These are “thriving” times for federal workers compared to rest of our country’s workforce, according to a recent Federal Soup article. However, it is always best to be prepared for when times are not going so good.
Harris Federal Law Firm helps injured federal workers with workers’ compensation claims, Federal Disability Retirement benefits and other benefit claims. As we have found, a federal employee’s world can be totally upended with one accident. In far too many cases, the injured worker has little idea of the financial safety net federal employment is supposed to provide them.
What Does ‘Financial Well-Being’ Mean in Thriving Times?
As Federal Soup reports, 44 percent of federal employees in a Gallup survey said they were thriving financially – compared to only 34 percent of all other workers.
Gallup explains that, by “thriving,” the organization means “strong and consistent” financial well-being that was indicated by survey participants’ “responses to the perceptions of standards of living, affordability of basic necessities and financial woes based on region of country, family size, cost of living, debt and various other factors.”
So, as Federal Soup explains, “a person could have a high salary but experience low financial well-being. On the other hand, a person with a lower salary may likewise experience higher financial well-being.”
In other words, there is more to financial well-being than what is in your paycheck.
Indeed, a true measure of your financial well-being should take into account all of your assets and debts, which includes benefits provided through your employment. Among the most important benefits are the ones that protect you financially if you become injured or develop a medical condition and are no longer able to earn a living.
What You Should Know About Federal Benefits
At Harris Federal, we believe it is important to understand one’s rights, including the right to Federal Disability Retirement and federal workers’ compensation benefits. This knowledge will be important if you ever need to take advantage of these programs.
Key points to know are:
- Federal workers’ compensation – This program provides monetary benefits to federal employees if they suffer injury or illness during the performance of their job duties.We have found that many federal workers confuse workers’ compensation with “Continuation of Pay” (COP), which keeps paychecks flowing immediately after an injury. This causes many to miss out on workers’ compensation benefits they have a right to receive.
- Federal disability retirement – This program provides monetary benefits to federal workers who are unable to do even one of their former job duties due to a medical condition – regardless of whether it is work-related.Many federal workers we assist are unaware of the fact that they may be able to do other work outside the federal government and still receive federal disability retirement benefits. Many workers who obtain work elsewhere – because they have that desire to continue to work – needlessly forego federal benefits they deserve.
The reality is that federal agencies do not always do a good job of explaining the benefits employees have available to them. In some cases, employees fail to listen as well as they should about disability benefits.
Harris Federal helps federal workers to understand their rights and options. These workers have provided valuable service to our country. They deserve to receive all of the benefits they have earned.
If you have come to a crossroads in your federal employment status, contact Harris Federal for an assessment of your situation. We can serve as your advocate in cases involving federal disability retirement, federal workers’ compensation, VA disability and Social Security Disability benefits.
