Disability Retirement Application: Legal And Medical Processes. 

Federal postal employees who need to file a Federal Disability Retirement application with the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will find a discrepancy between the legal and medical aspects of the process.

The left hand will not always (or quickly) know what the right hand is doing or has been doing in a bureaucracy that handles all retirement applications. These include regular, early, and disability retirements, benefit calculations, COLA inclusion, military buy-back difficulties, and so on. 

The lobotomy of legal and medical issues is an unfortunate component of the process, especially when a benefit is sought from physical or mental impairment. Due to this gap, cases are unduly refused and sent to an Administrative Judge at the MSPB for review, leading to an unnecessary petition for review.

Federal Disability Retirement is a benefit that extends beyond an individual’s “medical” condition. It is distinct from “normal” or “early” retirement, which is simple and uncomplicated (for the most part). Regular or early retirement is just a matter of verifying facts: Does X have the required number of years of service paired with their age? 

Of course, certain concerns require more investigation and settlement, such as the inclusion of particular months or years, the military buy-back period, and other contested calculation difficulties. 

However, in contrast to a Federal Disability Retirement application, there is no “legal” component for typical or early retirement applications.

When applying for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, a slew of legal issues might arise at once, including the following: 

· What effect does an approval or denial of Social Security Disability benefits have on a FERS Disability Retirement case if one is required to file for benefits? 

· What impact does a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) disability rating based on service have on a FERS Disability Retirement application? 

· What kind of legal ramifications should they have? 

· What does applying the Bruner Presumption to a case imply?

When an application for Federal Disability Retirement is denied, the disparity between the three stages of the Disability Retirement process is instantly apparent. Despite the numerous attempts over many years to “correct” OPM’s misapplication of the law, the repetitive OPM statements reveal either (A) Ignorance of the law, (B) Deliberate ignorance of the law (yes, “ignorance” of the law is distinctly different from “ignoring” the law), (C) Ignorantly misapplying the law, or (D) Deliberately misapplying the law.

Yes, there is an “in the end”—the “disconnect” is regrettable since it wastes the time of OPM’s bureaucracy and takes up unnecessary court time at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

The “Process” of OPM Disability Retirement

A quick review of the OPM Disability Retirement “process” is required to comprehend the divergence between the Legal and the Medical adequately.

The OPM Disability Retirement process has three stages: the first two with the OPM (the federal agency that conducts the initial administrative review and decision on every Federal Disability Retirement Application) and the “final” stage, a hearing before an administrative judge at the United States MSPB.

A quick question for those paying attention: What about the fourth stage? A petition for review presented at the MSPB’s three-judge panel or an appeal at the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals?

The following two stages prohibit new evidence (unless in very few circumstances). They are forums for evaluating the appropriate application of the law and whether the hearing-level administrative judge made any errors (stage three). 

Thus, the “disconnect” discussed herein applies to the first and second stages, with the third stage serving as an evidentiary “corrective forum” overseen by an administrative judge. At the same time, the fourth and fifth stages (MSPB Petition for Review and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals) serve as oversight forums to ensure correct application of the law without introducing new evidence.

An application for Disability Retirement benefits under FERS is more than just a matter of having enough medical evidence. However, having enough medical documentation is undoubtedly a prerequisite for qualifying. Instead, it’s a mix of legal precedence and medical documentation sufficiency.

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