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    • Accommodation and Light Duty (40)
    • Advantages of Federal Disability Retirement (27)
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    • Evaluation Of Your OPM Disability Claim – How Do I Know If I Have A Strong Case? (17)
    • Fables, Stories and Analogies about CSRS and FERS Medical Retirement Benefits (64)
    • Federal Disability Judge-Made Decisions Quoted (35)
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    • Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time (49)
    • Life after Federal Disability Retirement (21)
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Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Disability Retirement: Further SSDI Considerations

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

In filing for Federal or Postal Disability Retirement under FERS, one must, of course, file for SSDI.  Whether you want to pursue SSDI aggressively or not, depends upon what one’s future plans will be.  Remember that you can make (in addition to the disability annuity paid) up to 80% of what one’s former Federal or Postal job currently pays. 

Thus, take the following hypothetical:  An individual makes $60,000.00 per year, and files for Disability Retirement under FERS.  In the first year, the individual’s annuity would be $36,000; and every year thereafter, it would be $24,000.00.  On top of that annuity amount, however, the former Federal or Postal employee could go out and become employed, and make up to $48,000.00 per year at another job, on top of the $24,000.00 in disability annuity, for a combined income of $72,000.00. 

Now, some might be critical of the fact that under the rules governing OPM Disability Retirement, one can actually make more total income — 120% — than before becoming qualified for FERS Disability Retirement.  Some have called this a “windfall”.  Instead, one should look at it this way:  it is a thoughtful paradigm, because the system encourages a person to become productive in some other capacity.  Moreover, that person further contributes to the system which he or she left, by paying Federal taxes through the “other” employment.  Incentives work, and in this case, it makes economic sense for both the Federal government and for the disabled former federal or postal employee.

Sincerely, Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: OPM Disability & SSA Social Security Disability Benefits | Tagged: a hypothetical fers disability retirement example, am I allowed to work with fers disability retirement?, can I work after opm disability retirement?, disability retirement at the USPS, disabled federal employees: deciding to pursue social security disability, does federal disability retirement makes sense from a financial perspective?, federal disability and social security disability retirement, federal disability law blog, federal employee disability, fers and ssi, fers disability and social security disability insurance ssdi, fers disability and ssi disability, FERS disability attorney, fers disability blog, FERS disability lawyer, fers disability pension rules, fers retirement social security, financial matters in federal employee disability retirement, How much money I can make working under FERS Disability Retirement?, important financial considerations in opm disability retirement, incentive to work under fers disability retirement, medical fers retirement, money considerations for injured/disabled federal employees, money is also a concern for fers disability retirees, nationwide representation of federal employees, opm disability and social security disability, opm disability and social security eligibility, opm disability and social security income considerations, OPM disability lawyer, opm disability retirement with ssdi and employment considerations, opm social security, postal and social security disability, Social Security and OPM disability relationship, social security disability for postal workers, ss and fers disability, ssdi and fers disability, the ssa requirement in fers disability retirement, USPS disability retirement, usps worker & social security disability, what fers disability annuitants should consider before pushing for ssdi, whether it makes sense to get both opm and social security disability retirement | Leave a comment »

  • More on CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement

    • eZineArticles.com Article: The 1 Year Statute of Limitations
    • Federal Disability Retirement Laws, Medical Conditions, and the Intersecting Complications with OWCP, Social Security and FERS & CSRS
    • Federal Disability Retirement: The Full Arsenal of Weapons
    • FedSmith.com Article: Revisiting "Accommodation"
    • FedSmith.com Article: Sometimes the Process is just as important as the Substance of an Argument
    • Latest PostalReporter.com Article: Causation in a Federal Disability Retirement Case
    • Understanding the Complexities of the Law
    • USPS Disability Blog: The National Reassessment Program, the Agency and the Worker
  • Other Resources for Federal and Postal Employees

    • Articles Published in the Postal Reporter
    • FAQs on OPM Disability Retirement
    • FERS Disability Attorney Profile at Lawyers.com
    • Main Website on Federal Disability Retirement
    • OPM Disability Blog
    • The Postal Service Disability Retirement Blog
  • Seven False Myths about OPM Disability Retirement

    1) I have to be totally disabled to get Postal or Federal disability retirement.
    False: You are eligible for disability retirement so long as you are unable to perform one or more of the essential elements of your job.  Thus, it is a much lower standard of disability. 

    2) My injury or illness has to be job-related.
    False: You can get disability even if your condition is not work related.  If your medical condition impacts your ability to perform any of the core elements of your job, you are eligible, regardless of how or where your condition occurred.

    3) I have to quit my federal job first to get disability.
    False: In most cases, you can apply while continuing to work at your present job, to the extent you are able.  

    4) I can't get disability if I suffer from a mental or nervous condition.
    False: If your condition affects your job performance, you can still qualify. Psychiatric conditions are treated no differently from physical conditions.

    5) Disability retirement is approved by DOL Workers Comp.
    False: It's the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the federal agency that administers and approves disability for employees at the US Postal Service or other federal agencies.

    6) I can wait for OPM disability retirement for many years after separation.
    False: You only have one year from the date of separation from service - otherwise, you lose your right forever.

    7) If I get disability retirement, I won't be able to apply for Scheduled Award (SA).
    False: You can get a Scheduled Award under the rules of OWCP even after you get approved for OPM disability retirement.
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