Federal Employee Disability Pension

We help federal employees who have applied for, but have been denied, disability benefits. The following is some basic information about these types of benefits.
To be eligible for these benefits, you need to meet all of the following conditions:

  • You completed at least 18 months of federal civilian service, which is creditable under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).
  • While employed in a position subject to the federal retirement system, you became disabled (due to disease or injury) and cannot provide useful and efficient service in your current position.
  • The disability is expected to last at least one year.
  • Your employing agency must certify that it
    • Is not able to accommodate your disability in your present position, and
    • Has considered you for any vacant position in the same agency at the same grade or pay level, within the same commuting area, for which you are qualified for reassignment.
  • You, your guardian or other interested person must apply before your separation from service or within one year thereafter, and the application must be received by either the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) or your former employing agency within one year of the date of your separation. This time limit can be waived only if you were mentally incompetent on the date of separation or within one year of this date.
  • You must apply for Social Security disability benefits. If the application for Social Security disability benefits is withdrawn for any reason, OPM will dismiss the FERS disability retirement application upon notification by the Social Security Administration.

If you qualify, you are entitled to an “earned” annuity computed under the Civil Service Retirement System general formula. The law guarantees a minimum annuity to those with disability benefits if they are under age 60 when they retire and their earned annuity based on their actual service is less than this minimum. The guaranteed minimum is the lesser of the following:

  • 40 percent of your “high-3 average salary,” or
  • The regular annuity obtained after increasing your service by the time between your retirement and your 60th birthday.

If you are approved for these benefits and you are under the age of 60, your benefits will stop if:

  • You are found to be medically recovered from your disabling condition (depending on your medical condition, you may have to periodically update OPM medical information in order to continue receiving benefits),
  • In any calendar year, your income from wages and self-employment is at least 80 percent of the current rate of basic pay for the position you retired from (or “restoration to earning capacity”), or
  • You are reemployed in the federal service in a position equivalent to what you held at retirement (or “administratively recovered”).

If your benefits stop, that doesn’t mean you can’t get them back.

  • If your disability benefit stopped because you recovered, your benefit can resume if the disability recurs and you do not exceed the 80 percent earnings limitation.
  • If your disability stopped because you exceeded the earnings limitation, your benefit can resume effective the first of the year after you no longer exceed the 80 percent earnings limit.

Contact Uliase & Uliase

If you have applied for, but have been denied, a federal employee disability pension, contact our office to discuss the reason for the denial and your potential appeal.

For an appointment with an experienced federal employee injury lawyer, contact our office online or call us at (856) 310-9002. We are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. We offer a free consultation for injured workers.