Disability retirement

§ 8337. Disability retirement (a) An employee who completes 5 years of civilian service and is found by the Civil Service Commission to have become disabled shall be retired on his own application or on application by his agency. A Member who completes 5 years of Member service and is found by the Commission to have become disabled shall be retired on his own application. An annuity authorized by this section is computed under section 8339 of this title. (b) A claim may be allowed under this section only if the application is filed with the Commission before the employee or Member is separated from the service or within 1 year thereafter. This time limitation may be waived by the Commission for an employee or Member who at the date of separation from service or within 1 year thereafter is mentally incompetent, if the application is filed with the Commission within 1 year from the date of restoration of the employee or Member to competency or the appointment of a fiduciary, whichever is earlier. (c) An annuitant receiving disability retirement annuity from the Fund shall be examined under the direction of the Commission— (1) at the end of 1 year from the date of the disability retirement; and (2) annually thereafter until he becomes 60 years of age; unless his disability is permanent in character. If the annuitant fails to submit to examination as required by this section, payment of 80 Stat. 573the annuity shall be suspended until continuance of the disability is satisfactorily established. (d) If an annuitant receiving disability retirement annuity from the Fund, before becoming 60 years of age, recovers from his disability, payment of the annuity terminates on reemployment by the Government or 1 year after the date of the medical examination showing the recovery, whichever is earlier. If an annuitant receiving disability retirement annuity from the Fund, before becoming 60 years of age, is restored to an earning capacity fairly comparable to the current rate of pay of the position occupied at the time of retirement, payment of the annuity terminates on reemployment by the Government or 1 year after the end of the calendar year in which earning capacity is so restored, whichever is earlier. Earning capacity is deemed restored if in each of 2 succeeding calendar years the income of the annuitant from wages or self-employment or both equals at least 80 percent of the current rate of pay of the position occupied immediately before retirement. (e) If an annuitant whose annuity is terminated under subsection (d) of this section is not reemployed in a position within the purview of this subchapter, he is deemed, except for service credit, to have been involuntarily separated from the service for the purpose of this subchapter as of the date of termination of the disability annuity, and after that termination is entitled to annuity under the applicable provisions of this subchapter. If an annuitant whose annuity is heretofore or hereafter terminated because of an earning capacity provision of this subchapter or an earlier statute— (1) is not reemployed in a position within the purview of this subchapter; and (2) has not recovered from the disability for which he was retired; his annuity shall be restored at the same rate effective the first of the year following any calendar year in which his income from wages or self-employment or both is less than 80 percent of the current rate of pay of the position occupied immediately before retirement. If an annuitant whose annuity is heretofore or hereafter terminated because of a medical finding that he has recovered from disability is not re-employed in a position within the purview of this subchapter, his annuity shall be restored at the same rate effective from the date of medical examination showing a recurrence of the disability. The second and third sentences of this subsection do not apply to an individual who has become 62 years of age and is receiving or is eligible to receive annuity under the first sentence of this subsection. (f) An individual is not entitled to receive an annuity under this subchapter and compensation for injury or disability to himself under subchapter I of chapter 81 of this title covering the same period of time. This provision does not bar the right of a claimant to the greater benefit conferred by either subchapter for any part of the same period of time. Neither this provision nor any provision of subchapter I of chapter 81 of this title denies to an individual an annuity accruing to him under this subchapter on account of service performed by him, or denies any concurrent benefit to him under subchapter I of chapter 81 of this title on account of the death of another individual. (g) The right of an individual entitled to an annuity under this subchapter is not affected because he has received a lump-sum payment for compensation under section 8135 of this title. However, if the annuity is payable on account of the same disability for which compensation under section 8135 of this title has been paid, so much of 80 Stat. 574the compensation as has been paid for a period extended beyond the date the annuity becomes effective, as determined by the Department of Labor, shall be refunded to that Department to be covered into the Employees’ Compensation Fund. Before the individual may receive the annuity he shall— (1) refund to the Department of Labor the amount representing the commuted compensation payments for the extended period; or (2) authorize the deduction of that amount from the annuity payable to him under this subchapter, which amount shall be transmitted to the Department of Labor for reimbursement to the Employees’ Compensation Fund. Deductions from the annuity may be made from accrued and accruing payments. When the Department of Labor finds that the financial circumstances of the annuitant warrant deferred refunding, deductions from the annuity may be prorated against and paid from accruing payments in such manner as that Department determines.