SF 3112-2

Information

About

Disability

Retirement

(FERS)

This pamphlet contains basic information concerning disability retirement

benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). This is for

use by individuals who want to apply for disability retirement. The information

provided is based on current law and regulation, which is subject to change.

The information is current as of March 1996.

Standard Form 3112-2

March 1996

When to Consider Applying for Disability Retirement

You should consider applying for disability retirement only after you have pro-

vided your employing agency with complete documentation of your medical

condition and your agency has exhausted all reasonable attempts to retain you in

a productive capacity, through accommodation, reassignment, etc. (“Accommo-

dation” means an adjustment made to a job and/or work environment that enables

a qualified handicapped person to perform the duties of that position.)

Applying for Disability Retirement

If you are applying for disability retirement, you must complete SF 3107, Appli-

cation for Immediate Retirement, and SF 3112, Documentation In Support of

Disability Retirement. Your employing agency will help you complete these

forms and will forward the completed forms to the Office of Personnel Manage-

ment (OPM). However, it is your responsibility to obtain all of the information

necessary for OPM to make a decision on your claim. This includes providing all

of the required forms and documentation.

If you are under age 62, Federal retirement law requires your disability benefits

under FERS to be reduced by 100 percent of your social security benefit for any

month in which you are entitled to social security disability benefits during the

first 12 months of eligibility. After the first year, your disability annuity is equal

to 40 percent of your high-3 average salary minus 60 percent of your social secu-

rity benefit for any month in which you are entitled to social security disability

benefits. Therefore, it is also your responsibility to document that you have

applied for social security disability benefits AFTER YOU SEPARATE FROM

YOUR AGENCY. Your application cannot be completely processed without this

information. If you are awarded social security disability benefits at any time

after you have applied for or begin receiving disability benefits, you must still

notify OPM of the effective date and the amount of the social security benefits.

Important: FERS disability benefits usually begin before the claim for social

security benefits is fully processed. Because the FERS disability benefit must

be reduced by 100 percent of any social security benefit payable for 12 months,

social security checks should not be negotiated until the FERS benefit has been

reduced. The social security checks will be needed to pay OPM for the reduction

which should have been made in the FERS annuity.

If You Have Been Separated from Federal Service for More

Than 31 Days

Your application for disability retirement must be received by OPM within one

year after the date of your separation. If you have been separated from Federal

service for more than 31 days, your former employing agency may no longer

have your personnel records and may not be able to recover them in time to

process your disability retirement application and submit it to OPM within the

one-year time limit. Therefore, you should submit your application directly to

OPM rather than to your agency. The address is

Office of Personnel Management

Federal Employees Retirement System

Retirement Operations Center

Boyers, PA 16017-0001.

Ask your former supervisor and employing agency to complete SF 3112B,

SF 3112D, and SF 3112E and give them to you so that you can send them

directly to OPM. If you think you will not have the completed package in time to

meet the one-year deadline, send OPM the completed SF 3107 and SF 3112A,

along with the name, address and telephone number of the person(s) you have

asked to complete the remaining forms. Do not delay submitting your application.

The one-year time limit for applying for disability retirement is established by

law. Waiver of that time limit is permitted only if you were mentally incompe-

tent to file within the established time frame. Failure to follow instructions or

unfamiliarity with applicable law and regulation is not a basis for waiving the

time limit.

Eligibility Requirements for Disability Retirement

You must meet all of the following conditions to be eligible for disability retire-

ment:

1. You must have completed at least 18 months of Federal civilian service

which is creditable under FERS.

2. You must, while employed in a position subject to the retirement system,

have become disabled, because of disease or injury, for useful and efficient

service in your current position. (Useful and efficient service means fully

successful performance of the critical or essential elements of the position —

or the ability to perform at that level — and satisfactory conduct and atten-

dance.)

3. The disability must be expected to last at least one year.

4. Your agency must certify that it is unable to accommodate your disabling

medical condition in your present position and that it has considered you for

any vacant position in the same agency at the same grade or pay level, within

the same commuting area, for which you are qualified for reassignment. (An

employee of the Postal Service is considered not qualified for reassignment

if the reassignment is to a position in a different craft or is inconsistent with

the terms of a collective bargaining agreement covering the employee.)

5. You, or your guardian or other interested person, must apply before your

separation from service or within one year thereafter. The application must

be received by OPM within one year of the date of your separation. This time

limit can be waived only if you were mentally incompetent on the date of

separation or within one year of this date.

