Federal Disability Retirement Lawyers

You May Be Eligible for Benefits

If you are a federal government or U.S. Postal Service employee who cannot perform the duties of your normal job assignment, you may qualify to leave your service position with federal disability retirement benefits. Your disability does not have to be a work-related issue or injury.

Contact Harris Federal Law Firm now for a free consultation to find out how we can help you!

Learn More about Federal Disability Retirement

When federal employees receive some form of light-duty work assignment, they often assume that they are ineligible for disability retirement. This is not necessarily true. Your qualification for federal disability retirement is based on a decision by a doctor that, for a period of 12 months, you are unable to do even one of the former job duties you had.

The fact that you can perform other duties does not disqualify you from obtaining a federal disability retirement annuity. Most federal employees do not know that they might qualify for a disability retirement annuity and, at the same time, obtain work from some non-federal employer. 

I Can’t Go Back to My Old Job, What Do I Do?

Sometimes, while working for the federal government, an employee loses the ability to continue working in his or her job. This can be due to mental or physical conditions, but it does not have to be a work-related condition.

An agency will generally try to accommodate the employee with limited or light duty or move the employee into a vacant position where the employee can still provide some useful and efficient service.

However, sometimes, even though these efforts are made, you might not be receiving all of the benefits you are entitled to receive.

If this happens to you and you are enrolled in Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS ) or Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), you could be eligible to receive a federal disability retirement annuity that will pay you a portion of your salary for the rest of your life regardless of how the condition occurred.

Even if your condition existed before you began working for the government, as long as you were able to perform successfully for at least 18 months (FERS) or five years (CSRS), then you meet the minimum qualifications.

Of course, this is only for federal employees that are considered to be career employees – even if a part-time employee – and your disabling condition has to be expected to last for at least one year.

While the minimum you will receive regardless of retirement system is 40 percent of your salary  (high-3) with a maximum benefit for CSRS retirees of 80 percent, you are allowed to get a job anywhere in the private sector to help supplement your income – no matter if you are a FERS or CSRS employee . 

Our Federal Disability Retirement Attorneys Can Help You

Harris Federal Law Firm helps injured federal employees with their representation needs when taking their claims to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

While no one is forced to hire a federal disability benefits attorney, there are obstacles that can be difficult to navigate without professional help. We have helped thousands of federal employees from all 50 states to know their rights and find out if federal disability retirement is the right option for them.

Do not wait on this benefit: There are deadlines on when you can file.

We have the professional experience to guide you through the decision-making process and help you gather your claim information and fill out of the forms necessary to make your initial claim. We can also help you with a reconsideration appeal to the OPM or even take on the proceedings of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

This benefit gets even better. Contact Harris Federal Law Firm, to find out about continuing your federal health care benefits, accruing additional credible years of service, survivor benefits and more.