Q: I’ve been on civil service disability retirement (OPM) since December 2004. Must I continue going in once a year to the doctor for a new ca-17? I’m never going to get better physically to where I can go back to work. I’ll be 61 this August 26. Will I lose my disability monthly income if I don’t get the ca-17 anymore? I did read where OPM doesn’t require you to schedule a medical evaluation after age 60, so would that also mean that unless your physically healthy enough to go back to work you would still receive your disability checks and not have to see the doctor unless you had a problem?
A: Periodic medical exams are only required until age 60. If you are a CSRS retiree who is still disabled at that time, your disability annuity will continue. if you are a FERS retiree, at age 62, when you become eligible for a Social Security benefit, your disability annuity will be recomputed as if you’d been working until age 62 and converted into a regular annuity.
