This covers the basics — eligibility, forms, deadlines, and the computation. Disability retirement applications turn on medical evidence tied to specific duties, and that is a specialised exercise. For deeper guidance on building and appealing a claim, our sister site Warrior Disability covers the process in detail.
I The four eligibility requirements
All four must be satisfied.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| 18 months of service | Creditable civilian service under FERS. Compare five years for a regular pension. |
| A qualifying condition | Expected to last at least one year, and preventing useful and efficient service in your position. |
| No accommodation available | The agency must be unable to accommodate you or reassign you to a vacant position at the same grade or pay level in the same commuting area. |
| SSDI application filed | You must apply for Social Security disability and provide proof, even if SSA later denies you. |
The third requirement is where the agency's own record matters. Its efforts — or lack of them — are documented on SF 3112D, and the analysis overlaps with the reasonable accommodation process. If accommodation was never seriously explored, that is relevant.
You must apply for Social Security disability. You do not have to be approved. An SSA denial does not defeat a FERS disability claim, because the two programs apply different standards — SSDI asks whether you can do any substantial gainful work, FERS disability retirement asks whether you can perform your position. A receipt or letter from SSA showing you applied is what OPM needs.
II The deadline that ends claims
Your application must be received by OPM within one year from the date of your separation by your agency.
This is not an administrative preference. The one-year limit is established by law, and waiver is permitted only if you were mentally incompetent to file within the timeframe. OPM's own guidance states that failure to follow instructions, or unfamiliarity with applicable law and regulation, is not a basis for waiving it.
OPM's instruction is explicit: if you think you will not have the completed package before the limit expires, send the completed SF 3107 and SF 3112A along with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the people you have asked to complete the remaining forms. That preserves your filing date. Waiting on a former supervisor to return SF 3112B is the single most avoidable way to lose a claim, and it happens constantly.
III The forms
| Form | What it is | Who completes it |
|---|---|---|
| SF 3107 | Application for Immediate Retirement | You |
| SF 3112A | Applicant's Statement of Disability | You |
| SF 3112B | Supervisor's Statement | Your supervisor |
| SF 3112C | Physician's Statement | Your physician |
| SF 3112D | Agency Certification of Reassignment and Accommodation Efforts | Your agency |
| SF 3112E | Application Checklist | Agency |
If you have already separated, ask your former supervisor and agency to complete 3112B, 3112D and 3112E and return them to you, so that you can send them directly to OPM rather than relying on the agency to forward them.
The most frequent basis for denial is medical evidence that does not connect the condition to specific job duties. A letter stating a diagnosis and a prognosis is not enough. What OPM needs is which functions of your position you cannot perform, and why the condition prevents them. Give your physician your position description and ask them to address it directly.
IV What it pays
Two phases, both keyed to your high-3 average salary, both offset by Social Security disability where you receive it.
| Period | Base | SSDI offset |
|---|---|---|
| First year | 60% of high-3 | Minus 100% of monthly SSDI |
| Second year onward | 40% of high-3 | Minus 60% of monthly SSDI, or your earned annuity, whichever is higher |
| Age 62 | Converts to a regular FERS computation, with disability-retirement years counted | |
If SSA denies you, no offset applies and you receive the full 60 and 40 percent figures. The conversion at 62 matters more than people expect: the years spent on disability retirement are credited, so a long period on the annuity is not lost service. The underlying accrual mechanics are in FERS accrual.
V Disability Annuity Estimator
Enter your figures. The estimator applies the 60 and 40 percent computations with their respective SSDI offsets and shows the earnings threshold that would end the annuity.
What Would the Annuity Pay?
Estimates only. OPM computes the binding figure, and individual cases carry adjustments this does not model.
VI Choosing between this and workers' compensation
If your condition is work-related you may qualify for both, and in most cases you must elect one to be paid.
Two facts people get wrong. First, OWCP approval does not automatically entitle you to FERS disability retirement — a separate application must be filed with OPM, subject to the same one-year deadline. Second, filing for disability retirement while electing OWCP is a recognised strategy: the FERS annuity is suspended rather than forfeited, and the filing protects your annuity rights if OWCP entitlement later ends.
OPM's guidance notes that if you are approved for disability retirement and elect survivor benefit protection, you protect your eligible survivors' rights to annuity benefits after your death and protect your own annuity rights should you lose entitlement to OWCP benefits. Since OWCP can terminate when it determines you have recovered or can be accommodated, that second protection is not theoretical. The FECA side is covered in workers' compensation.
VII How the annuity can stop
Before age 60, two findings end it.
Medical recovery. You are found to have recovered from the disabling condition. OPM may require evidence of continuing disability, you pay for any medical examinations needed, and failing to respond causes OPM to suspend payments until eligibility is re-established.
Restoration to earning capacity. You are restored to earning capacity if your income from wages and self-employment in a calendar year is at least 80 percent of the current rate of basic pay for the position you occupied immediately before retiring.
The threshold is 80 percent of the current rate for your former position, not the rate when you left. That figure rises with annual pay adjustments, so the ceiling drifts upward over time. If you are working while receiving a disability annuity, track your earnings against the current rate each year rather than the one you remember.
