OPM has announced reduction in its retirement claims inventory after progress had stalled in the face of sequestration. It said the gains were a result of a return in overtime after a year-end budget review reversed a decision to cancel overtime usage for Retirement Services through the end of the fiscal year.
The backlog currently stands at 22,750, down from 47,478 a year ago. OPM processed 10,955 applications in August, well above the 7,724 it managed in July and that resulted in a net increase to the long-standing backlog for that month.
Retirement claims processing has been getting attention in Congress of late. The House Appropriations Committee passed a fiscal 2014-spending bill recently that cites retirement processing as an area that needs to be addressed further. OPM is also reportedly again considering IT improvements to help further reduce the backlog after failed attempts in the past, not just focusing additional manpower.
