Enhanced Disability and Survivor Annuity
If you are receiving a disability or survivor annuity based wholly or in part on service listed below, you may be entitled to have your annuity recalculated using an enhanced formula for that service. Your annuity may increase if you are receiving a disability annuity or a survivor annuity based on service in any of the following positions under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS):
- Law Enforcement Officer
- Firefighter
- Nuclear Materials Courier performed with the Department of Energy on or after October 1, 1977
- Customs and Border Protection Officer on or after July 6, 2008
- Member of the Capitol Police
- Member of the Supreme Court Police
- Congressional Employee
- Air Traffic Controller
See chart for a list of qualifying law enforcement officer service.
The amount of an annuity benefit is typically based on the amount of creditable service an individual performs and the average pay of the individual. The amount of creditable service performed may not always affect the amount of disability and survivor annuities, especially when those benefits are based on the guaranteed minimum annuity provisions of the law. For example, a CSRS disability annuity may be based on a guaranteed minimum equal to 40 percent of the individual's average pay if the annuity based on the actual amount of service performed by the individual would be less than 40 percent of the average pay.
This recalculation is due to changes in interpretation of the applicable statutes that have evolved over time. If the recalculation results in an annuity benefit higher than the benefit you are receiving, we will adjust your annuity to the higher amount. We will also compare the total amount of annuity we have paid you since your annuity began based on our original computation with the total amount of annuity we would have paid you under the revised computation, and pay you any additional amount of annuity you may be due. If the recalculation does not result in a higher annuity benefit, we will so notify you and no change will be made to your annuity.
If you have any questions about this notice or would like to request a review of your case, please email us at edsa@opm.gov. You may also call us at 1(888) 767-6738.