The Office of Personnel Management has reduced its federal retirement claims backlog to its lowest point in 2026. Current figures place the inventory at just over 24,000 cases. OPM data indicates that the agency processed more than 17,000 claims during the month of July alone. A significant portion of this volume, 14,000 claims, was handled through digital systems. The agency also reported that 10,500 of the 14,000 new claims received in July arrived in an electronic format. These numbers represent a shift in how the federal government manages retirement processing.
Despite the reduction in total inventory, official processing times remain a point of focus. The average wait for a digital claim is now 98 days. When accounting for all claim types, the average processing time is 109 days. The contrast between submission methods is clear as paper based claims currently require an average of 156 days to finish. This data underscores the ongoing transition toward digital operations within the federal retirement system.
The OPM remains the primary entity responsible for this improvement in claim management. The agency continues to emphasize the transition to digital formats to handle the steady volume of retiree requests. While inventory levels are down, the agency works to address the time requirements for each file. Further updates from OPM are expected as they monitor these metrics throughout the remainder of the fiscal year.