I still get calls by people who state that (A) they are waiting for a year before they are going to file for FERS or CSRS disability retirement, (B) It hasn’t been a year since they have been on LWOP, but it almost will be, or (C) They are waiting to be terminated so that their year will begin. Quiz: Which of the above (A, B or C) is the correct basis upon which to decide to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits? Answer: None of the Above.
Since OPM disability retirement can take anywhere from 6 – 8, sometimes 10 months to get (beginning the time-sequence from the time a doctor is contacted to provide a medical report, to putting the entire packet together, to getting it to the Agency Human Resources Personnel, to getting it to Boyers, PA, to getting it to Washington, D.C., to getting an initial approval, etc.), it is: A. Not a good idea to “wait a year” because there is no reason to wait; B. You don’t need to wait a year on LWOP to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, and: C. You don’t need to get terminated, or separated from Federal Service, in order to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.
Let me re-emphasize: The “1-year rule” has to do with the following: A. You have one (1) year from the date you are separated from Federal Service to file for disability retirement — but you can file at any time, whether separated or not, as long as it is not after 1 year after being separated from service. B. Your medical condition must be expected to last for a minimum of 12 months — but your treating doctor should be able to tell quite easily whether or not the medical condition for which you are being treated will last that long — normally within a couple of months of treatment.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Clarifications of Laws or Rules, OPM Disability Actors - The Applicant, OPM Disability Application, OPM Disability Process - 1st Stage: OPM Disability Application | Tagged: 1-year OPM disability rule, choices for an ill postal worker, department of treasury employees disability retirement, disabling condition should last one year for opm law to apply, does it make sense to be one year on lwop to file?, federal disability retirement benefits, federal disability retirement blog, federal government one year lwop, FERS disability retirement, fers disability retirement representation for Nevada workers, future of limited duty us postal employees, how long does it take to get opm disability?, how long the federal disability process last?, is it advantageous to wait to be terminated from federal agency?, long lwop for an injury or illness, medical condition must last one year, medical report from treating physicians for fers disability claim, medical retirement from federal service, no light duty jobs in the usps with the recession, one year separated from service opm rule, opm disability for bop employees, opm disability retirement for doi interior employees, opm disability retirement representation in utah, OPM in Boyers PA, overcoming fear of an uncertain financial future, postal employee career choices, separated from service, separation while in federal workers comp, some confusion about opm disability retirement, taking charge of your future after fers disability, terminated from federal job, the opm disability retirement time-frame, time to change careers, time/process issues in OPM disability retirement, uncertain future for the injured federal worker, understanding each stage of the OPM disability retirement process, understanding how the OPM operates, USPS disability retirement benefits, usps request or notification of absence, usps separation, when medical retirement is the only option for a federal employee, when should I file for federal disability retirement? | Leave a comment »