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OPM backlog of pending retirement claims continues to grow in December 2025. Over 50,000 still need to be processed.
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, 6,055 were sent with the new ORA portal. This is less than the from the 23,393 and 20,344 received in November and October, still a sharp increase from the 6095 received in September. They were able to process 9428 total claims. As of the end of December, there were 50,566 claims still pending. Much higher than it was at the same time last year.
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What is the Current Status of the OPM Retirement Processing Delay?
Here are the December processing times of both digital and paper pension applications submitted to OPM:
Monthly Average Processing Time
Overall, the average monthly retirement application processing time increased slightly from 66 days in November to 67 days in December, still up from the 59 day processing time in July. For digital claims, the average time is actually 38 days while paper application are taking, on average, 94 days to process. FERS applications with any error can take much longer to process than an error-free submission.
Full Year To Date Average Processing Time
The annual average of the monthly processing time of benefits has gone up from 60 days in January 2026 to 71 days in December 2025.
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How Does the OPM Retirement Process Work?
When you are ready to file for retirement, you start by filing your retirement application with your agency. After the retirement claim is filed, the application stays with the agency until your retirement date. Then, the agency processes your final paycheck and annual leave payout and sends the paperwork to OPM. Once OPM receives your paperwork, they will send you a letter with your retirement claim number. Note: You can find out the status of processing with the claim number.
Step-by-Step Guide to Filing Your Retirement Application: OPM Retirement Process Flowchart
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.
