Federal Disability Retirement Attorneys
Serving Washington, DC & the Entirety of the United States

This is an "early-out" option for federal employees disabled either due to industrial injuries and diseases, or for non-industrial reasons. This ‘early-out’ for disability is a program administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. Federal regulations set out the requirements for a successful disability retirement application, but each case depends on its specific facts and the evidence presented.

There are two retirement systems for federal employees - the “old” Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the “new” FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System). Generally, anyone initially hired by the government after January 1, 1984, is covered by FERS.

If an employee becomes disabled while employed by the federal government, and the employing agency can’t or won’t accommodate the work to the disability, he or she can file an application for disability retirement. The longevity requirements are: under CSRS, 5 years; under FERS Disability, 18 months.

For federal disability retirement purposes, the FERS employee must show that he or she can no longer perform useful and efficient service for full-time, full-duty work in the last position held. The application must, with few exceptions, be filed while still employed or within one year of the employee’s termination date; this is true even if the employee is receiving or has applied for workers’ compensation benefits.

Most disability retirement applications, including FERS benefits, are decided primarily on medical evidence. Therefore it is important that your doctor understand what he or she must state in writing, as insufficient medical reports submitted to OPM will result in a denial.

With certain exceptions, an application for disability retirement must be received by OPM while the employee is still working for the federal government or within one year after employment ends. Specific medical information must be provided to OPM by the applicant.

Contact us for more information about how we can help you with your disability retirement-related issue. At Brown & Goodkin we represent federal employees in California (including the Sacramento, Oakland and San Diego areas), Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Florida and Washington, DC.

We handle several types or federal retirement on behalf of our clients.

• Voluntary/ Deferred

• FERS/CSRS Disability

• LEO Special Retirement (LEO’s, ATC’s, & Firefighters)

• FSPS Disability

• FRBG Disability

• Survivor Benefits

• OPM Reconsiderations

• OPM Denials at MSPB