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    • Accommodation and Light Duty (40)
    • Advantages of Federal Disability Retirement (27)
    • Agency’s and/or Supervisor’s Actions (44)
    • Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM (44)
    • Burden of Proof (30)
    • Clarifications of Laws or Rules (161)
    • CSRS Disability (1)
    • Eligibility Criteria (18)
    • Evaluation Of Your OPM Disability Claim – How Do I Know If I Have A Strong Case? (18)
    • Fables, Stories and Analogies about CSRS and FERS Medical Retirement Benefits (79)
    • Federal Disability Judge-Made Decisions Quoted (35)
    • FERS Disability (10)
    • Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time (49)
    • Life after Federal Disability Retirement (21)
    • LWOP and Sick Leave in OPM Disability (12)
    • Mental/Nervous Condition (49)
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    • OPM Disability & OWCP Workers Comp Filings (45)
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Federal Disability Retirement: Social Security Filing

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

I have received numerous telephone calls which indicate that there are many people who are confused, misinformed, or ill-informed about the issue of Social Security disability, filing for it, when to file for it, etc., in conjunction with filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS (obviously, if you are under CSRS, you do not need to file for it).  For informational purposes, here is the bottom line:  Whether or not you plan to actually qualify for Social Security disability benefits, the only concern with respect to meeting the requirement for the Office of Personnel Management, as part of the FERS disability retirement application, is as follows:  OPM really doesn’t care when you file, so long as you have filed and show a receipt on or before the day they approve your disability retirement application. 

Thus, many people will tell me that they were “informed” by their Human Resources personnel that they must file with Social Security first before they can file for OPM disability retirement under FERS (not true); or, that they must have a decision by Social Security before they can file under FERS (even more untrue); or, that OPM will not even look at a federal disability retirement application unless you have first filed with Social Security (again, untrue).  The bottom line:  Yes, you must file for Social Security, but OPM doesn’t need to see a receipt showing that you filed, until the day they approve your OPM disability retirement application.  So, sometime before the Federal Disability Retirement application gets to OPM, or, in those cases where one has procrastinated for too long, even after the application gets to OPM, you need to file for Social Security disability benefits, and have a receipt ready to show OPM.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, OPM Disability & SSA Social Security Disability Benefits | Tagged: any ssa disability retirement requirement for the csrs disability application?, are you a fed employee with questions about workers disability compensation?, civil service disability, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, do I have to "qualify" for social security before getting any opm disability benefits?, even if you are not fully disable on the job federal, federal disability attorney, federal disability law blog, federal employee disability, federal government employee medical retirement, federal medical retirement benefits, federal worker retirement eligible, fers disability and social security disability insurance ssdi, FERS disability lawyer, FERS disability retirement, FERS medical retirement, fers retirement social security, if I apply for csrs disability retirement do I also need to file for social security?, if there is any ssi or ssd insurance requirement in opm disabiliy law, is it a "qualification" or just an "application" requirement for ssa disability?, is there a requirement to apply for social security disability in csrs disability?, is there any rules under fers that also apply for ssdi?, more questions about the fers and ssd disability process, nationwide representation of federal employees, opm disability and social security disability, OPM disability attorney, OPM disability lawyer, OPM disability retirement, OPM lawyer, owcp disability retirement really is usually meant "opm disability retirement", postal and social security disability, Postal disability retirement, postal employee retirement assistants, postal service disability retirement, questions about the about the fers and social security disability ssi process, representing federal employees from any us government agency, representing federal employees in and outside the country, should I apply for social security disability before even applying for opm disability?, shouldn't I just have to "apply" for ssd insurance in order to get postal disability benefits?, shouldn't the ssa reach a decision first about my ssd before I file for opm disability?, social security disability award and fers, social security disability compensation for opm disability retirees, social security filing requirement for fers not for csrs, USPS disability retirement, USPS disability retirement benefits | 2 Comments »

  • More on 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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