OPM backlog of pending retirement claims sees another massive spike in November 2025. Over 40,000 still pending.
OPM Retirement Backlog: November 2025 Processing Time
The Office of Personnel Management received 23,393 federal retirement claims in November 2025, 7,833 were sent with the new ORA portal. The total is up from the 20,344 received in October, both sharps increases from the 6095 received in September. They were able to process 8707 total claims. As of the end of November, there were 43,737 claims still pending. Much higher than it was at the same time last year.
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Monthly Average Processing Time
The average monthly retirement application processing time actually dropped from 79 days in October to 66 days in November, still up from the 59 day processing time in July.
Full Year To Date Average Processing Time
The annual average of the monthly processing time of benefits sharply increased from 58 days in November 2024 to 73 days in November 2025.
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What Are the Common Causes of Delays in Retirement Processing?
The most common processing delay is caused by errors in the application. If a federal worker made any corrections to their retirement package, such as crossing items out, whiteouts, or corrections, OPM would not accept the package and would increase the time for retirement claim processing. Current federal employees should work with their HR office to ensure no corrections are on the pages. If there was a mistake, it is best to use a new form and fill it out without errors.
How Can I Check the Status of My Retirement Claim?
Federal retirees can use OPMs’ Retirement Services online to track your claim number. You can also reach out to their staff by phone at 888-767-6738.
Understanding the OPM Retirement Backlog
If you’re planning to retire from federal service the OPM retirement backlog directly impacts the amount the time it takes for your FERS or CSRS application to be processed by the Office of Personnel Management.
The backlog has grown significantly these past few months, with tens of thousands of applications now pending. For employees, this means it can take longer than expected to receive your full annuity payments. While interim payments usually begin within weeks, the final calculation of your benefits may take several months.
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While OPM has introduced digital applications, which are processed faster than paper forms, the processing time when using the ORA as opposed to paper applications sent to Iron Mountain, it can still more than 30 days and even longer if your FERS application has any errors.
