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Hi everyone, welcome into the Federal Benefits Q&A. I'm Ashley Withers. I'm the Director of Case Processing here at Harris Federal. We had a great webinar last week about social security disability benefits and the way that they can impact disability retirement. We had a lot of great questions and we just want to go in depth a little bit into those answers, so we'll just jump right in. So our first question is, is it possible to receive social security disability So the answer to this question is yes, you are able to receive social security disability and workers' compensation benefits at the same time. You are also able to receive social security disability and disability retirement benefits at the same time, but they are offset. So with workers' compensation, workers' compensation would be the primary benefit between that and social security. You can make up to 80 percent of what you're making in your position with the If you are approved for both disability retirement benefits and social security disability, social security disability is the primary benefit with that. So you will always receive 100 percent of your full social security benefit and then disability retirement will be offset 100 percent the first year and 60 percent every year after. Our second question is, what does offset mean in context of federal employee benefits? So an offset is the way two benefits go together if you are So specifically with workers' compensation and social security, you can be approved for both, but you cannot receive both of the full benefit. With disability retirement and social security, you can receive both at the same time, but they are offset. So you can't receive both full benefits at the same time. However, VA disability, that is not offset with any. So with disability retirement, social security disability, you are still able to receive your full VA disability benefit. Our third question is, I am currently on FERS disability retirement and social security disability insurance was denied. Should I keep reapplying for social security disability benefits? The answer to this question is it is entirely up to you. It is a requirement of disability retirement to apply for social security disability benefits, but you do not need to be approved. If your claim is denied and you would like to pursue social security disability, you can appeal their decision or reapply anytime. But again, you do not need to be approved for social security disability in order to apply for disability retirement benefits. Our fourth question is, can I continue to work if I collect social security disability? And what do I have to do if I want to go back to work part-time? So if you are approved for social security disability benefits, there are much stricter restrictions when it comes to getting another job if you've been approved for that benefit. So with disability retirement, there are three restrictions that we recommend you stay under if you would like to get another job after you've been approved. We recommend it is outside of the federal government that you stay under all of your medical restrictions. And also the income cap for that is making under 80% of what you're making in your FERS position that you were approved for. With social security disability, we recommend contacting your local social security office. If you have any questions about the application, what you might be receiving, as well as if you have questions about how you can work and how much you can make after approval, we just recommend contacting your local office. And the last question we're going to go over is once you've been approved for disability retirement, can this benefit be stopped or canceled? So with disability retirement, there are a few reasons why your benefits might be suspended. OPM does send out questionnaires every year about your income. So you would need to fill out the income report every year. If they find that you have gone over the 80% income cap, they will suspend your benefits. Additionally, they are able to request updated medical documentation. And when you submit that, if they find that you've been medically recovered, they will suspend your benefits as well. In both of those situations, they are not terminated. You wouldn't need to reapply again, but you would need to show that you have gone back under the income cap or that you have gone back under those medical restrictions and your benefits can be turned back on. Thanks for watching. Please be sure to check out the link below to our previous webinar and the blog post. If you have any questions, please feel free to also contact our office and schedule a free consultation. For additional videos like this as well, please be sure to like and subscribe to our channel. Thank you. Have a great day.