Last Updated: October 14, 2026 Reading Time: 8 min

Search for the OPM disability retirement approval rate and you will find law-firm pages quoting "40 to 60 percent denied" and "99 percent approved for our clients." None of them cites a government document that we could find. We found no current government publication supporting those percentages or a current approval or denial rate. In our search, OPM's current publications give no approval or denial rate for FERS or CSRS disability retirement, and we found no current GAO, MSPB or OPM inspector general publication that gives one. This post lays out what the official data does show, the exact standard OPM has to apply, and the deadlines that govern a FERS case.

What OPM Actually Publishes

OPM's retirement statistics page shows annual additions to the annuity roll, 112,679 in fiscal year 2025, and links a Retirement Processing Status report of inventory and average processing days plus an agency case-accuracy report. There is no disability breakout and no count of approvals versus denials on that page.

OPM's retirement FAQ says it "takes around 60 days (2 months) to process applications for common cases" and lists applying under disability provisions among the circumstances that could make an application take longer. It gives no disability-specific processing time and no rate.

The only OPM-attributed percentage we found anywhere is a line in an archived training deck for agency benefits officers, "CHCO Council Academy Session: Disability Retirement." The deck answers a question about the approval rate with "around 80 percent," but it carries no denominator, reporting period or program split, and it does not establish today's rate. We are not publishing it as a current fact. We note it only because it points the opposite way from the "40 to 60 percent denied" figures on commercial pages.

The GAO reviews we located for this article date to the early 1980s. Its 1983 report, "Most Civil Service Disability Retirement Claims Are Decided Fairly, but Improvements Can Be Made," reviewed whether OPM applied its eligibility criteria consistently and why MSPB reversals were rising, and recommended that OPM notify applicants of the specific reasons for denial. Its product page contains no percentage. The PDF of a 1980 GAO report on the CSRS program is a scanned image with no text layer, so we did not use its figures. Both predate FERS and say nothing about today's adjudication.

We also did not find an MSPB breakdown of disability-retirement appeal outcomes. Any MSPB aggregate affirmance figure covers every appeal type and is not an OPM approval rate.

When a page tells you the odds, ask what document the number came from. If the answer is a firm's own caseload, it tells you about that firm's intake, not about OPM.

What OPM Has to Find Before It Approves You

The standard is statutory. Under 5 U.S.C. § 8451(a)(1), a FERS employee with at least 18 months of creditable civilian service is entitled to disability retirement only if OPM finds that disease or injury leaves the employee unable to render useful and efficient service in the position held. Under CSRS, 5 U.S.C. § 8337(a) requires five years of civilian service, the same useful-and-efficient-service finding, and a finding that the employee is not qualified for reassignment to a vacant position at the same grade or level in the agency; for Postal employees, a different-craft position or a reassignment inconsistent with the covering collective bargaining agreement does not count.

The regulation defines the key phrase. Under 5 C.F.R. § 844.102, "useful and efficient service means acceptable performance of the critical or essential elements of the position; and satisfactory conduct and attendance." Disability means the inability, because of disease or injury, to render that service in your current position. This is why disability retirement is not the same as total disability: the question is whether you can do your job, not whether you can do any job.

For FERS, 5 C.F.R. § 844.103(a) spells out five elements, not four. For ordinary FERS disability retirement, you must meet all five (qualifying military reserve technicians have a separate retirement route):

  1. Have at least 18 months of civilian service creditable under FERS.
  2. Have become disabled, while in a FERS position, because of a medical condition that causes a deficiency in performance, conduct or attendance, or that is incompatible with useful and efficient service or retention in the position even without a deficiency.
  3. Have a condition expected to continue for at least one year from the date you file.
  4. Show that accommodation of the condition in the position held is unreasonable. The regulation defines accommodation as a reasonable adjustment to the job or work environment, with examples such as modifying the worksite, adjusting the schedule, restructuring the job, equipment, readers or interpreters, and retraining.
  5. Not have declined an offer of reassignment to a vacant position.

