Using SSDI Evidence in Your FERS Disability Appeal

If Social Security has approved your SSDI claim while your FERS disability retirement appeal is pending, you're holding a piece of evidence that OPM and the MSPB are legally required to consider. Under Trevan v. OPM, 69 F.3d 520 (Fed. Cir. 1995), an SSA disability award constitutes material evidence in a FERS disability case — and the MSPB must explain itself if it finds the SSA's determination unpersuasive.

Why SSDI Approval Matters for Your FERS Appeal

FERS disability retirement and SSDI use different legal standards. SSDI requires proving inability to perform any substantial gainful activity in the national economy. FERS asks whether you can perform useful and efficient service in your specific federal position and meet the other statutory requirements. An SSDI approval is material evidence for your FERS claim, but the different standards mean it does not determine FERS eligibility.

Under Trevan, an SSA award isn't binding on OPM or the MSPB. But it can't be ignored either. If the MSPB affirms OPM's denial despite your SSDI approval, it must explain why the SSA award is not persuasive in the FERS context. An inadequate explanation may be an issue to raise in a petition for review.

Submitting Your SSDI Award

The moment you receive your SSDI award letter, submit it to whatever stage of the appeal process you're in:

• During reconsideration: Include the SSA award letter in your supplemental evidence package to OPM's Legal Reconsideration Branch. Even if you've already filed your reconsideration request, you can submit additional evidence until OPM sets a cutoff date.
• During MSPB proceedings: Submit the SSA award as supplemental evidence through e-Appeal Online, following the Administrative Judge's evidence deadlines. If the hearing is over but the Initial Decision hasn't issued, ask the AJ for permission to add the award to the record.
• On Petition for Review: New and material evidence that was previously unavailable despite due diligence can support a PFR to the full Board under 5 C.F.R. § 1201.115.

Submit the SSA notice of award and, if available, the decision or supporting records that explain SSA's findings, medical evidence, and established onset date. These materials can show the basis for the award and support your FERS case.

SSDI Denial Doesn't Kill Your FERS Claim

The reverse is also true: if SSA denies your SSDI application, that doesn't mean OPM should deny your FERS claim. The standards are different. You might be unable to perform your specific GS-0343-12 Management Analyst position while still being capable of other work in the national economy. OPM and the MSPB must evaluate FERS eligibility independently of SSA's determination.

That said, OPM sometimes treats an SSDI denial as evidence that the applicant isn't disabled. If this happens in your case, your reconsideration brief should explain the different statutory standards and demonstrate that the SSDI denial doesn't address the FERS-specific question — whether you can perform the essential functions of your particular position.

The FERS-SSDI Offset (Still Active)

One critical distinction: while the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82, signed January 5, 2025) repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset for Social Security benefits payable January 2024 onward, the FERS disability offset under 5 U.S.C. § 8452 remains fully in effect.

If you receive both a FERS disability annuity and SSDI benefits, your FERS annuity is reduced: by 100% of your SSDI benefit in the first year (resulting in 60% of high-3 average salary minus SSDI in year one), and by 60% of your SSDI benefit from the second year until age 62 (resulting in 40% of high-3 minus 60% of SSDI). This offset has nothing to do with GPO or WEP — it's a separate statutory provision that wasn't touched by H.R. 82.

The Mandatory SSDI Application Requirement

Under 5 U.S.C. § 8451(f), you must apply for SSDI benefits as a condition of receiving a FERS disability annuity. OPM won't pay your annuity until you submit proof that you've applied for SSDI — or proof that SSA approved or denied your claim. If you haven't applied yet, do it now regardless of whether you think you'll qualify. The application itself satisfies the statutory requirement.

The FERS Disability Denial Appeal Guide covers how to use SSDI evidence strategically at each stage of the appeal, the offset calculation, and the interplay between SSA and OPM determinations — including template language for citing Trevan in your reconsideration brief.

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