While thousands of federal employees filed for retirement in February, the Office of Personnel Management has seen a growing backlog due to the slower pace of processing this year, according to a new progress report from the agency.
OPM processed some 18,500 applications in January and February, the traditional peak months for new cases, compared to 27,900 during the same period last year, marking a 34 percent slowdown.
The agency ended last month with 23,600 unprocessed claims, up 86 percent compared to December 2013; the number of unprocessed claims during the same period last year rose by just 56 percent.
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OMP spokeswoman Lindsey O'Keefe said Friday that the wave of new retirees at the beginning of 2014 as well as changes in the law contributed to the rise in unprocessed claims.
But the agency has taken steps to improve the situation, reinstating overtime and normal call-center hours after cutting back on them for part of last year because of the across-the-board cuts in government spending known as the sequester.
It has also hired a contractor to support call-center operations and is training new employees to do customer service.
O'Keefe said she expected the backlog to drop significantly in the second quarter. The agency now hopes to reduce the number of outstanding claims to about 14,640 by May.
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