Federal Disability Retirement is a retirement; it is not a temporary method of compensation, and unlike OWCP under the Federal Employee’s Compensation Act (FECA), one is actually separated from Federal Service shortly after receiving an approval from the Office of Personnel Management.
Once the Federal or Postal employee obtains a Federal Disability Retirement approval, there is no “turning back” for employment or position rights; one does not have a preemptive or superior right to go back to one’s agency, anymore than a person who applies for a Federal or Postal job as a new hire.
That is why, as part of the administrative process and requirement in the filing of Standard Forms, one must include SF 3107 (for FERS disability retirement applicants) or SF 2801 (for CSRS disability retirement applicants) — the “Immediate Application for Retirement”, where much personal information is requested, including information on one’s spouse, data on health insurance, life insurance, past military service, etc.
While it is true that the Federal Disability Retirement annuity becomes recalculated and re-characterized as “regular retirement” at age 62, based upon the number of years of total Federal Service — including those years on Federal Disability Retirement (which is why switching from OWCP to OPM Disability Retirement can be beneficial in the long run, as opposed to the lesser monetary amount for the short term) — it is nevertheless a retirement in every sense of the word: one is separated from Federal Service; one receives an annuity; there is no future expectation of rehabilitation and return to work, etc.
It is not a short-term process of rehabilitation and compensation, and therefore when the Federal or Postal employee begins to prepare, formulate, and file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, one should be fully aware that in the very term, “Federal Disability Retirement”, it is a compensatory benefit based upon three (3) factors: It is for Federal/Postal employees; it is based upon a medical condition or disability; and it is a retirement. As the age-old adage goes: If it walks and acts like a duck, then it must be one.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Clarifications of Laws or Rules | Tagged: attorney representing federal workers for disability throughout the united states, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, Federal Disability, federal disability retirement, federal disability retirement is all about long-term medical recovery and financial planning, federal employees long-term compensation non job related, FERS disability lawyer, FERS disability retirement, if keeping workers comp makes sense in the long term, law firm representing clients in opm disability law all across america, legal services for federal and postal workers all across america, long-term disability compensation for postal worker, long-term security of the Federal and Postal employee, nationwide representation of federal employees, not medical recovery and return to work federal employment, one main characteristic of federal disability retirement: It is retirement, OPM disability retirement, opm disability retirement is not sick leave or a temporarily rehabilitation system, owcp and unable to return to work, owcp disability retirement, Postal disability, postal service disability retirement, representing federal employees from any us government agency, resources for injured federal workers, time on federal disability retirement works for computer regular retirement with the federal government, understanding differences between workers comp and opm disability, understanding federal disability retirement, usps disability is a long-term disability program but not total disability either, what is federal disability retirement?, what to do if I can't return to work after secop opinion, what's the difference between opm disability and workers comp? |
Leave a Reply