM was “already seeing more than 50% reductions in adjudication times compared to mail-based retirements” ^[2]. With data through August, CRS wrote: “Publicly available OPM data do not yet demonstrate this magnitude of improved processing” ^[2]. September’s 56-day digital average against 149 days for paper is the sharpest split yet ^[1]. Whether that settles the question depends on whether the two groups of claims are comparable, and no published analysis addresses that.

What it means for you

Employees planning to retire this winter. The lower inventory helps, but OPM’s part is only one leg. The agency’s estimate for the whole process is still three to five months ^{[1, 2]}. CRS breaks that down as 30 to 45 days for agency and payroll processing, 10 to 15 days for OPM intake, when a CSA claim number is assigned, and 10 to 90 days for OPM’s review and calculation ^[2]. The first leg happens before OPM sees your file, and that is where the missing forms and signatures GAO counted originate ^[2].

The first-payment promise. Readers should note that two descriptions are in circulation. OPM’s July 1 release committed to a first pension payment “within seven days of retirement” for applicants who submit a complete package by the separation date ^[3]. FedSmith describes OPM’s current target as interim pay within 6 days of receiving a complete application, covering only OPM’s portion of the process ^[1]. One clock starts at retirement; the other starts at OPM’s receipt. The difference matters for anyone whose agency takes the full 45 days. OPM has not published results under either measure.

Retirees on interim pay. Interim annuity payments typically run 60 to 80 percent of the estimated net annuity, before federal tax withholding ^[2]. When the claim is finalized, an adjustment payment makes up the difference ^[2]. No interest is paid for the months in between ^[2]. A faster queue shortens that period; it does not change the arithmetic.

Paper filers. The 149-day paper average is close to five months on OPM’s side alone ^[1]. If your claim went in on paper before July, that average is the more relevant figure for you than the 66-day headline ^{[1, 3]}.

Contractors. Contractor employees are outside this system. Nothing in OPM’s figures covers them ^{[1, 2]}.

• Whether OPM can hold the inventory down through January. FedSmith notes January is normally the busiest month for new claims ^[1]. OPM received 16,101 claims in January 2025 and 18,923 in January 2026 ^[2].
• How Retirement Services, 165 people smaller than in fiscal 2024, produced the highest September throughput in the data. FedSmith reports that 13,227 completions edged past September 2012’s 12,563 ^{[1, 2]}. OPM has not explained the result.
• Which first-payment clock OPM is measuring, and how often it is met ^{[1, 3]}.

Questions you’re probably asking

How long is OPM taking to process retirement applications now?

Claims OPM completed in September 2026 took 66 days on average, down from 79 in August and a record 109 in July ^[1]. Digital claims averaged 56 days and paper claims 149 ^[1].

How big is the OPM retirement backlog?

It stood at 8,814 claims at the end of September 2026, the lowest figure in FedSmith’s data series going back to January 2012 ^[1]. It peaked at 65,237 in February ^{[1, 2]}.

How long does the whole federal retirement process take, start to finish?

OPM’s estimate is three to five months, including 30 to 45 days at the employing agency and payroll office before OPM’s intake and its own processing ^[2]. That estimate has not changed with the lower backlog ^[1].

Will I get interest if my full annuity is delayed?

No. Interim payments typically run 60 to 80 percent of the estimated net annuity, a later adjustment makes up the difference, and no interest is paid for the delay ^[2].

Is January a bad time to file for federal retirement?

January is normally OPM’s busiest month for new claims; it received 16,101 in January 2025 and 18,923 in January 2026 ^{[1, 2]}. Whether the current pace holds through that wave is not yet known ^[1].

What I’m watching

• Early November (no date announced): OPM’s October figures, the first of fiscal 2027 ^[1].
• January 2027: the seasonal filing wave, and whether the inventory climbs back above 13,000 ^{[1, 2]}.
• No date set: any OPM report on first payments under the July 1 commitment ^[3].