I have heard from a lot of  disability retirement applicants that they have been approved for Social Security disability but later denied  disability retirement by  OPM. Many of the applicants that call us are confused how this can be, so this blog will attempt to explain how this might happen – and what you can do about it.

The biggest reason that you might receive different decisions – a grant of Social Security disability but not  FERS disability retirement (or [...]

When an employee applies for disability retirement under CSRS or FERS, one of the elements that the employee must show is that the Agency is unable to accommodate him or her.

In order to prove this element, the agency must review all vacant positions under its jurisdiction at the same grade or pay level and tenure in the commuting area to determine if the employee meets the minimum qualification standards for any vacant position. [...]

In an earlier post, I suggested that the best way to be sure you are comfortable working with an attorney is to talk to as many as you can about your case. In doing this, it will be helpful to understand how attorneys charge fees.

1) Consultation Fee: This is a fee that most Firms charge to determine, initially, if your case is one that the Firm is interested in. Some firms do not charge consultation fees, some firms [...]

You receive the letter from OPM, open it, and find that OPM denied your application for disability retirement benefits under FERS/CSRS. Chances are, you’ll read the letter over and over, and the more you read it, the less sense it will make. What do you do?

At this point, your choices depend on what stage of the application you are at. If this is the first indication you have received that OPM [...]

Earlier, I posted about the process to seek waiver (or reduction of repayment schedule) of an overpayment of retirement benefits.

To give you an idea how this works in reality, I thought I’d break down a recent MSPB Initial Decision (San Francisco Regional Office, October 2008).

In that case, the Appellant received an overpayment of retirement benefits. She had applied, and was granted, disability retirement from OPM in 2004. It took until 2007 for her to receive [...]

How much will my disability retirement annuity be?

Generally speaking, your FERS disability retirement annuity will be 60% of your high-3 average salary minus 100% of your Social security benefit for the first 12 months. After 12 months, the FERS disability retirement annuity is reduced to 40% of your high-3 average salary minus 60% of your Social Security benefit. Please see the OPM Website for a chart that explains when this general computation [...]

Often times, Agencies persuade employees to settle their removal appeal by agreeing to alter the removal grounds so that the employee is removed for medical inability to perform the functions of their job.

Read more about this by clicking here.

In other situations, federal employees are advised that such a removal is almost a guaranteed basis for securing disability retirement. Generally, it is true that a Federal employee who [...]

Often we see letters from OPM denying an employee’s request for disability retirement based on the fact that there is no evidence that the disability resulted in any performance, conduct or attendance deficiencies. Usually, OPM’s analysis stops there.

However, this is not the only element that OPM must consider. When there is no performance. conduct or attendance deficiency, the relevant question is whether the appellant’s medical condition is incompatible with either useful and efficient service [...]

By far, this is the most common question that is asked during consultations.

The quick answer is “Yes, you should apply for both if you believe you are entitled to both”.  When I say “both”, I am referring to wage loss compensation benefits from  OWCP and federal disability retirement from  OPM.  If you are eligible for  federal disability retirement through  OPM, then apply for it. At the same time, if you are eligible for disability compensation from OWCP, apply for it.

However, you will not [...]

After reading a couple recent MSPB decisions, I thought it might be helpful to briefly address a less than well-known case in MSPB jurisprudence – the Bruner presumption. Bruner v. Office of Personnel Management, 996 F.2d 290 (Fed.Cir.1993).

When a Federal agency removes an employee for “medical inability to perform the essential functions of the job”, that employee is presumed to be eligible for disability retirement upon timely application to OPM.

Now, [...]