The backlog in Veterans Benefits Administration disability application processing continued to shrink in May, with the number of claims pending over 125 days reduced by 33,000 and the average days pending down by just 2.4 days.
May was the fourth consecutive month of progress after stalls in November and December of 2013.
Chart and table below detail changes month-to-month, week-to-week and year-over-year.
Data is take from the VBA’s weekly “Monday Morning Workload Reports” that track claims processing progress. We think monthly tracking is a better barometer of actual progress because it flattens out some of the temporary ups and downs the weekly reports reflect.
| CLAIMS PENDING | OVER 125 DAYS | % OVER 125 DAYS | AVG. DAYS PENDING | |
| End May | 539,222 | 277,026 | 51.40% | 163 |
| End Apr. | 563,379 | 310,180 | 55.10% | 165.4 |
| Change | -24,157 | -33,154 | -3.70 | -2.40 |
| YTD Change | -72,895 | -77,998 | -5.90 | -8.4 |
| End May 2013 | 778,425 | 530,325 | 68.10% | N/A |