Veterans Benefits Attorney Chris Attig discusses General Shinseki’s commitment to fix the Veterans disability benefits system.

In some situations,  OPM will grant your FERS or CERS disability retirement benefits, and later, make a determination that you are restored to earning capacity. At that point, they will stop paying your federal disability retirement benefits.

Many times, this happens in the case of annuities granted for mental health conditions like depression, PTSD, anxiety or stress disorders, etc.  The annuitant, after treatment, may see his or her condition temporarily improve, only to return to its disabling state at a later [...]

The subject of today’s post is whether obesity, or morbid obesity, might qualify you for FERS or CSRS Disability retirement through OPM.

Obesity is a well-recognized medical condition.  Unfortunately, too many  MSPB judges view this condition as one that is the “fault” of the person with obesity.   Medical experts have identified hundreds of medical conditions, or physical or genetic factors, which can cause obesity, including: reduced metabolic rates, pituitary gland disease, pituitary gland tumors, underactive thyroid, Prader-Willi syndrome, Stein-Leventhal syndrome, Frohlich [...]

Can  OPM deny a federal disability retirement application to a postal worker or federal employee on the grounds that they entered Federal Civil Service with a pre-existing condition?

In some unique situations,  OPM may be able to, so long as their decision does not lead to an absurd result.  In Davis v. OPM, 64 MSPR 1, 4 (1994), the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) reminded practitioners that where an appellant enters Federal service with a pre-existing medical condition, he or she will [...]