Q. I work for the U.S. Postal service and I’m applying for disability retirement. Re: the high 3 year average. ,y pay rate is $58,350 for 2017. For the last 3 or 4 years I’ve been using LWOP a lot and my yearly income has hovered around $40,000 a year. Do they use my pay rate of $58,350 (it was around $58,000 for 3 consecutive years) or do they use the $40,000 figure to arrive at the 3 year average? In other words, would LWOP effect my disability retirement income? Thanks for any help.
A. Your high-3 will be based on the average of your highest three consecutive years of pay, regardless of when they occurred in your career.
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The reader should also see this answer to a previous question.
A. An employee may take up to six months of leave without pay in a calendar year without it affecting either his/her length of service or High-3. Any leave that exceeds six months isn’t creditable for any purpose. For more information, go to http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/leave-without-pay.
I retired as a letter carrier April 29, 2016. I was very sick for the past four years and LWOPed a lot…. my pay did the same exact thing; but, I made it to age 56 and retired immediately. I retired regular FERS with 33 years which included 10.8
military service. My SRS was only $685 a month because HR & I failed to understand that the SRS is determined by the amount of years served at the Postal Service. I was just approved for SSDI which will have no effect on my Regular FERS retirement. However, if you retire FERS disability, there will be a huge offset. I have a friend who only gets her SSDI and no retirement. In a sense, that is good because the SSDI is not taxed, but, IF u can struggle through to meet your minimum retirement age, I recommend that highly. Transfer within the Postal Service and get an easier job.