Disparity With Retirement Benefits Also Cited

Hallmark said that another major disincentive to an employee’s recovery and resumption of a federal career is the “disparity between retirement benefits provided by OPM and long-term FECA benefits.” Long-term FECA beneficiaries who are over normal retirement age have a choice between federal retirement system benefits and FECA benefits, “but they overwhelmingly elect the latter because FECA benefits are typically far more generous. Injured employees who do return to work risk the possibility that their retirement income will be less than it would have been had they stayed in the FECA system on total disability. Thus the FECA and retirement benefit structures intertwine to discourage employees from returning to work,” Hallmark said.