Evidence for FERS or CSRS Disability Retirement Benefits

Assuming that the USPS or  federal employee meets the non-medical eligibility requirements for FERS or CSRS disability retirement, they may eventually have to persuade an Administrative Judge of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) or the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that their medical condition renders them unable to provide useful and efficient government service.

How does the Federal or Postal employee do this?  There are five (5) general types of evidence that a Federal employee or Postal worker should consider using to try to persuade OPM or the MSPB that he or she is entitled to receive FERS or CSRS disability retirement

1. Objective clinical findings

These are the tests that doctors perform to diagnose a condition, or the objective clinical findings are the data on which doctors and medical professionals base their opinions.  These findings can often be found in the doctor's and nurse medical notes or your medical records file.  Ask your doctor for a complete copy of his or her records.

2. Diagnoses and medical opinions

These are the doctor's conclusions from the empirical evidence or raw data.  These can be found in your medical records as well.

3. Subjective evidence of pain and disability

In the MSPB, "subjective" is the word used to describe things that are perceived, thought or felt by an individual himself (or herself). In other words, if I believe that the pain from my migraines is what keeps me from being in a room with bright lights, that is my "subjective" opinion.  If a doctor, however, comes to that conclusion from tests and data, the MSPB considers it an "objective" opinion.  A postal worker or Federal employee applying for federal disability retirement should consider including their own affidavit explaining the pain from the condition, the pain from the symptoms of the condition,  or even the pain from the treatment of the condition in an application to OPM for FERS or CSRS disability retirement.

4. Evidence relating to the effect of the appellant's condition on his ability to perform in the grade or class of position last occupied

Often, this is nothing more than medical reports or summaries.  If your doctors records are not clear to a lay-person, then you may want to have your doctor look over your position description and identify the tasks you cannot perform because of your disability, explaining why so that a lay-person can understand.

5. Evidence that the appellant was not qualified for reassignment to a vacant position at the same grade or level as the position he last occupied

In most cases, the  certification prepared by your Supervisor for your disability retirement application is going to be enough. However, if you have filed an EEO complaint alleging disability discrimination for failure to accommodate your disability, you may have more evidence that can help your application for federal disability retirement.