As noted previously, the issue of whether or not OPM needs to recalculate one’s FERS Disability Retirement annuity upon losing one’s SSDI benefits should now be resolved.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has been arguing for years, if not decades, that despite losing SSDI payments because the recipient has engaged in substantial gainful activity, that no recalculation is in order because the annuitant is still technically “entitled” to the benefits.
The argument which the undersigned writer made before a 3-Judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, however, is the following: How can one “offset” something with nothing? As King Lear said to his daughter Cordelia when she refused to shower him with flowery praises of love, “Nothing comes from nothing”.
Whatever word-games one may engage in, one cannot offset an amount of zero against another amount. Further, since the FERS (and CSRS) Disability Retirement annuitant is allowed to make up to 80% of what one’s former position pays, it made absolutely no sense to penalize the individual who was receiving SSDI but loses it for making too much money, to not place him/her in the same position as one who never received SSDI.
Common sense seems to have prevailed.
The security of knowing that, in filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, the Courts will actually reverse a nonsensical position of a government agency, is indeed something to smile about.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Federal Disability Judge-Made Decisions Quoted, OPM Disability & SSA Social Security Disability Benefits, OPM Disability Process - 5th Stage: Federal Circuit Court of Appeals | Tagged: argumentation and interpretation in opm disability law, attorney representing federal workers for disability throughout the united states, decisions by the federal circuit court of appeals, experienced trial attorney in federal employee disability retirement cases, Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, federal disability case laws from the mspb and federal circuit court of appeals, federal disability law blog, federal employees considering ssdi and ssi, fers disability and social security disability insurance ssdi, FERS disability retirement, fers disability retirement not being fully restored after giving up ssdi, if the opm disability annuitant does really want ssdi, justice for Stephenson and other fers disability recipients, light duty federal employees and the social security, nationwide representation of federal employees, offset between social security and opm disability, opm disability and social security disability, opm ssdi offset, opm's interpretation of federal disability laws, opm's strange policies with former ssdi recipients, opm's unfair handling of former ssdi recipients, owcp disability retirement, postal service disability retirement, representing federal employees in and outside the country, ssdi, ssdi fdr offset, the latest information on the ssdi and opm disability offset, USPS disability retirement benefits, what happens when you are you are no longer ssdi recipient, when justice is served: the Stephenson case and a new opportunity to try again |
Great job Atty McGill. Thank God for your advocacy.