Q: My husband injured his back in 2007. We have been struggling with his claim. We finally got a letter stating he was approved. The letter says we have to choose the Office of Workers’ Compensation Program or the Office of Personnel Management program. He is FERS and is 59 years old. He is getting retirement until his disability was approved and also is getting Social Security disability. They want us to sign the form indicating which one we choose, but when we call the office, they say they cannot help answer any questions until we sign the form. How do we know which to choose? For example, say he was getting $1,500 from retirement, which includes $600 supplemental, Social Security (because of mandatory retirement for fire fighters at age 57), and $2,000 from Social Security disability. They are giving us a figure of $3,500 from OWCP. My question is, does he loose his Social Security disability?
A: If he accepts OWCP benefits, his Social Security disability benefit will be reduced by the amount of his OWCP benefit.
