Retirement Backlog Plunges 38 Percent as Processing Times Fall: OPM Data
The federal retirement backlog is showing a sharp decline, with August 2026 one of the steepest drops on record, as the government continues to work through a surge in retirement claims that began last fall amid widespread federal workforce changes.
According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) — 15,281 retirement claims were processed in August– causing the backlog to fall by more than 9,000 claims– a drop of 37.8 percent. That’s the largest monthly drop on a percentage basis since OPM began publishing the data in 2012.
August also marks the sixth consecutive monthly decline in the backlog. It now stands at a total of 15,427— down 76 percent from the all-time high of 65,237 in February 2026.
Processing Times Fall for First Time Since March
Processing times also fell sharply in August, falling to about 79 days– down 27.5 percent from July. That marks a return close to the trailing 12-month average after a spike up to 109 days in July.
OPM stated that digital claims made up nearly 88 percent of all processed claims in August, with digital cases processing in an average of 70 days, and paper claims averaging 150 days.
With the backlog at 15,427, OPM now stands close to its backlog numbers before the surge of retirements and DRP participants began in earnest in October 2025.
However, OPM is still just above its long-stated goal of having about 13,000 pending retirement applications at any given time.
Push to Digital Processing
The decline comes amid OPM's push to move federal employees to its Online Retirement Application (ORA).
In a July announcement marking the “Last Day of Paper,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said the online transition allows everyone involved in the retirement process—including retirees, HR offices, payroll providers, and OPM—to work from a single electronic record.
“By moving retirement online, we’re delivering faster decisions, better service, and greater transparency for federal employees while modernizing an essential government function,” said Director Kupor.
