Is OPM Disability Retirement Tied to My Age?

Were you recently diagnosed with a disabling medical condition or seriously injured? If you have been employed in a position that is subject to the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), you may be eligible to obtain Office of Personnel Management (OPM) disability retirement benefits. If you are in a position where you may be medically eligible, you may be wondering about age and whether there is a minimum retirement age for obtaining OPM disability retirement benefits. In short, there is no minimum age for OPM disability retirement, but there is a minimum age for other forms of OPM retirement, so you may be unsure about how age requirements will apply to you.

In short, if you are seeking OPM disability retirement, you can obtain benefits at any age, but our national OPM eligibility lawyers can explain in more detail.

OPM Disability Retirement Age Eligibility (No Minimum Age Requirement) 

If you are seeking OPM disability retirement benefits because of a disabling condition, there is no minimum age. As the OPM explains, you can apply at any age as long as you have been in a FERS job for at least 18 months before becoming disabled, and you must have become disabled while employed in that position subject to FERS.

Additional requirements include that the disability must be expected to last at year one year, and your agency “must certify that it is unable to accommodate your disabling medical condition in your present position and that it has considered you for any vacant position in the same agency at the same grade/pay level, within the same commuting area, for which you are qualified for reassignment.”

OPM Minimum Retirement Age for Other Types of Benefits (Not Disability)

If you do a quick search for OPM retirement age, you will find information about minimum age requirements, but these do not apply to individuals seeking disability retirement.

For other types of OPM retirement — not disability — there is a general Minimum Age Requirement between 55 and 57, depending on your year of birth. Additional forms of retirement — including immediate requirement, early requirement, and deferred retirement — have minimum age requirements and/or required years of service.

Contact Our National OPM Eligibility Attorneys for Assistance with Your Disability Retirement Application

If you have become disabled and believe you may be eligible for OPM disability retirement benefits, it is important to seek legal help with your application. While OPM retirement eligibility in general is based in part on age, as we discussed above, the Minimum Retirement Age for OPM retirement is different from the Social Security Administration’s retirement age table. However, as we explained above, your age is not a relevant factor for determining your eligibility for disability retirement benefits through the OPM — only for other types of OPM retirement. To find out more about your OPM disability retirement eligibility or to begin the process of seeking benefits, you should get in touch with an experienced national OPM eligibility lawyer at the Law Offices of Stephen Barszcz. Contact our firm today to find out more about how we can assist you.

Source:

opm.gov/retirement-center/fers-information/eligibility/