Q: When a person on Federal Employees Retirement System disability reaches age 62 and a recomputation is done, are the cost-of-living adjustments added to the “high-3” salary from the regular pay schedule or from the annuity COLA schedule? My high-3 was $47,116 when I became disabled in February 2004, and I turned 62 in June 2010. I live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I was under the impression that COLA was determined by the GS schedule and locality pay.
A: When you reach age 62, the time your spent on the disability annuity roll will be added to your actual service. The total time will then be multiplied by 1 percent. The product will then be multiplied by your high-3 at the onset of your disability, increased by all FERS cost-of-living adjustments payable from that time until age 62. Changes that may have occurred in the salary of your previous position after you retired won’t be used in this recomputation.
