After placing an application for federal retirement compensation through your agency, OPM will notify you regarding whether or not it’s been approved. Approval is usually based off a couple of things such as your agency letting OPM know about the stopping of your pay, and whether or not OPM has a copy of your receipt for application for social security disability benefits. However, there’s a period of time where everything will be up in the air, fostering an atmosphere of anxiety and uncertainty. OPM usually issues something called interim payments which will help you tide over until you start receiving your federal retirement benefits proper.
Thinking of filing a claim for federal disability benefits, or was your claim denied? Contact us today on 1-855-233-3002 for free legal help and process facilitation.
How Long Does It Take for OPM to Approve My Claim?
OPM has historically taken anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months to approve an application for federal retirement benefits. This is due to the backlog of claims they have to deal with at any given time as well as legal issues within the court system. However, you should typically start to receive interim payments a few weeks after all documents have been received by them.
What is The OPM Interim Payment?
Interim payment is basically a stipend that you can use for personal upkeep until a time when your benefits kick in. this amount is usually 80 percent of what you would normally receive as benefits. That being said, it gets whittled down by a number of things such as administrative fees, court orders and Social Security deductions.
Interim Payment Overpayment
A lot of time, you may receive interim payments that may seem excessive. That is to say, you may receive an overpayment. Make no mistake, the OPM will double back and ask that you repay this amount once they check their records and notice the mistake. As a reminder, any mistake on their part is usually penalized via garnishing future payments and your case file manager asking you why you never spoke up when you first discovered the mistake. Having said that, you have the legal right to appeal an overpayment penalty, but a lot of people don’t know about this, making the services of a good federal disability attorney indispensable.
Worried about interim payments? Please contact one of our federal disability lawyers today on 1-855-233-3002 for timely and free legal help.