FERS Disability Retirees

• FERS Disability Retiree Benefit Changes
• After You Have Been Retired for 12 months
• When You Reach Age 62

FERS Disability Retiree Benefit Changes

If you retired on a disability under FERS before age 62, your benefit will be recomputed.

If you were under age 62 when your disability benefit began, and were not eligible for a voluntary immediate benefit, your benefit will be recomputed:

• After you have been retired for 12 months, and
• When you reach age 62.

After You Have Been Retired for 12 months

After you have been retired for 12 months, your annuity will be recomputed at 40 percent of your high-3 average salary minus 60 percent of your monthly Social Security benefit for any month in which you are entitled to social security disability 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 at 40%.

When You Reach Age 62

Your annuity will be recomputed using an amount that essentially represents the annuity you would have received if you had continued working until the day before your 62nd birthday and then retired under FERS non-disability provisions.   The total service used in the computation 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 basic 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.