The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released its June 2026 retirement processing statistics, providing encouraging news for federal employees planning to retire.
For the fourth consecutive month, OPM reduced its inventory of pending retirement applications. The backlog has fallen nearly 48% since reaching its 2026 high in February, even as the agency continues processing thousands of new retirement claims each month.
June also marked a historic milestone for federal retirement processing. After more than 65 years of relying on paper applications, OPM officially ended paper retirement processing and transitioned to its Online Retirement Application (ORA). The June report shows that nearly 80% of all new retirement claims are now submitted electronically, reflecting the federal government’s move toward a modern, digital retirement process.
Although retirees should not expect overnight changes in processing times, the combination of a declining backlog and expanded digital processing could represent meaningful progress for the retirement system.
June 2026 OPM Retirement Backlog at a Glance
OPM’s latest monthly report shows the agency continuing to make progress after an unusually heavy wave of retirement applications early in 2026.
What the Numbers Tell Us
Several trends stand out from June’s report.
First, OPM processed 4,088 more retirement applications than it received during the month, allowing the backlog to continue shrinking.
Second, new retirement claims continued to moderate following the surge earlier this year. OPM received 8,663 new applications in June — less than one-third of the 31,240 claims received in February.
Most notably, the backlog has declined from 65,237 pending applications in February to 33,851 in June, a reduction of 31,386 cases, or approximately 48%, in just four months. For federal employees approaching retirement, this suggests that OPM is steadily working through the large inventory created during the early-2026 retirement surge.
The Backlog Is Improving, But Processing Times Remain Elevated
Although the backlog continues to shrink, retirees should understand that a smaller inventory does not automatically translate into significantly faster retirement processing.
OPM reported an average processing time of 108 days for retirement applications in June, compared with 87 days in May. This may seem surprising, but it reflects how retirement processing works. As OPM works through older or more complex retirement cases, average processing times can remain elevated even while the total backlog declines.
Each retirement application is unique. Factors such as military service deposits, survivor benefit elections, court orders, and incomplete documentation can all extend the time needed to finalize an annuity.
Digital Retirement Processing Is Becoming the New Standard
June’s report also highlights how quickly OPM’s modernization effort is changing the retirement process.
Following OPM’s announcement ending paper retirement processing, the agency’s Online Retirement Application has rapidly become the primary method for submitting retirement claims.
In June, nearly four out of every five retirement applications were submitted electronically. That’s an important milestone because digital applications are designed to reduce paperwork errors, eliminate mailing delays, validate required information before submission, and streamline communication between employing agencies and OPM.
While it’s too early to measure the long-term impact of the new system, digital retirement processing is clearly becoming the standard for federal employees.
Digital Cases Continue to Move Faster
OPM’s June report also compares the performance of digital retirement applications with retirement claims overall.
Even as average processing times increased during the spring, digital retirement applications continued to be processed more quickly than the overall average. In June, digital claims averaged 96 days, compared with 108 days across all retirement applications. Although the difference is modest, it suggests that electronic processing may help improve efficiency as more agencies transition to the Online Retirement Application.