An injury can permanently incapacitate you, making it virtually impossible to return to work as a federal worker, or for your employing agency to find you a similar position in the same department, or within the same commuting radius. In such cases, applying for federal employee retirement disability is a good idea and what will work for you long-term. In this post, we’ll provide you with a short overview of the process as well as the pitfalls to avoid in order to streamline the process for you from start to finish.
Are you an injured federal worker looking for extra help on the FERS disability process? Instead of going it alone, or scouring the information for advice which may not be applicable to your case, give us a call at 1-855-233-3002. Our best federal disability attorneys have over two decades of experience helping postal workers, and those in other arms of government either apply for federal disability benefits or have their claims looked over in the form of an appeal if an earlier application was rejected. Please call 1-855-233-3002 NOW to speak with a best injured federal worker attorney for free to learn more about your legal options.
In order to become eligible for FERS disability, you must:
- Have a disability that is anticipated to last for a minimum of a full calendar year
- You must have worked for the federal government for a period of 18 months under the federal civilian service.
- You must have suffered an injury or disease that is so severe to make it impossible for you to continue on in federal government as a productive federal worker.
- Your employing agency must attest to the fact that it cannot accommodate you on account of your injury or condition, and that there aren’t any other positions within the agency that provide a similar pay grade, that fit your qualifications that you can take up.
- You, or someone else acting as a guardian, must apply for FERS disability before you leave federal service or within a year after doing so. Send the application to OPM or your agency within the said time period.
- In order to become eligible for FERS disability, you must apply for benefits under social security disability.
OPM Disability Forms – Which Ones Do I Need?
The forms of FERS disability can be found here and here. In case you’re over the age of 62 at the time of applying for FERS disability benefits, you’ll need to send in documentation to prove that you applied for social security disability benefits prior to applying for the former.
Need Free, Expert Help? Call Us Now!
There’s so much we can’t touch on in this post when it comes to FERS disability such as compensation calculations and the importance of keeping up with medical exams as a compensation beneficiary. As such, we’d like to invite you to call us at 1-855-233-3002 to speak with our best FERS disability attorney, at length, regarding the specifics of your case. The call is free, and there’s no obligation on your part. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you.