The Office of Personnel Management continued to draw down its retirement claims backlog in May, but its inventory remains higher than the agency’s benchmark.

OPM received 7,692 new claims in May — a less-than-1 percent decrease from what it had received in April, and the 10th highest volume of new claims in a given month since October 2014.

OPM cut its backlog down to 14,053 claims, a 3 percent decrease since last month. Its inventory now stands at its fifth lowest point in the past 20 months. That progress, however, still falls short of the “steady state” line of 13,000 claims that OPM recently added to this month’s report.

May’s numbers continue the data trend indicating that OPM has gotten a handle on its inventory backlog, which surged in January, typically the month that most federal employees file for retirement.

In its year-to-date numbers, OPM reported that it processed 80 percent of its claims in 60 days or less. In April, OPM processed 75 percent of its claims in 60 days or less.

For cases processed under 60 days, OPM said the average number of days it took to process a case was 37. For cases processed over 60 days, the average number of days it took to process a case was 103.

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