Is it getting harder and harder to get out of bed and go to work every day? Is your job leaving you completely drained of motivation? Having a mental health condition on top of a stressful federal job is difficult. What once felt exciting and fulfilling may now be the hardest part of your day. But it doesn’t have to feel like this forever.
You have options.
If your mental health is affecting your work performance, Federal Disability Retirement is a benefit worth looking into. It allows you to keep your federal pension and provides you with monthly payments until you reach retirement age. Consider it a bridge between now and retirement if you can’t keep working due to your mental health.
But what kinds of conditions qualify? How easy is it to prove the impact on your job? Let’s dive in.
Will Federal Disability Retirement help me?
Federal Disability Retirement might not be as well-known as other federal benefits, but we’ve helped more than 10,000 federal employees successfully apply for it at a 99% success rate. There are three eligibility requirements:
- You must be a FERS career federal employee
- You must have 18 months of creditable service
- You must have a diagnosed medical condition (this includes mental health conditions)
Federal Disability Retirement is a lot different than other disability benefits, and we don’t want you to get it confused.
- You don’t have to be totally disabled, like Social Security Disability Insurance
- You don’t have to be hurt on the job, like Workers’ Compensation
- Your medical condition doesn’t have to be service connected, like VA Disability
Mental Health Impairments in the Workplace
Mental health conditions are often stigmatized and not well understood. It can be scary to seek help for a mental health condition, but it may be necessary, especially if it’s affecting your work performance.
We see a lot of clients with mental health conditions that are affecting their job, like:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- PTSD
- OCD
Because the symptoms of mental health conditions oftentimes can’t be seen, it may feel like you don’t have a strong enough reason to apply for Disability Retirement. But even though someone with depression may not appear to be depressed, they might be struggling to get out of bed every single day. Any condition that impacts your ability to do your job is considered by the OPM, not just physical injuries.
Proving Mental Health Impairments
Because mental health conditions are “invisible,” it can be hard to prove how serious your condition really is. But there are a few ways you can help prove your on-the-job struggle.
- Having an official diagnosis from a medical provider is imperative if you are applying for Federal Disability Retirement.
- You’ll need to show a history of struggling with your mental illness. This could include medication history and office records.
- It’s also important to speak to your supervisor about your condition. If your supervisor is unaware of your mental illness, they may not be supportive of you applying for Federal Disability Retirement.
Gathering Medical Evidence for a Mental Condition
It’s important to have consistent, documented treatment for mental health conditions.
Your application for Federal Disability Retirement will ask for the date that you became “disabled from your position.” Unless you’re struggling with something like PTSD that has a very specific start date, it can be hard to figure out when your mental health condition got to the point where it started affecting your work performance.
In order to do this, you’ll have to show how your mental health condition is directly affecting your work with examples from your job description.
- Having a history of absences from work due to your mental health can help in this situation.
- Having a treatment plan, therapy notes, psychiatrist evaluations and hospitalization records can all support your case.
Our team of medical records specialists and case managers will help to gather and compile the necessary documentation for the strongest application.
How We Help
We don’t want you to feel drained every day because you feel like you have to keep working. If you’re struggling with a mental health condition and it’s affecting your federal job, there’s hope for a different life.
With Federal Disability Retirement, you’ll get a steady monthly payment, keep your pension, keep your health and life insurance, and can still find a new job in the private sector that fits your health needs better.
You don’t have to be alone in this process. We’re here to take the burden off your shoulders and give you a clear path forward. Give our office a call for a free benefit estimate, and guidance on the next best steps for you.
