Q. I have been on FERS disability retirement since September 2007. If I am found recovered, does time on FERS disability count toward total service? If so, it will give me 31 years of service. I am 56, which is my minimum retirement age. Can I retire with regular FERS annuity?
A. No, you can’t. Time spent on disability retirement isn’t considered to be creditable service for any purpose.
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So if that is true – can you explain this statement that comes from the OPM Phamplet.
When you reach age 62
Your annuity will be recomputed using an amount that essentially represents the annuity you would have received if you had continued working until the day before your 62nd birthday and then retired under FERS.
There are different rules governing the annuity of someone who is found to have recovered from a disability and someone who remains on disability until age 62, when the disability annuity is converted to a regular annuity.
You wrote that disability retirement does not constitute creditable service for regular retirement if you recover from your disability before age 62. If you lose your disability retirement annuity because you regain earning capacity and not because of recovery from disability then would the time on disability retirement be creditable service toward deferred or regular fers retirement? If so, do you have to prove you remained disabled between regaining earning capacity and applying for retirement benefits at 62?
As a rule, OPM will require evidence that you are still disabled.
Yes, it can be reinstated if your earnings fall below the 80 percent level and you are still deemed to disabled.