GI Bill recipients are waiting longer than three weeks on average to receive housing benefits this fall.

There were 158,922 pending claims as of Monday at the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to an agency spokesman -- a 51 percent increase over the same time last year. The backlog has decreased in recent days, the spokesman said, but the VA expects a higher than normal backlog through the rest of the year.

The VA notified students of the exceedingly long wait times in an email last week, according to Military Times. IT challenges at the agency as well as a delayed implementation of the Forever GI Bill, which was passed last year, are among the contributing factors behind the backlog.

Paul Lawrence, the VA’s under secretary for benefits, will host a webcast on ongoing work at the agency Tuesday.