Q: If you were a Federal Employees Retirement System dual status federal technician in the Air National Guard and
were non-retained at age 50 with 28 years of service (discontinued service retirement), can you qualify for disability retirement if you have a disabling condition? Or must you take the standard FERS 1 percent high-3 retirement?
A: If you are involuntarily separated from technician service after reaching age 50 and having 25 years of service, you are entitled to an immediate annuity, which would be computed using the standard FERS formula. If that separation is due to a disability that disqualifies you from membership in a reserve component or from holding your military grade, you may retire under the disability provisions as long as you aren’t appointed to another position in the federal government of have declined an offer of a position at the same grade or pay within your agency’s commuting area.
