Q: My husband is a federal employee working for OPM under FERS. We cannot find any reference to long-term disability insurance. Is LTD standard with FERS? If so, is there a link to the policy description/handbook? Also, I heard that the program only kicks in after a year of disability and falls to 40 percent in second and subsequent years. Is there some sort of supplemental insurance that is recommended? A: The federal government doesn’t provide short- or long-term disability insurance to its employees. What it does provide is disability retirement to anyone who qualifies. To find out who can…
Browsing: Disability retirement
Q: I am a 37-year-old female with 11 years of federal service in law enforcement. Because I am unable to medically participate in defensive tactics/firearms training, I am being separated from service (unfit for duty). I have applied for disability and immediate retirement, but I am allowed to continue working pending OPM’s decision on whether to grant benefits. I have been denied Social Security disability because I remain employed at a relatively high salary. Hypothetically, please assume OPM’s decision is favorable and I am officially separated from service and have already reapplied for Social Security disability … can I apply…
Q: I’m a dual-status federal/military technician in the Air National Guard. I have eight years of active duty with the remainder in the ANG for a combined total of just more than 20 years of military service. I’m going before a medical board because of service-connected disabilities (VA rated at 70 percent). Soon after the board, I will be separated from the ANG and retire from my technician position on FERS disability. Assuming my military disability rating will come back at 30 percent or more, will I be eligible for immediate concurrent receipt of all military disability pay, VA disability…
Q: Which is better and what are the advantages of taking a FERS disability retirement or a VERA. I am eligible for both but want to take the one most advantageous to me. I am a 26-year employee suffering from Parkinson’s disease and am going to retire either way. A: I’ll give you the formulas, you can do the math. However, I’ll include a couple of facts along the way that may help you to decide which is better. If you accept an offer of early retirement, your FERS annuity will be calculated as follows: 0.01 x your high-3 x…
In my Aug. 15 column, I went over the basic criteria that determine disability retirement eligibility. In this column, I’ll explain how disability annuities are calculated. Under CSRS If you are a Civil Service Retirement System employee, your annuity will be the higher of your earned annuity or a guaranteed minimum annuity. Your earned annuity, as with any other CSRS annuity, is the sum of three factors: 1.5 percent of the average of your highest three consecutive annual salaries, your high-three, multiplied by five years of service; plus 1.75 percent of your high-three, multiplied by five more years of service;…
Q. I served as an Air National Guard full-time WG-12 technician from March 1993 until January 2003 when I was found no longer medically eligible to serve in the military capacity that is a prerequisite to holding a job as a civil service technician. I performed the same duties when doing military time as I did as a FERS employee but was given an OPM disability retirement because I lost my military status. I learned today that there is a special retirement supplement to disability payments for law enforcement and military reserve technicians that is intended to bridge the income…
Q. I am a former CSRS employee who is receiving disability retirement from the government. I just turned 55. Will this change to regular retirement? ( I had the 30-year requirement).) If so, what is the difference? A. As a disability retiree under CSRS, you will continue to have to provide proof of your disability until age 60. At that point, you will be considered to be permanently disabled. Your disability annuity won’t be changed to a regular annuity.
Q: I am a former CSRS employee who is receiving disability retirement from the government. I just turned 55. Will this change to regular retirement (I had the 30 year requirement). If so, what is the difference? A: As a disability retiree under CSRS, you will continue to have to provide proof of your disability until age 60. At that point, you will be considered permanently disabled. Your disability annuity won’t be changed to a regular annuity.
Q: I served in the Air National Guard full-time WG-12 technician from March 1993 until January 2003 when I was deemed medically ineligible. I performed the same duties when doing military time as I did as a FERS employee but was given an OPM disability retirement because I lost my military status. I learned that there is Special Retirement Supplement to disability payments for law enforcement and military reserve technicians which is intended to bridge the income gap until Social Security eligibility is reached. Should I have been receiving this supplemental pay for the past eight years and would a…
Q: If I pay about $4,000 I will have my 12 years of military service counted. I got hurt at my federal job, and I am thinking about asking for FERS disability. The problem is, I am a month shy of the 18 months required. Can I only pay a portion of the $4,000 (to have the month required), or do I have to pay the whole amount? Are we allowed to just pay part of the buyback money? A: First, you have to have 18 months of creditable civilian service under FERS to be eligible to apply for disability…