For disabled feds, workers' comp better than retirement

[Geee]

Washington Times:

The Federal Employees' Compensation Act of 1916 was never intended to be a retirement plan, but critics say for thousands of government employees, that's just what it's become.

That's because under the federal system, disabled employees unable to return to work get to choose between receiving higher-paying workers' compensation benefits or the lower-paying federal retirement plan.

For most, the choice is clear.

The money is almost always better under the workers' compensation program, which pays up to 75 percent of the employees' salaries tax-free, compared with the 60 percent they would receive under the retirement system.

Across government, more than 7,000 injured employees continue to collect workers' compensation after retirement age, and a few have even gotten payouts lasting decades well into their 90s, government records show.

**FILE** Sen. Susan Collins
Recent legislation by Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, proposes to transfer workers' compensation recipients to the retirement system when they reach retirement age.

"These individuals aren't out on workers' comp for a period of time to recover from their injuries and then returning to work," she said at a recent Senate hearing, citing as an example 132 U.S. Postal Service employees age 90 or older continuing to currently receive workers' compensation.

"These individuals should be switched to the retirement system. They're never going to return to work over age 90.