Should I take disability or early retirement? How do I get SSDI benefits? Can SSI force someone to apply for early retirement benefits? Can a person on disability retirement work part time?
FERS disability benefits are computed in different ways depending on the annuitant’s age and amount of service at retirement.
In addition, FERS disability retirement benefits are recomputed after the first twelve months and again at age 6 if the annuitant is under age at the time of disability retirement. The “disability freeze” will limit the effect of zero earnings years. You will get early entitlement to Medicare after months of SSDI payments. As our bodies age, processes start to slow and we become increasingly more susceptible to illnesses and severe side effects.
People who are found to be disabled before they receive early retirement benefits can can get retroactive benefits that make up the difference between the higher SSDI payment and the lower amount that they already received for early retirement. And if the disability started before they were eligible for early retirement , they get the benefit of a “Disability Freeze” that disregards low earning or zero earnings on the years when they were disabled.


