OPM Disability Retirement: SSDI Approval as a Special Case

In preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS, there are multiple discretionary decisions which must be made in preparing a paper presentation to the Office of Personnel Management.  For instance, should determinations made by Second-Opinion or Referee doctors in a case which concurrently involves OWCP issues be included in the submission?  Should VA ratings be part of the packet?  Should determinations by a private disability insurance company be included? Should a determination by the Social Security Administration — which often will come about when the packet has already been submitted to the Office of Personnel Management while awaiting a decision — be forwarded to OPM?  

In proving one’s eligibility for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, one must affirmatively prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one is eligible for the benefit.  That leaves much of the decision-making process regarding what information is relevant, helpful, pertinent and substantive, up to the Federal or Postal employee and/or his attorney to decide.  There are multiple details, and it is often in the minutiae and details which will win or lose a case.  Should all medical conditions be made a part of the packet?  

These are all discretionary issues to be decided, with the possible exception of Social Security.  Inasmuch as SSDI must be filed, and inasmuch as the statutory mandate is that SSDI and a FERS Disability Retirement annuity must be offset if both are approved, an approval by SSDI is a special case which is non-discretionary.  Not only must OPM be informed of its approval; under the case-law, it must be considered in the process of deciding upon a Federal Disability Retirement case.  Nevertheless, it still remains merely persuasive authority, and not determinative.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Disability Retirement: Social Security Filing

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