6. You must apply for social security disability benefits. Application for disabil-

ity retirement under FERS requires an application for social security

disability benefits. If the application for social security disability benefits is

withdrawn for any reason, OPM will dismiss the FERS disability retirement

application upon notification by the Social Security Administration.

If you are a Military Reserve Technician being separated from your position

because of a disability that disqualifies you from membership in the Military

Reserve or from holding the military grade required for your employment, spe-

cial provisions may apply to you. Contact your employing agency for the

necessary information.

Required Documentation

To decide if your disability claim is allowable, OPM considers the documentary

evidence you, your agency, and your physician provide. Your claim can be

allowed only if the evidence establishes that you meet all of the following criteria:

1. A deficiency in service with respect to performance, conduct or attendance,

or, in the absence of any actual service deficiency, a showing that your medi-

cal condition is incompatible with other useful service or retention in the

position.

2. A medical condition, which is defined as a health impairment resulting from

a disease or injury, including a psychiatric disease.

3. A relationship between the service deficiency and the medical condition such

that the medical condition has caused the service deficiency.

4. The disability must be expected to last at least one year.

5. You became disabled while serving under the Federal Employees

Retirement System.

6. The inability of your employing agency to make reasonable accommodation

to your medical condition.

7. The absence of another available position, within the employing agency and

commuting area, at the same grade or pay level and tenure, for which you are

qualified for reassignment.

OPM will not pay for any medical examination or procedure needed to provide

the necessary documentation.

How Disability Retirement Applications Are Processed

If you are still employed, your employing agency will assemble the form

Documentation in Support of Disability Retirement (SF 3112), including Sched-

ules A, B, C, D and E, together with your Application for Immediate Retirement

(SF 3107) and associated forms, your preliminary Individual Retirement Record

(SF 3100), and all available disability documentation and send them to OPM.

The disability documentation will include that which you obtain for the purpose

of applying for disability retirement and all documentation on file with your

agency concerning your medical condition and its relationship to service deficien-

cies, attempts or requests to reassign or accommodate because of your medical

condition, etc. The time required for assembly and submission of the application

and documentation varies from agency to agency. If you are separated from the

Federal service, you (or your guardian or other interested party) are responsible

for seeing that your application is filed within the time limit—see If You Have

Been Separated from Federal Service for More than 31 Days — on page 2.

Shortly after receiving your application, OPM will send you an acknowledgment

letter with information and a claim number (beginning with the letters “CSA”).

Receipt of an acknowledgment and a CSA claim number means that your applica-

tion has been received and will be reviewed to determine your eligibility for

disability retirement. Any inquiries before you receive this acknowledgment and

claim number should be addressed to your employing agency. Any inquiries to

OPM should include our claim number.

OPM will examine your application and supporting documentation to determine

whether a finding of disability is warranted. You or your employing agency may

be contacted if additional information is needed. Both you and your agency will

be notified of the allowance or disallowance of your application. If your claim is

disallowed, we will provide information about your right to request further con-

sideration of your claim.

You or your agency should notify OPM of any change in your status, such as a

change in your current job or assignment. If, while OPM is processing your

claim, you decide to withdraw your application, you must notify us in writing of

the withdrawal request. Such a request can be accepted if it is received by OPM

before your application is approved or before you have been separated from your

agency, whichever is later. Also, if you file a non-disability retirement applica-

tion with OPM at any time before separation from your agency, OPM will

consider this action to be a withdrawal of the disability application.

If your application is approved, your employing agency will be requested to sepa-

rate you from its rolls and send OPM your final retirement records. The actual

date of separation is determined by your agency.

Interim payments can be authorized only after the disability application has been

allowed and your agency has notified OPM of the date your pay stopped and

OPM has a copy of your receipt for application for social security disability bene-

fits or social security’s decision letter. Interim payments are intended to help you

financially until OPM can compute the actual amount of your annuity.

OPM can complete processing of your case only after your final retirement

records and all other supporting documentation have been received from your

agency.

Disability Annuity Computation

Disability benefits under FERS are computed in different ways depending on the

retiree’s age and amount of service at retirement. In addition, FERS disability

retirement benefits are recomputed after the first twelve months and again at age

62, if the annuitant is under age 62 at the time of disability retirement.

