Background:	The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Federal agencies are working together on a test project to provide better customer service for Federal employees applying for both Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and Social Security disability benefits. This test project is called "FEDMER" - Federal Medical Evidence of Record. The test region includes employees who live in the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. For more background, see Benefits Administration Letter 99-109 which announced the pilot. This letter provides an update.
New On the Web:	OPM and Social Security each have FEDMER web sites: The OPM web site, www.opm.gov/benefits/fedmer/fedmer.htm, provides you and your employees with information about FEDMER and how to participate The Social Security FEDMER site, www.ssa.gov/phila/fedmr1.htm, provides information such as how to obtain Social Security forms and field office information.
Revised Form:	A revised Statement of Participation (SOP) reflects changes made because of your feedback or new initiatives that have improved the FEDMER process. The new Statement of Participation is attached and is also available on both web sites. The Statement of Participation now lists some of the advantages FEDMER offers employees. It also allows the employee to accept or decline to participate in FEDMER. This means all employees who apply for FERS disability benefits and who live in the test region should receive a Statement of Participation and decide for themselves whether or not to participate. A signed Statement of Participation showing an acceptance or declination of FEDMER should be in every eligible FERS disability case from an employee who lives in the test region. The new Statement of Participation includes the date the document was published, March 22, 2000, so that you will know which version is the newest. Web addresses have also been added to the document to help you find the sites when you need to use them. For Social Security employees, we have added the name of their internal Regional Commissioner's Memo, RC Memorandum 27-99. This is on the second page, in the last box entitled "Social Security Disability Benefit Amount Verification". If you work with a Social Security employee who is unfamiliar with FEDMER, refer them to the memo so they can easily find information on how to process the case.
Reminders:	A Step by Step break down of the FEDMER claim process is at www.opm.gov/benefits/fedmer/stpXstp.htm. Please remember to fax the signed Statement of Participation to your local Social Security Office. The fax numbers of the local offices are available at 800-772-1213 or www.ssa.gov/phila/fedmr3.htm. Also, remember to make a copy of the entire FERS disability package and Social Security forms for OPM. You can use the attached Agency Checklist to make sure that you've copied everything on the checklist but the first item, the FEDMER flag. You should send the entire FEDMER package, including a copy of all the FEDMER documents with the FEDMER flag on top, to your payroll office. Tell the payroll office not to remove any of the FEDMER documents, including the document copies. If your Payroll office has questions refer them to Payroll Office Letter P-00-09.
Training on FEDMER:	Processing instructions are available on the Office of Personnel Management and Social Security Administration web sties. The Step-by-Step section on the OPM site will guide you through the FEDMER process. If you need additional assistance, email your question, name and phone number to FEDMER@opm.gov. OPM will no longer provide classroom training for FEDMER.
Additional FEDMER Packages:	All of the Standard Forms are available from the General Services Administration. You can download the Agency Checklist and the FEDMER flag from the OPM web site. All of the Social Security Forms and the Statement of Participation are available for downloading from either web site. If you would like original SSA forms, you can contact the Social Security Administration through their web site, their local field offices, or at 800-772-1213. Social Security will mail you a supply of forms upon request.
Questions:	If you have any questions email FEDMER@opm.gov.

Mary M. Sugar, Director Benefits Officers Resource Center Retirement and Insurance Service

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