Claims Assistance and Examining
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Claims Assistance and Examining occupation series (code 0998), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Claims Assistance and Examining is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 925 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Legal and Kindred Group family. At an average salary of $67,330 it pays below the federal average of $117,339, and headcount declined 1.7% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 925
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- $67,330
- Avg tenure
- 18.9 yrs
FedScope read on Claims Assistance and Examining (dense series)
0.0% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Claims Assistance and Examining occupation (OPM code 0998): 925 people, headcount down -1.7% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
The average salary for Claims Assistance and Examining is $67,330 per year. Salaries moved down by -0.0% from the prior period, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. Average length of service in this role is 18.9 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
Claims Assistance and Examining sits inside the Legal and Kindred Group family (code 09), which contains 18 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Claims Assistance and Examining postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Legal and Kindred Group family.
Inside the Legal and Kindred Group family (18 occupations, 110,958 employees combined), Claims Assistance and Examining holds the #11 spot by headcount, a 0.8% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (12th percentile) of pay among Legal and Kindred Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Claims Assistance and Examining pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$67,330
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-42.6%
Where Claims Assistance and Examining ranks on lean federal pay
Its average salary of $67,330 is higher than 22% of federal occupation series (120 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Claims Assistance and Examining sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Claims Assistance and Examining ranks higher than 22%.
Related Occupations in Legal and Kindred Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Attorney | 35,986 | $177,921 | 13.6 yrs |
| Contact Representative | 29,201 | $64,454 | 9.3 yrs |
| Veterans Claims Examining | 18,099 | $92,511 | 13.3 yrs |
| General Legal and Kindred Administration | 8,711 | $82,876 | 12.3 yrs |
| Paralegal Specialist | 5,165 | $107,719 | 15.8 yrs |
| Legal Assistance | 3,326 | $69,159 | 12.5 yrs |
| Hearings and Appeals | 3,231 | n/a | 15.9 yrs |
| Passport and Visa Examining | 2,035 | $92,682 | 11.3 yrs |
| Legal Instruments Examining | 1,261 | $73,021 | 11.7 yrs |
| Administrative Law Judge | 1,189 | $208,642 | 20.7 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Claims Assistance and Examining outside the Legal and Kindred Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (925 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($67,330 here).
Key takeaways
- Claims Assistance and Examining pays below the federal average by 42.6% ($67,330 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 22nd percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 925 employees, 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 1.7% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Claims Assistance and Examining ranks #218 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Inside the Legal and Kindred Group family (18 occupations, 110,958 employees combined), Claims Assistance and Examining holds the #11 spot by headcount, a 0.8% share of the family total.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.