Disability Retirement For Fers Employee Who Is Also A Disabled Vet

[Machinato Charlie]

Hi everyone, my very first post:

I currently work for the Department of Defense as a GS employee under FERS. I am also 80% disabled via the VA. The DAV folks have told me that if I need to retire under disability I'll receive 80% of my top three years salary for the first year of retirement and 60% for all subsequent years. The FERS material I can find on-line tells me the numbers of 60% the first year and 40% for following years. Does anybody know where I can read about this - what law citation or Code of Federal Regulations? If you don't know the site, do you know where anything is written about that difference in percentages for disabled vet employees versus non-disabled vet employees and non-vet employees? Sounds to me like, according to the Disabled American Veterans folks, I would receive 20% more than a "regular" FERS employee when I leave under disability. Well, this is a huge deal to my wife and me, but I sure can't find anything on-line discussing it. Can anyone help me out? Thank you.

[john999]

I reached 62 years old as a disabled FERS retiree. My annuity was recalculated since I get SSD as if I had actually worked all the years I was on disability. My new annuity is just short of $1200 a month. This for almost 30 years? For the last ten years I was unable to contribute anything to TSP. Once my FERS is reduced by my insurance it will be less than 800 bucks a month. With my SSD this comes to around $2500 a month. This is a very small amount of money to live on month to month with out the VA compensation I get. I do have money in the TSP but not enough to last 20 years. Going from CSRS to FERS was a scam on federal employees.

[Dingo]

Does anyone have any guidance on how the physicians statement should be phrased? I know from past dealings with the VA that very often it is not what you say but how you say it. Thanks.

[john999]

Just tell your doctor to answer the questions completely. OPM is just medical. You just have to show with medical evidence you can't do your federal job any more.