"OPM received 10,183 new claims in March, more than double the 5,000 applications the agency expected to come in last month. Still, OPM managed to reduce the claims backlog by 11 percent between February and March, processing 14,683 claims during that time. The backlog now stands at 36,603 retirement claims -- a 40 percent reduction since January 2012, but a 1.5 percent increase from January 2013."  MORE >>