OPM Reduces Retirement Benefits Backlog Again

OPM has made considerable progress in clearing up the backlog of pending retirement benefits cases in the month of April. Although the main reason behind the reduced amount of backlog could be the fact that the agency received fewer applications, still the efforts put in by the agency are certainly showing up. It is being predicted that if the agency keeps working at the last month’s pace, it will reduce the backlog considerable by the end of the year.

Retirement Benefits Claims Processing Data

• Also Read: Four Survivor Benefits That Can Help Federal Employees Protect Their Families’ Financial Security
• Also Read: Why Lifecycle Funds Are Becoming a Go-To Option for TSP Investors Seeking Simplicity and Growth
• Also Read: The Rising Cost of FEHB Premiums: How Federal Employees Are Adjusting to Keep Coverage Affordable

The recent data received on claims processing has revealed that the agency processed several more claims than the number of claims received in the month of April. OPM has processed nearly 12,000 pending claims in April while it received just more than 7,000 new claims. The efforts made by all the people working in the agency have brought down the total outstanding backlog by 24%.

Comparison with March’s Performance

The backlog was just over 19,000 in the month of March but now, at the end of April, it’s just over 14,500. The agency received over 7,000 new claims in the month of April, which is far higher than the 5,741 claims received in March.

The Average number of Days to Process Case in 60 days or less was 44 in March which increased to 50 in April. The Average number of Days to Process Case in more than 60 days was 118 in March and it stood at 92 in April. The agency processed 88% of claims in 60 days or less in the month of March and this percentage was just 76% in the month of April.

The Serious Problem

The biggest challenge for OPM that seems to be of importance is that it needs to bring the backlog down and make it below 10,000. Unfortunately, the agency hasn’t been able to achieve this goal in the last two years. It was just over 11,600 in December 2014 and about, 11,400 in December 2015.

The Positive Approach

One positive thing that needs to be analyzed with regard to retirement benefits claims processing is that the backlog was more than 22,000 in February. The agency has controlled it a lot in just two months. It can also be hoped that if the agency shows the same speed in chipping away the backlog that it has shown in the month of April, the backlog would be less than 10,000 by the end of 2016.