CFR

844.401—Recovery from disability.

(a) Each annuitant receiving disability annuity from the Fund shall be examined under the direction of OPM at the end of one year from the date of disability retirement and annually thereafter until the annuitant becomes 60 years of age unless the disability is found by OPM to be permanent in character. OPM may order a medical or other examination at any time to determine the facts relative to the nature and degree of disability of the annuitant. Failure to submit to reexamination shall result in suspension of annuity.

(b) A disability annuitant may request medical reevaluation under the provisions of this section at any time. OPM may reevaluate the medical condition of disability annuitants age 60 or over only on their own request.

(c) Recovery based on medical or other documentation. When OPM determines on the basis of medical documentation or other evidence that a disability annuitant has recovered from the disability, OPM will terminate the annuity effective on the first day of the month beginning 1 year after the date of the medical documentation or other evidence showing recovery. If an agency reemploys a disability annuitant who has been found recovered at any grade or rate of pay within the 1-year period pending termination of the disability annuity under this paragraph, OPM will terminate the annuity effective on the date of reemployment.

(d) Recovery based on reemployment by the Federal Government. Reemployment by an agency at any time before age 60 is evidence of recovery if the reemployment is under an appointment not limited to a year or less, at the same or higher grade or pay level as the position from which the disability annuitant retired. The new position must be full-time unless the position the disability annuitant occupied immediately before retirement was less than full-time, in which case the new position must have a work schedule of no less time than that of the position from which the disability annuitant retired. In this instance, OPM needs no medical documentation to find the annuitant recovered. Disability annuity payments will terminate effective on the first day of the month following the month in which the recovery finding is made under this paragraph.

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