1. If at disability retirement you are already 62 years old, or you meet the

age and service requirements for immediate voluntary retirement, you

will receive your “earned” annuity based on the general FERS annuity

computation:

1% of your “high-3” average salary

Multiplied by

your years and months of service

However, if you are at least 62 years old at retirement and have completed at

least 20 years of service, your annuity will be computed as follows:

1.1% of your “high-3” average salary

Multiplied by

your years and months of service

2. If at disability retirement you are under age 62 and not eligible for voluntary

retirement, you will receive the following benefit:

a. For the first 12 months —

60% of your “high-3” average salary minus 100% of your social security

benefit for any month in which you are entitled to social security disabil-

ity benefits.

b. After the first 12 months —

40% of your “high-3” average salary minus 60% of your social security

benefit for any month in which you are entitled to social security disabil-

ity benefits.

However, you are entitled to your earned annuity (1% of your “high-3”

average salary multiplied by your years and months of service), if it is

larger than your disability annuity computed under steps 2a. or 2b. above.

c. When you reach age 62 —

Your annuity will be recomputed using an amount that essentially repre-

sents the annuity you would have received if you had continued working

until the day before your sixty-second birthday and then retired under

FERS non-disability provisions. The total service used in the computa-

tion will be increased by the amount of time you have received a

disability annuity. The average salary will be increased by all FERS cost-

of-living increases which occurred during the time you received a

disability annuity (even if the adjustment did not affect your annuity).

The FERS basic annuity formula (1% of your “high-3” average salary

multiplied by your total years and months of service) is then applied,

using the adjusted time base and average salary. If your actual service

plus the credit for time as a disability retiree equals 20 or more years,

the formula would be 1.1% of your “high-3” average salary multiplied

by the total of your years and months of service, using the adjusted time

base and average salary.

Your “high-3” average salary is figured by averaging your highest basic pay over

any three years of consecutive service. These three years are usually your final

three years of service, but can be an earlier period. Your basic pay is the basic

salary you earn for your position. It includes increases to your salary for which

retirement deductions are withheld, such as for shift rates, night shift differential,

etc. It does not include payments for overtime, bonuses, etc. (If your total service

was less than three years, your average salary is figured by averaging your basic

pay during all of your periods of creditable Federal service.)

Your basic annual annuity will be reduced to provide survivor annuity benefits if

you are married (unless you and your spouse jointly waive the survivor benefit)

or if you are required by a qualifying court order to provide benefits for a former

spouse.

Duration of Disability Annuity Benefits

Disability annuity benefits begin accruing on the first day after your pay as an

employee stops and disability and service requirements have been met. The first

payment is received the first business day of the month after benefits begin accru-

ing. Annuity is not payable for any period of time for which compensation (other

than a scheduled award) is paid by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Pro-

grams (OWCP), U.S. Department of Labor. Applicants found eligible for

continuing benefits from OWCP and a disability retirement annuity from OPM

must elect payments from one or the other. The law prohibits simultaneous

receipt of continuing OWCP payments and a disability retirement annuity

from OPM.

Under current law and regulations, a disability annuity continues until you are

found recovered, restored to earning capacity, reemployed in the Federal service,

or die. Each of these situations is explained below.

Medical Recovery—

If you are a disability retiree under age 60, OPM may require periodic

reevaluations of your medical condition to determine if you have recovered

from your disability. (Any disability retiree under age 60 may have his or

her eligibility for continued annuity payments reviewed at any time it is

considered necessary by OPM.) You pay the cost of providing any medical

information OPM needs to review your medical condition. If OPM finds you

recovered, your disability annuity payments will stop one year from the date

of the medical examination showing your recovery or on the date you are

reemployed in the Federal service, whichever occurs first. After you turn

age 60, OPM will review your medical condition only at your request.

Restoration of Earning Capacity—

If you are a disability retiree under age 60, there is a limit on the amount you

can earn from wages and self-employment and still be entitled to your annu-

ity. Each year, OPM will send you a questionnaire in order to determine your

earnings for the previous calendar year. If your earnings in any calendar year

equal or exceed 80 percent of the current salary rate of the position from

which you retired, your earning capacity will be considered restored. Even if

there is no change in your medical condition, your disability annuity pay-

ments will stop six months from the end of the calendar year in which your

earning capacity is restored or on the date you are reemployed in the Federal

service, whichever occurs first. After you turn age 60, there is no restriction

on the amount of wages or earnings from self-employment you may receive.

