Q. I am a FERS employee and have a serious medical condition and was considering filing for disability retirement. I have not done so because of the uncertainty surrounding whether OPM would actually grant the application and, more importantly, because I have tried to maintain my employment as long as possible. My agency is not offering early retirement. Can a person dual-file an early-out application and a disability application? If so what are the pros and cons?
A. Yes, but you can apply for early retirement only if your agency has been approved to offer it and the offer applies to your position. On the other hand, you can apply for disability retirement at any time. If you do, you must also apply for Social Security disability benefits. If you don’t OPM won’t process your application.
