FERS Disability Retirement: How It Works
FERS disability retirement pays a benefit for federal employees who become unable to perform their duties because of disease or injury. For the first 12 months it equals 60 percent of high-3 average salary minus 100 percent of the Social Security benefit, then 40 percent of high-3 minus 60 percent of the Social Security disability benefit. If your earned annuity under the regular FERS formula is larger, you receive that instead. At age 62 the annuity is recomputed as a regular FERS retirement with service and salary adjusted for the disability years.
Disability retirement under FERS is a separate track from workers compensation and from Social Security disability. It is a retirement benefit, paid by OPM, for employees whose medical condition makes them unable to render useful and efficient service in their position. The benefit formula is generous at first and then steps down, and at age 62 it converts into something that looks like a normal retirement.
Who qualifies
Three conditions must be met. First, you must have completed at least 18 months of creditable civilian service. Second, you must have become disabled, because of disease or injury, for useful and efficient service in your current position, with the disability expected to continue for at least one year. Third, your agency must certify that it is unable to accommodate your disabling condition in your present position and has considered you for any vacant position at the same grade or pay level, within the same commuting area, for which you are qualified.
The application goes through your agency to OPM, and medical evidence is central. Periodic medical examinations may be required to retain the benefit: OPM can ask you to demonstrate continuing disability, and payments can be suspended if you do not establish it.
The benefit formula
The disability annuity uses a two-stage formula, and at each stage you receive the larger of the formula amount or your earned annuity under the regular FERS computation.
For the first 12 months of entitlement: 60% of your high-3 average salary, minus 100% of your Social Security benefit for any month in which you are entitled to Social Security benefits. No cost-of-living adjustments are paid during this first year. Note that Social Security disability payments do not begin until five months after you qualify, so during that waiting period you receive the full FERS disability benefit without the offset.
After the first 12 months: 40% of your high-3 average salary, minus 60% of your Social Security disability benefit for any month in which you are entitled to it. Cost-of-living adjustments begin after the first-year period.
The earned annuity floor matters most for long-service employees. If the annuity you have actually earned under the regular formula (high-3 times service times 1.0%, with the 1.1% rule applied if applicable) is larger than the disability formula amount, you receive the earned amount. For an employee with 25 years of service, the earned annuity often exceeds the 40% disability formula, so the disability retirement effectively becomes a regular retirement paid early.
Worked example
Consider an employee with a high-3 of $90,000, 15 years of service, and a Social Security disability benefit of $1,800 per month. First-year FERS disability benefit: 60% of $90,000 is $54,000 per year, or $4,500 per month, minus the full $1,800 Social Security benefit, for a net FERS payment of $2,700 per month during months Social Security is payable. After the first year: 40% of $90,000 is $36,000 per year, or $3,000 per month, minus 60% of $1,800 ($1,080), for a net FERS payment of $1,920 per month. The earned annuity under the regular formula would be $90,000 x 15 x 0.01 = $13,500 per year, or $1,125 per month, which is smaller, so the disability formula governs.
What happens at age 62
When you reach age 62, your annuity is recomputed using an amount that essentially represents the annuity you would have received if you had continued working until the day before your 62nd birthday and then retired under regular FERS provisions. Your total service is increased by the time you spent receiving the disability annuity, and your high-3 average salary is increased by all FERS cost-of-living adjustments paid during the disability years. The accrual rate follows the regular rule: 1.0%, or 1.1% if your actual service plus the disability-annuity credit totals 20 or more years.
Survivor elections and COLAs
If you are married, your disability benefit is reduced for a survivor benefit unless your spouse consents to a lesser election: 10% reduction for a 50% survivor benefit, 5% for a 25% survivor benefit. Disability retirees are not eligible for the FERS Special Retirement Supplement. Cost-of-living adjustments follow the standard FERS rules, and disabled retirees receive COLAs regardless of age.
If you are weighing disability retirement against other options, start by estimating what the regular formula would pay with our FERS pension calculator, since the earned-annuity floor may be the number that actually governs your case.
Data current as of October 2026. Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (opm.gov), retirement information on FERS disability benefits.