A FERS benefit for employees who can no longer perform useful and efficient service in their position due to a medical condition.
OPM Disability Retirement is a benefit available to FERS employees who can no longer perform useful and efficient service in their current position due to a medical condition. It is not workers' compensation, it is not regular retirement, and it is not the same as SSDI — it is a specific OPM-administered benefit with its own rules, timelines, and consequences.
Understanding the eligibility requirements, the one-year filing deadline, and how your medical documentation connects to your specific job duties is what makes the difference between a rushed, incomplete application and one that is organized while you still have time.
FERS Disability Retirement
18+ months creditable service; condition expected to last 12+ months
SSDI Filing
You must apply for SSDI — approval is not required
FEHB Continuation
Health insurance continues if enrolled 5+ years before retirement
High-3 Annuity
60% of High-3 (minus SSDI) year one, then 40% (minus 60% SSDI)
Federal benefits do not operate in isolation. The same facts can matter across multiple programs.
If your condition is work-related, OWCP wage-loss benefits and disability retirement can run in parallel — but the one-year filing clock runs from your last day of work, not from when OWCP ends.
FMLA-protected leave gives you a window to gather medical documentation and request accommodation before any separation decision is made.
A documented reasonable accommodation history strengthens your application — OPM expects your agency to certify it cannot accommodate you.
File with OPM within one year of separation — the clock starts on your last day of actual work, not your last day on payroll.
Your agency must certify it cannot reasonably accommodate you in your current position or a vacant one.
At age 62 your annuity is recalculated with all years of service, the SSDI offset ends, and the 80% earnings cap is removed.