Federal disability retirement benefits are available to all federal and postal workers who have a minimum number of years of federal service. For the Federal Worker or Postal Employee who is under the “old” system of Federal Service (under what is known as the Civil Service Retirement System), the minimum Federal Service requirement necessary to qualify for Retirement benefits Federal Disability is 5 years. Of course, each and every one of those under the Civil Service Retirement System will already have the minimum number of years needed, precisely because such Federal and Postal workers would have had to enter the Federal Service by at least 1986. For those under the “newer” of Federal Employment, known as the Federal Employees Retirement System, qualifying for Federal Disability Retirement benefits requires a minimum of 18 months of Federal Service.
Federal disability retirement benefits cannot be negotiated. It does not matter if a particular injury or medical condition is more serious than another. Under Federal Disability Retirement law, one does not determine the amount or scope of compensatory relief based on the severity of the injury or medical condition. In addition, the medical condition does not have to be work-related, or caused by an occupational hazard, or anything remotely related to one’s job or occupation. In fact, the injury or accident can occur while on vacation, at home one night, or on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
The requirements to qualify for federal disability retirement are complex and complicated. While it is not a requirement that the federal or postal employee necessarily have an attorney to handle the federal disability retirement application, it is strongly recommended that one be properly represented by a person who is knowledgeable about the entire administrative process. Because, ultimately, getting federal disability retirement benefits is an investment in one’s future. While initially paying 60% of the average of the previous position’s three highest consecutive years of service (federal or postal) for the first year of compensation, it then pays 40% of the average of the highest three consecutive years of service each year thereafter (until age 62, at which time the annuity is recalculated based on the total number of years of federal service, including any time the federal or postal employee spent receiving a federal disability retirement annuity ), there are clear economic advantages and differences with respect to other compensatory programs.
First, federal disability retirement differs from Social Security disability benefits in that the standard for qualifying is different and, by any objective standard, easier to meet. Therefore, while Social Security disability laws require that a person can no longer engage in what is known as “substantial gainful activity,” federal disability retirement simply requires a person to show that they can no longer perform a or more of the essential elements of one’s particular type of work. Simply put, Social Security has a legal standard for showing that one is essentially “totally disabled” (meaning one cannot work at any full-time job in any capacity), while Federal Disability Retirement only requires that the disability prevents you from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s particular type of federal or postal work.
Second, Federal Disability Retirement is different from Federal Workers’ Compensation benefits in that the former is a retirement system, while the latter is a means of trying to get the injured or medically disabled federal or postal worker to recover. recover to the point where he or she can return to his or her federal or postal job. Federal Workers’ Compensation, which is administered through the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, within the purview of the Department of Labor, is a compensation system designed to provide medical care, payment for temporary disability and through rehabilitation programs and close government supervision, to help the postal or federal worker during his period of injury to return to his original job or position. Conversely, when a Federal or Postal Worker qualifies for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, that Federal or Postal Worker separates from the Federal Service and “retires.” It is never intended that the federal or postal worker awarded federal disability retirement benefits will recover sufficiently to return to their former federal or postal job.
Third, while a postal or federal worker who receives Social Security disability benefits has very limited ability to earn income in addition to Social Security disability benefits; and while a federal or postal employee who is receiving temporary total disability compensation from the Workers’ Compensation Program is unable to work another job (with some exceptions to the rule); conversely, a person who receives federal disability retirement benefits can go out into the private sector and find another job, earning up to 80% of what their previous federal position currently pays, in addition to the money received for being qualified for retirement federal disability. Retirement benefits. This is because the Federal Disability Retirement program is what is considered a “progressive paradigm” in that it encourages the disabled federal or postal worker who receives Federal Disability Retirement benefits to remain productive in the workforce and to continue participating in the engine of the American economy by working, paying Federal and State taxes, FICA, etc.
Ultimately, each federal and postal worker who is injured or disabled must evaluate each federal compensation program and decide which program fits the particular and unique circumstances of their case. It is a blessing that there are options to consider and adapt the particular circumstances of each to the requirements of each program. In doing so, it is important to understand the differences and distinctions between the various programs available to injured or disabled Federal or Postal employees. Because knowledge is the power to decide, understanding the differences between federal disability retirement, Social Security disability, and the Workers’ Compensation Program is a valuable body of knowledge to be studied, accessed, and reviewed. Only through knowledge can a wise choice be made; And when it comes to making a wise choice for one’s future, understanding the differences between various programs can make all the difference in the world.