VIII If you are denied
Request reconsideration by OPM. If reconsideration fails, appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
The three recurring reasons for denial:
- Medical evidence that does not link the condition to specific duties — the most common, and the most preventable
- A missed one-year deadline — almost never recoverable
- Incomplete documentation — usually a missing agency form
Only the first can be repaired on reconsideration by strengthening the record. Building that record, and appealing a denial, is where Warrior Disability goes into the detail this overview does not.
IX The playbook
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Considering applying | Confirm 18 months of creditable service and get your position description to your physician. |
| Still employed | Document every accommodation request and the agency's response. SF 3112D depends on that record. |
| Already separated | Calendar the one-year date from your separation, not from when you got sick. |
| Package incomplete near the deadline | File SF 3107 and SF 3112A with the contact details of whoever owes you the rest. |
| Waiting on a former supervisor | Do not wait. Ask for the forms back to you, and file without them if necessary. |
| SSA denied you | Not fatal. Different standard. Keep the proof that you applied. |
| Also on OWCP | File with OPM anyway. The annuity is suspended, not forfeited, and it protects you if OWCP ends. |
| Approved and working | Track earnings against 80% of the current rate for your former position, annually. |
| OPM requests medical evidence | Respond. Non-response suspends payments, and you bear the exam cost. |
| Denied | Reconsideration first, then MSPB. Strengthen the duty-specific medical evidence. |
Before you file
- Verify you have 18 months of creditable civilian service.
- Calendar the one-year deadline from your separation date.
- Apply for SSDI and keep the receipt or letter as proof.
- Give your physician your position description, not just your diagnosis.
- Ask SF 3112C to address which specific duties you cannot perform and why.
- Collect every accommodation request and agency response you have.
- Ask your supervisor and agency to return 3112B, 3112D and 3112E to you.
- File SF 3107 and SF 3112A early rather than waiting for a complete package.
- If OWCP is in play, elect survivor benefit protection to preserve annuity rights.
- Keep a dated copy of everything you send OPM.
Frequently asked questions
You need at least 18 months of creditable civilian service, which is far less than the five years a regular pension requires. You need a medical condition expected to last at least one year that prevents you from performing the duties of your position. Your agency must be unable to accommodate the condition or reassign you to a vacant position at the same grade or pay level in the same commuting area. And you must apply for Social Security disability benefits and provide proof that you did, even if Social Security ultimately denies you.
In the first year, 60 percent of your high-3 average salary, reduced by 100 percent of any monthly Social Security disability benefit you receive. From the second year, 40 percent of your high-3, reduced by 60 percent of your monthly Social Security disability benefit, or your earned annuity, whichever is higher. If Social Security denies you, no offset applies. The annuity converts to a regular FERS retirement computation at age 62, and the years you spend on disability retirement count toward that computation.
Your application must be received by OPM within one year from the date your agency separates you. That limit is established by law, not by policy, and waiver is permitted only if you were mentally incompetent to file within the timeframe. OPM states plainly that failing to follow instructions, or being unfamiliar with the applicable law and regulation, is not a basis for waiving it. Missing this deadline ends the claim regardless of how strong the medical evidence is.
File anyway. OPM's own instruction is that if you think the completed package will not be ready before the one-year limit, send in the completed SF 3107 and SF 3112A together with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the people you have asked to complete the remaining forms. That preserves the filing date. Waiting for a supervisor or a former agency to return paperwork is one of the most common ways people lose an otherwise viable claim.
SF 3107, the Application for Immediate Retirement, plus the five-part SF 3112 package documenting the disability. SF 3112A is your own statement of disability. SF 3112B is the supervisor's statement, SF 3112C the physician's statement, SF 3112D the agency certification of reassignment and accommodation efforts, and SF 3112E the checklist. You also need proof that you applied for Social Security disability. If you have already separated, ask your former supervisor and agency to complete 3112B, 3112D, and 3112E and return them to you so you can send them directly to OPM.
Not both as income at the same time. In most cases you must decide which is more advantageous and elect to be paid only one. Approval by the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs does not automatically entitle you to FERS disability retirement either — a separate application must be filed with OPM. Many people file for disability retirement while electing to receive OWCP benefits: the FERS annuity is suspended, but filing protects your annuity rights if OWCP entitlement later ends, and electing survivor protection protects your survivors.
Yes, if you are under age 60. It stops if you are found medically recovered from the disabling condition, or if you are found restored to earning capacity. Restoration to earning capacity happens when your income from wages and self-employment in a calendar year reaches at least 80 percent of the current rate of basic pay for the position you occupied immediately before retiring. OPM can also require evidence of continuing disability, you pay for any medical examinations needed, and failing to respond will cause OPM to suspend payments until eligibility is re-established.
You may request reconsideration by OPM, and if reconsideration is unsuccessful you may appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board. The most common reasons for denial are medical evidence that does not clearly connect the condition to the specific duties you cannot perform, a missed one-year deadline, and incomplete documentation. The first of those is the one applicants can most readily fix in advance: a generic physician's letter describing a diagnosis is far weaker than one addressing which job functions the condition prevents and why.