That fifth element has its own machinery. Under § 844.103(b), your agency must consider you for reassignment to any vacant position and certify to OPM either that none exists or that it considered you for one without making an offer. A vacant position means an unoccupied position at the same grade or pay level and tenure, in the same commuting area, under the same appointing authority (with an exception for military reserve technicians), and one you are qualified for. It must be full-time, unless your current position is less than full-time, in which case its schedule cannot be shorter than your current one. For Postal Service employees, a position in a different craft or one that conflicts with the collective bargaining agreement does not count. If the agency offers a reassignment and you decline, you can appeal the agency's finding that you could do that job to the MSPB under 5 U.S.C. § 7701.

Military reserve technicians retiring under the technician provisions are exempt from elements two through four.

The Three Clocks

One year to file

Under 5 U.S.C. § 8453 and 5 C.F.R. § 844.201(a), an application is timely only if it is filed with your employing agency before separation, or with the former agency or OPM within one year after. OPM may waive the limit only for mental incompetence at separation or within that year, in which case a new one-year clock runs from restoration of competency or appointment of a fiduciary, whichever comes first. The filing date is the date of receipt, except that a fax is filed on its transmission date, a mailed application on its postmark date, and an overnight-carrier package on the day you hand it to the carrier. An incomplete application, or one not on the OPM form, filed inside the year is still timely, but OPM will not adjudicate it or pay until the prescribed form is in.

30 calendar days for reconsideration

A denial comes with reconsideration rights, and 5 C.F.R. § 844.104 routes a disability applicant to the FERS reconsideration rule. Under 5 C.F.R. § 841.306(d)(1), "a request for reconsideration must be received by OPM within 30 calendar days from the date of the initial decision." The clock runs from the decision date and is measured by receipt at OPM. OPM may extend it only if you were not notified of the limit and were unaware of it, or were prevented from filing by circumstances beyond your control. There is no fixed second 30 days. A decision that is still subject to reconsideration cannot be appealed directly to the MSPB.

30 days for the MSPB

After OPM's final decision, 5 C.F.R. § 841.308 lets you ask the MSPB to review it. Under 5 C.F.R. § 1201.22(b)(1), the appeal is due no later than 30 days after the effective date of the action or 30 days after you receive the decision, whichever is later, or 60 days if both parties agreed in writing to try alternative dispute resolution first. An untimely appeal "will be dismissed as untimely filed unless a good reason for the delay is shown." Note the difference from the reconsideration clock: this one runs from the later of the effective date and your receipt of the decision.

The Social Security Application Rule

Under 5 C.F.R. § 844.201(b), OPM cannot authorize a FERS disability annuity until you give it either satisfactory evidence that you have applied for Social Security disability insurance benefits or an official SSA statement that you are not insured for them. You do not need an SSA approval. But if SSA notifies OPM that you withdrew the application, OPM dismisses your disability retirement application, and all rights to an annuity under the FERS disability rules terminate on that withdrawal. Do not assume you may withdraw the SSDI application after OPM approves retirement; withdrawal terminates rights under this rule. The interaction between the two benefits is covered in our SSDI and FERS disability offset post.

Two Traps After Approval

OPM can take an approval back

Under 5 C.F.R. § 844.203(c)(2), OPM may rescind an allowed application at any time if it determines the original decision was erroneous because of fraud, misstatement of fact, or newly acquired medical or other documentation, with written notice and the same reconsideration and MSPB rights. There is no time limit. OPM may also offer an examination by a government medical officer or a physician it designates, and refusing it is grounds for dismissal of the application or termination of payments. Unless OPM orders the exam, you pay for your own medical documentation.

