Printing - FECA-PT2 - National Association of Letter Carriers

eligible for disability benefits. A child over 18 is not entitled to benefits because of inability
to obtain employment due to economic conditions, lack of job skills, etc.
(2) Definition. A claimant is incapable of self- support if his or her physical or mental
condition renders him or her unable to obtain and retain a job, or engage in
self-employment that would provide a sustained living wage. This determination must be
based on medical evidence. When medical evidence demonstrates incapacity for
self-support, this determination will stand unless refuted by the sustained work
performance.
(3) Medical Evidence. A medical report covering the child's past and present condition
must be submitted and referred to the DMA to determine whether it establishes incapacity
for self-support. A physician's opinion must be based on sufficient findings and rationale to
establish unemployability.
d. Compensation to Parents. Parents, stepparents, and parents by adoption may be entitled to
benefits, but foster parents and in-laws are excluded. Proof of parentage is established by a birth
certificate for the employee, or, in the case of adoption, copies of the legal documents. In the case
of a stepparent, the file must contain proof of the stepparent's marriage to the natural or adoptive
parent of the deceased, along with the birth certificate indicated above.
The parent must be wholly dependent on the employee for support when eligibility for benefits
began. The test of dependency under the FECA is not whether the claimant is capable of
self-support without the amount which was previously provided by the deceased. "It is only
necessary to show that the person claiming as a dependent. . .looked to and relied upon the
contributions. . .in whole or in part, as a means of maintaining or helping to maintain a customary
standard of living" (Viola Davidson, 4 ECAB 263).
Compensation to a parent is payable until the parent dies, marries, or ceases to be dependent. A
parent should be removed from the rolls when the current income received, less compensation,
equals or exceeds the total income from all sources at the time of death. CPI adjustments should
be included when making this determination. OWCP has the burden of proving under this formula
that the parents are no longer dependent.
FECA-PT2 Printed: 06/08/2010 371