Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: Medical Conditions

In filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, it is important to note that the Office of Personnel Management will often argue that the mere fact that a person suffers from a medical condition is not in and of itself a basis for granting disability retirement benefits.  So far as such a statement goes, the Office of Personnel Management is correct on the laws governing the eligibility criteria for Federal Disability Retirements (which is rare in and of itself).  Having a medical condition is not a sufficient cause in granting a Disability Retirement benefit.  As it is often argued in the world of philosophy, it is a necessary cause, but not a sufficient one.  In other words, one must indeed suffer from a medical condition (it is thus a “necessary cause”); however, suffering from a medical condition is not sufficient in and of itself to qualify for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS (it is not a “sufficient cause”).  One must, beyond having a necessary cause, prove that the medical condition is also the source and impact upon one’s inability to perform one’s job.  Thus, to the limited extent of its truth, suffering from a medical condition is indeed insufficient to obtain an approval from the Office of Personnel Management; it is not “proof enough” in and of itself.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire