What Are The Basic Eligibility Requirements
The current retirement system for federal workers and postal employees is called FERS, the Federal Employees Retirement System. This system replaced the Civil Service Retirement System in 1987, but some federal workers who started before 1987 will still be covered by CSRS.
To be eligible for disability benefits under FERS, you must have worked as a federal civilian or postal employee for at least 18 months.
To medically qualify, you must become unable, due to a physical or mental disease or injury, to perform “useful and efficient service” in your current position, which means you must be unable to carry out an essential element of your job. Your disability must be expected to last at least twelve months from the date you file the application.
In addition, your federal agency must state that it has tried and failed to accommodate your medical condition in your current job, and that it was unable to reassign you to another nearby position in the same agency at your grade or pay level.
It is not necessary that your disability resulted from an on-the-job injury, work-related condition like stress, or occupational disease, as in a workers’ compensation case. And unlike Social Security disability, you’re not required to show that you’re “totally disabled,” only that you’re incapable of performing the duties of your current job.
Medical Retirement Vs Regular Retirement
Many of us are familiar with the traditional route to retirement. You get a job, open retirement savings accounts and eventually enter your golden years and retire. Then you sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labors. However, not every path is so simple and straightforward. There are alternatives that some of us cant avoid, like medical retirement. Understanding the differences between medical retirement and regular retirement can be of huge benefit to you. You may also want to consider working with a financial advisor as you plan out your retirement.
Too Sick For The Office Too Young To Retire
Tony Cameron retired last month. There was no party, no gold watch, no last wistful look around the office. Most of his former colleagues won’t have noticed. For the past four years Tony has been fighting myalgic encephalomyelitis, the debilitating neurological condition characterised by continual muscle pain and fatigue, so he has rarely been at work. Now he’s taken early retirement on health grounds . Cameron, married with a young child, is just 37 years old.
A high-flying professional and talented academic, he first fell ill in 1997. Since then he has seen his health, career and future plans crumble away. Yet, incredibly enough, Cameron is one of the lucky ones.
Last year, the Government announced that it regarded the then level of 22,000 ERHGs a year in the public sector as too high and tightened up the criteria on which it could be claimed.
Broader figures on ERHG are difficult to come by. One marker is the number of people receiving incapacity benefit, something else the Government has been keen to curb. This is a non-means-tested benefit paid to people of working age who, having made sufficient national insurance contributions, become unable to work for reason of disability or sickness. There are 1.5 million people receiving it.
Another indicator is the Labour Force Survey. In summer 2001, 2,238,000 people were identified as not seeking work because they were sick or disabled on a long-term basis.
First you lose your career, then your dignity
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How Does Medical Retirement Work
Medical retirement refers to when an employee leaves their role due to illness or injury. The reason is that they are no longer able to do the work to the best of their ability. Unlike typical retirement, after a medical retirement, an employee will usually work for a different job they can complete, even with their illness, injury or old age.
Importantly, both you and the employee in question must agree to medical retirement. It is almost always worth discussing this option with the employee before pursuing a process for medical incapacity. Medical retirement provisions may be in an employment agreement or workplace policy. However, an employer and employee can still agree to medical retirement even if they are not. As with all important agreements, you should record this in writing.
Talking To Your Employer About Ill Health Retirement
Your employer is not allowed to suggest ill health retirement as a way to get you to leave the company. This could be disability discrimination because ill health retirement is your choice. Your employer should make reasonable adjustments to allow you to work if you feel able to.
If you decide that ill health retirement is the right option for you, you need to tell your manager.
If youre a member of a union, they may be able to give you advice or support you in meetings. Your employers human resources team may also be able to help.
Keep notes about every conversation you have on ill health retirement. If possible, ask someone to come with you to meetings. They can write notes so you can concentrate on what is being said. The notes should include:
- the date and time
- what people said
You should not record the meetings, unless you have written permission from everyone beforehand.
After the meeting, send an email thanking people for attending, confirming what happened in the meeting and the main points. This would stand as evidence if required.
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What Benefits Can I Claim If I Retire Due To Ill Health
Depending on your pension scheme, a health condition may entitle you to access your pension early, or even get higher payments and tax credits.
If you have a personal or workplace pension, you can often claim the full lump sum of your pension tax-free if you meet the necessary criteria . With a state pension, youll need to wait until you reach state pension age before receiving any benefits.
If you have little or no pension savings, you can explore other state benefits such as Employment and Support Allowance or Council Tax Reduction, which can help with living costs.
What Conditions Qualify For Ill Health Retirement
Like the definition of ill health, different schemes have different rules and criteria for early retirement. Generally, youll need to:
- Establish that youre permanently incapable of continuing to do your job whether this is due to a physical or mental condition.
- Show that there are no further treatments or medication available that could enable your return to work before normal pension age. This could apply to your current role or any alternative employment. Schemes will also consider whether youre working full- or part-time, and may initially suggest part-time working as a solution.
- Apply while youre in pensionable employment for maximum benefits .
Schemes are putting greater emphasis on rehabilitation and reasonable adjustments to enable your return to work. If your employer is able to facilitate your return to current duties, your application may be less likely to succeed. However, if your employer offers you a different role or fewer hours, you may still be able to apply for ill health retirement from your original position.
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Benefits Of Retiring Gracefully
Who doesnt want to leave on their own terms, with their head held high respected by their peers? Besides the pride of your work legacy, there are other benefits:
- Greater opportunity for bridge employment with reduced hours or contract work to retain your expertise and experience.
- Promote knowledge transfer thereby leaving your replacement and team in good shape.
- Potential for a voluntary separation package and/or extended benefits.
In spite of all these good reasons, theres also lots of things that can go wrong.
Criteria For Ill Health Retirement
To qualify for ill health retirement, you must:
- have at least two years qualifying service and
- have suffered a breakdown in health that is likely to stop you working until retirement age
You can read more about your pension schemes ill health retirement criteria in our Ill Health Retirement Guide for Members.
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Other Requirements For Fers Benefits
Like many long-term disability policies, the federal disability retirement program requires you to apply for Social Security disability benefits . If you are approved for Social Security, the amount of your SSDI benefits will be subtracted from your FERS benefits. For the first year that you get SSDI, there is a 100% offset and each following year, an offset of 60% . But because it’s substantially easier to be approved for federal disability retirement than Social Security disability, it is common for a person to qualify for the former but be denied the latter.
Can you work while receiving disability retirement? Yes, as long as you’re working in the private sector and not earning more than 80% of your federal salary. This amount includes only earned income, not income from investments or rental properties. The same is not true for Social Security disability.
Facts On Military Medical Separation And Retirement
When a military member has a medical condition that renders them unfit to perform their required duties, they may be separated from the military for medical reasons.
The process to determine medical fitness for continued duty involves two boards. One is called the Medical Evaluation Board , and the other is called the Physical Evaluation Board .
Title 10, U.S.C., Chapter 61, provides the Secretaries of the Military Departments with authority to retire or separate members when the Secretary finds that they are unfit to perform their military duties because of physical disability.
DoD Directive 1332.18: , DoD Instruction 1332.38: PHYSICAL DISABILITY EVALUATION, and DoD Instruction 1332.39: APPLICATION OF THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES set forth the policies and procedures implementing the statute.
While most MEB/PEB actions occur when a military member voluntarily presents him/herself at the Medical Treatment Facility for medical care, commanders may, at any time, refer military members to the MTF for a mandatory medical examination, when they believe the member is unable to perform his/her military duties due to a medical condition. This examination may cause the conduct of an MEB, which will be forwarded to the PEB when it finds that the member’s medical condition falls below medical retention standards.
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Medical Retirement Vs Regular Retirement: Distributions
Most people build up retirement savings. That way, they can support themselves when theyre out of work. Disabled individuals are no different and often turn to their retirement plans as a way to replace their jobs income.
But taking from your funds too early can be tricky. In regular retirement, if you take a distribution before the age of 59.5, you incur a 10% distribution penalty. You may also face normal income tax on the withdrawal. Thats because the applicable retirement accounts are tax-deferred, so you dont pay tax when you contribute money.
However, the IRS gives qualifying disabled individuals a break if they touch their retirement savings. They receive an exemption from the 10% penalty. This exception applies to the early distribution tax for 401s and IRAs as well as SARSEP, SEP and Simple IRA plans.
You must also meet the IRS definition for total and permanent disability. That means your condition stops you from any substantial work and will either be indefinite in length or fatal. Due to the difference between Social Security and the IRSs criteria, qualifying for the former does not guarantee the 10% penalty exception.
Employee Is Unable To Return To Work: Demotion Or Termination Of Employment
- Is unable to return to work within a reasonable period of time in any reasonable capacity and accommodation options have been exhausted
- Has either not applied for or was not eligible for a medical retirement and
- Has not resigned or retired.
A number of options for separation from the public service should be reviewed. First, however, after the employee has exhausted sick leave credits, enough sick leave without pay should be authorized for the employee to work with the manager and Human Resources to make preparations for separation on medical grounds. At a minimum, advisors should include Human Resources and Compensation and Benefits Advisors, as well as the employee’s union representative .