If you have been found restored to earning capacity, your earnings for any

calendar year fall below 80 percent of the current salary rate of the position

from which you retired, and you are under age 62, you may request OPM to

reinstate your disability retirement annuity. If you request reinstatement of

your annuity, you must provide documentation showing that your income is

below the 80 percent level and that the disease or condition on which your

disability retirement was approved still exists. If OPM reinstates your annu-

ity, it will begin as of January 1 of the year following the year your earnings

were less than 80 percent of the current salary rate of the position from

which you retired.

Reemployment in the Federal Service After You Retire—

If you retire on disability, you may be reemployed in any position for which

you are qualified. OPM does not need to make a recovery determination

prior to your reemployment.

The law does not require that your former employing agency or any other

Federal agency automatically offer you a position if OPM finds that you are

medically recovered or restored to earning capacity. However, if either of

these occurs, you may be eligible for selection priority for jobs in other agen-

cies under OPM’s Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP).

Through the ICTAP, you may receive selection priority in any Executive

branch agency. Agencies will post their vacancies in OPM’s Federal Job

Opportunity Board. If you see a position in which you are interested, you

would 1) tailor your application material to meet the specific requirements of

the vacancy announcement; 2) apply directly to the agency by the closing

date of the announcement; and 3) attach your proof of eligibility (the OPM

letter informing you that your disability annuity has been terminated because

you have been found medically recovered or restored to earning capacity). If

the agency determines that you are well-qualified for the position, you must

be selected over any other candidate from outside that agency.

You are eligible for this special selection priority for one year after the date

of the OPM letter informing you that you have been found medically

qualified or restored to earning capacity. For more information regarding

the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan or OPM’s Federal Job

Opportunity Board, please contact your former agency, if it still exists, or the

nearest OPM Service Center listed under “U.S. Government” in your tele-

phone book.

Receipt of Benefits from OWCP, U.S. Department of Labor

The approval of a claim for benefits by the Office of Workers’ Compensation

Programs (OWCP), U.S. Department of Labor for a work-related injury or ill-

ness, does not automatically entitle an employee to FERS disability retirement. A

claim for FERS disability retirement must also be filed with the Office of

Personnel Management. If you are approved for disability retirement and elect

to provide survivor benefit protection, you will protect the rights of your eligible

survivors to receive annuity benefits after your death. In addition, this will pro-

tect your own annuity rights in the event you lose entitlement to benefits from

OWCP. Your application for disability retirement must be received by OPM

within one year from the date of your separation by your agency.

In general, you may not receive annuity payments from OPM and OWCP pay-

ments for the same period of time. (See information below on when you may

receive both payments.) This is because the law prohibits the dual compensation

that would exist if you receive both a FERS annuity and OWCP payments for

total or partial disability under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act. How-

ever, if you are eligible for a FERS annuity and OWCP payments for total or

partial disability, you may elect which of the two benefits you want to receive.

Any overpayment of OWCP benefits or annuity you receive is subject to collec-

tion by the Office of Personnel Management or the Office of Workers’

Compensation Programs.

If you do not apply for retirement or your annuity payments are suspended while

you are in receipt of OWCP payments, you may be eligible to receive a refund of

your retirement contributions if any remain to your credit in the Retirement

Fund. However, if you receive a refund, your right to an annuity and the rights

of your survivors to FERS benefits are forfeited. If you receive the refund, you

would not be eligible to receive FERS annuity benefits if your OWCP benefit is

terminated or reduced. In addition, if your OWCP benefit is terminated, your Fed-

eral Employees’ Group Life Insurance and health insurance coverage, if any,

would also end. You would not have the right to convert your Federal Employ-

ees’ Group Life Insurance coverage to an individual policy.

You may receive concurrent payment of FERS annuity and OWCP benefits for

the same period of time only if:

1. You are receiving a scheduled award from OWCP. A scheduled award is usu-

ally paid when there is a disability resulting from the loss, or loss of use, of a

function or member of the body (such as a hearing loss or the loss of an arm).

2. You are receiving OWCP benefits due to the death of another person and you

are eligible for annuity on the basis of your own Federal service, or

3. Your OWCP payments are suspended because you are receiving a financial

settlement from the party directly responsible for the injury (a third party

settlement). In this instance, your annuity may be paid during the period that

your OWCP benefits are suspended.

If, after you retire, you are receiving FERS annuity payments and a scheduled

award, you must immediately notify OPM if your scheduled award is changed to

a non-scheduled OWCP benefit. Otherwise, you will incur an indebtedness to the

U.S. Government which will be subject to collection from your benefits.