Agency-filed applications are required only in a narrow case

Under 5 C.F.R. § 844.202, an agency must file on behalf of an employee with 18 months of federal civilian service only when all five conditions hold: it has issued a removal decision; it has concluded after reviewing medical documentation that disease or injury caused the unacceptable performance, attendance or conduct; the employee is institutionalized or the agency concludes the employee cannot decide to file; there is no personal representative or guardian; and no immediate family member is willing to file. If a removal looks medically caused but not all five conditions are met, the agency's duty is to tell you in writing about your possible eligibility and the filing deadline. Whether a removal for medical inability shifts the burden to OPM in your favor is a question of case law we are not addressing here.

For CSRS annuitants under 60, one more rule: earning capacity is deemed restored if your income from wages or self-employment in any calendar year reaches at least 80 percent of the current pay of the position you held before retirement, and the annuity ends on federal reemployment or 180 days after the end of that year, whichever comes first. The FERS version of that test is in a separate regulation we did not verify for this post.

Estimate the Annuity Itself

The annuity itself is computed in phases rather than as a single figure. Use our free FERS Disability Retirement Calculator to run each phase from your high-3 and service, including the Social Security offset. Run the three phases

If you are not sure what salary figure OPM will use, the High-3 Calculator takes your salary periods, with start and end dates and annual salary including locality, and returns the highest 36-month average. The phases are explained in our FERS disability retirement annuity guide. Eligibility in detail is in the FERS disability retirement eligibility guide, and the full process is in the FERS disability retirement guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is OPM's approval rate for disability retirement?

We found no current OPM publication that gives one. OPM's public statistics cover annuitants added to the rolls and processing times, not approvals versus denials. The only OPM-attributed figure we found is a line in an archived OPM training deck that carries no denominator or reporting period and does not establish today's rate.

Where do the "40 to 60 percent denied" numbers come from?

Law-firm marketing pages. None of them cites a government document, and a firm's caseload figure describes that firm's intake, not OPM's decisions.

What does OPM have to find to approve a FERS disability retirement?

That disease or injury keeps you from rendering useful and efficient service in your own position, meaning acceptable performance of its critical elements plus satisfactory conduct and attendance, and that, for ordinary FERS disability retirement, the five regulatory elements are met (qualifying military reserve technicians have a separate retirement route): 18 months of service, becoming disabled while employed in a FERS position because of a medical condition that causes a deficiency or is incompatible with the job, a condition expected to last at least a year from filing, no reasonable accommodation, and no declined reassignment to a vacant position.

How long do I have to file after I leave federal service?

One year from separation, waivable only for mental incompetence. A fax counts on the day it is sent, mail on the postmark date, and an incomplete filing inside the year still stops the clock.

What happens if OPM denies my application?

Under FERS, OPM must receive your reconsideration request within 30 calendar days of the decision date if the decision gives you reconsideration rights. After OPM's final decision, your MSPB appeal is due 30 days after the effective date of the decision or 30 days after you receive it, whichever is later, or 60 days if you and OPM agreed in writing to try alternative dispute resolution. Late filing is excused only for good reason, and specified reconsideration extensions apply.

Do I have to be approved for Social Security disability first?

No. You must show that you applied, or that SSA says you are not insured for disability benefits. Withdrawing the SSA application gets the OPM application dismissed and ends your annuity rights under the FERS disability rules.

Can OPM take an approval back?

Yes, at any time, if OPM determines the original approval was erroneous due to fraud, misstatement of fact, or newly acquired medical or other documentation, with written notice and the same review rights.

Sources: 5 U.S.C. § 8451; 5 U.S.C. § 8453; 5 U.S.C. § 8337; 5 C.F.R. § 844.102; 5 C.F.R. § 844.103; 5 C.F.R. § 844.104; 5 C.F.R. § 844.201; 5 C.F.R. § 844.202; 5 C.F.R. § 844.203; 5 C.F.R. part 841, subpart C; 5 C.F.R. § 1201.22; OPM Retirement Statistics; OPM FAQ: Applying for Retirement Benefits; GAO FPCD-83-1; GAO FPCD-81-18.