In December, the number of retirement claims with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) continued to rise, surpassing 50,000. By the end of the month, the total claims inventory reached 50,566, reflecting a 4.5% increase from November.
Federal Job Reductions Expected in 2025
This uptick in retirement claims can be attributed to the previous administration’s push to reduce the federal workforce as part of broader budget cuts. In fact, OPM Director Scott Kupor pointed out that about 317,000 federal employees are expected to retire in 2025, while only around 68,000 will be hired, which is more than the suggested four jobs cut for every new position created.
Some member groups have voiced their concerns, sending a letter to Kupor criticizing these downsizing efforts and the resulting backlog in retirement claims processing. The letter highlighted that policies like the Deferred Retirement Program (DRP) have left many employees caught in a confusing situation, creating inefficiencies in the retirement system.
They expressed that the influx of retirement applications, alongside company-wide reductions and early retirement options, has increased pressure on HR departments, making the entire Federal Retirement System quite burdensome.
The letter also posed several questions for Kupor, such as:
- What guidance is OPM giving agencies to help retired employees stay in touch with HR using their personal contact information?
- What is being done to resolve termination requests that are delayed at the agency or payroll level?
- How does OPM evaluate how agency cuts impact delays in retirement processing across the board?
- How will OPM track delays in its own processing timelines compared to those of the agencies and payroll providers?
- Can OPM provide a comprehensive implementation status of the Online Retirement Application (ORA)?
- What steps in the retirement processing chain aren’t being captured by ORA?
- As retiree numbers grow, how is OPM’s service for current retirees being affected, and have work assignments changed for those handling this process since December 2024?
December 2025 Retirement Statistics
The issues highlighted in the letter concerning the backlog are also reflected in the retirement processing stats; however, the recently introduced Online Retirement Application (ORA) seems to be helping speed things up for federal employees. In December, OPM processed 8.3% more claims compared to November.
Yet, there was a decrease in digital claims, with 857 fewer processed in December than the previous month, and a 23% drop in new digital applications. In terms of processing time, digital claims took about 40 days on average, while paper claims took around 81 days. That’s a noticeable slowdown compared to November’s stats, where paper claims averaged 94 days versus 38 days for digital.
In December, 7,119 paper claims were received and 5,922 processed, which raised the total paper claim inventory to 35,271.
2025 Retirement Processing Overview
According to OPM, the fiscal year 2025 saw 112,679 federal employees added to the pension rolls, including those under both the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). The total number of retirement applications received in 2025 reached 151,068, averaging around 12,589 per month, with claims processed at about 9,364 monthly.
Here’s a look at the increase in severance claims over the years, showing the 2025 total as the highest:
| Year | Total Claims Received |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 151,068 |
| 2024 | 88,157 |
| 2023 | 88,773 |
| 2022 | 102,819 |
| 2021 | 104,699 |
| 2020 | 92,088 |
| 2019 | 101,580 |
| 2018 | 107,612 |
| 2017 | 95,923 |
| 2016 | 93,713 |
| 2015 | 97,032 |
| 2014 | 101,568 |
| 2013 | 114,697 |
| 2012 | 57,091 |
January 2026 is usually a busy month for retirement claims, so it’ll be interesting to see how these trends continue and their effect on the OPM backlog.
2025 OPM Retirement Processing Statistics
The following table summarizes the retirement data for 2025.
| Month | Digital Claims Received | Total Claims Received | Processed Digital Claims | Total Claims Processed | Digital Processing Time (days) | Total Average Processing Time (days) | Digital Inventory | Total Inventory |
| January 2025 | 16,101 | 6,700 | 64 | 23,277 | ||||
| February 2025 | 9,637 | 12,364 | 44 | 20,550 | ||||
| March 2025 | 7,803 | 11,559 | 50 | 16,794 | ||||
| April 2025 | 8,332 | 8,953 | 49 | 16,173 | ||||
| May 2025 | 15,048 | 9,739 | 49 | 21,483 | ||||
| June 2025 | 13,430 | 8,585 | 45 | 26,328 | ||||
| July 2025 | 8,295 | 8,485 | 59 | 26,138 | ||||
| August 2025 | 9,416 | 11,195 | 70 | 24,359 | ||||
| September 2025 | 6,095 | 7,902 | 76 | 23,552 | ||||
| October 2025 | 6,176 | 20,344 | 1,686 | 8,751 | 45 | 79 | 10,252 | 34,587 |
| November 2025 | 7,833 | 23,393 | 4,363 | 8,707 | 38 | 66 | 13,835 | 48,396 |
| December 2025 | 6,055 | 13,174 | 3,506 | 9,428 | 40 | 67 | 15,295 | 50,566 |
Retirement Services is working on establishing a fully digital application process. In conjunction with various agencies and payroll offices, efforts are being made to modernize outdated procedures. Despite this shift, many new severance claims are still being submitted in writing.
- In December, 13,174 new severance claims were received, with 6,055 being digital and 7,119 paper.
- Processing digital claims should be quicker because systematic data checks can minimize delays caused by incomplete information.
- During December, 9,428 claims were processed, with 3,506 being digital and 5,922 paper.
- Average processing times showed digital claims took about 40 days, while paper claims required around 81 days.
