OPM Backlog: December 2025 Processing Time for Paper and Digital Retirement Applications
The Office of Personnel Management received 13,174 federal retirement claims in December 2025, with 6,055 submitted via the new ORA portal. OPM processed 9,428 total claims, leaving 50,566 claims pending at month's end.
| Digital | Paper | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2025 | 10,252 | 24,335 | 34,587 |
| November 2025 | 13,835 | 34,561 | 48,396 |
| December 2025 | 15,295 | 35,271 | 50,566 |
Monthly Average Processing Time
Average processing increased from 66 days in November to 67 days in December. Digital claims average 38 days; paper applications average 94 days.
Common Causes of Delays
Application errors—including corrections, cross-outs, or whiteouts—are the primary cause of processing delays.