The employee should be offered the following options:
- Resignation: Depending on years of service and the collective agreement, the employee may be entitled to severance pay .
- Termination of employment for medical incapacity: This option could offer an entitlement to more severance pay than with resignation, particularly if the employee has fewer years of service.
- Retirement on medical grounds and an opportunity to apply for a disability pension under the Public Service Superannuation Act : Health Canada must certify that the employee’s condition meets the PSSA’s definition of disability.
- If the employee is aged 50 or older, applying for a retirement pension under the PSSA, with a possible reduction because of age or insufficient years of pensionable service.
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Payment Of Your Pension
The possible outcomes of your application are that the pensions agency may:
- award benefits under tier 1
- award benefits under tier 1 with the opportunity to ask for a review to award tier 2 within three years of the decision and before the normal pension age
- award benefits under tier 2
- defer the decision pending the submission of additional medical evidence
- reject the application.
To claim your pension benefits, you must:
- retire from your NHS employment for 24 hours
- complete the relevant retirement application forms.
You can get the required application forms from your employer.
The pensions agencies may take several weeks to process the retirement application forms. You may therefore wish to consider this when arranging to leave to avoid having a period without income.
Yes. If you are contributing to the NHS pension scheme in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, it is necessary to submit your application for payment of pension within 12 months of the decision date.
If you are contributing to the NHS superannuation scheme in Scotland, you must give an expected retirement date when submitting an application. You do not need to retire before being advised whether your application has been successful.
On ill health retirement you are credited with your full intended purchase. Your added years contract will be adjusted to reflect periods of part-time working.
If the contract has been in place for less than 12 months, you will receive a refund of the contributions paid.
How Much Notice To Give
Two to three weeks notice is generally deemed sufficient for most basic jobs. For professional and senior positions, 6-9 months allows for better succession planning and knowledge transfer.
Having said that, a great deal depends upon all those factors previously mentioned. If youre in a toxic or demeaning environment, it might be best to provide minimal notice.
Providing a longer notice could lead to your remaining days being sheer hell.
This happened to one of my co-workers. After turning 70, he expressed he wanted to work a couple more years until his wife was ready to retire. As an inside salesperson, he loved the social interaction and his clients. In spite of consistently meeting or exceeding quotas, management decided it was time for him to go.
In fact, they did everything they could make work uncomfortable. He put up with verbal abuse and publicly being embarrassed. His commissions were rigorously audited and they even found a way to cut his benefits!
My experience wasnt much better which I share in Bad Boss.
Management may not have quite the same view as you. For instance, they may choose to hire or retrain someone for your position without your input. In some instances, theyre looking for fresh blood and a new approach.
Also, co-workers may start treating you differently. On one hand theyre happy for you. But, with change comes stress and uncertainty how itll affect them.
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How The Meb/peb Is Conducted
Physical or mental health problems that are incompatible with military duty or that result in disqualification from worldwide deployment for more than 12 months precipitate a Medical Evaluation Board . Medical boards are initiated by the Medical Treatment Facility , not the individual or the command.
The medical board consists of active duty physicians who review the clinical case file and decide whether the individual should be returned to duty, or should be separated, using the published medical standards for continued military service.
If the MEB determines that the member has a medical condition that is incompatible with continued military service, they refer the case to a Physical Evaluation Board . The PEB is a formal fitness-for-duty and disability determination that may recommend one of the following:
- Return the member to duty
- Place the member on the temporary disabled/retired list
- Separate the member from active duty, or
- Medically retire the member
The standard used by the PEB for determining fitness is whether the medical condition precludes the member from reasonably performing the duties of his or her office, grade, rank, or rating.
Per DoD Instruction 1332.38, the inability to perform the duties of office, grade, rank or rating in every geographic location and under every conceivable circumstance will not be the sole basis for a finding of unfitness. Deployability, however, may be used as a consideration in determining fitness.
What Is Medical Retirement
Medical retirement is an early retirement from a job because of an acquired disability that makes it impossible to continue working. Depending on workplace policies, the employee may be eligible for some retirement benefits. It is also usually possible to file for income assistance from the government when disabilities render a person unable to work. In order to qualify, people must typically have evidence from a doctor supporting their medical retirement claim.
Illnesses and injuries do not have to be workplace-related for people to go into medical retirement. People can acquire disabilities in a variety of ways. Patients will need to meet with their doctors to discuss the situation, and so the doctor can examine the patient and determine the nature of the disability and its permanence. For temporary problems, the doctor may recommend filing for medical leave, allowing the patient time off so she can return to work after she has recovered.
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