What special definitions does OWCP use in connection with Part E wage-loss determinations?
For the purposes of paying compensation based on wage-loss under Part E of the Act, OWCP will apply the following definitions: (a) Average annual wage means four times the average quarterly wages of a covered Part E employee for the 12 quarters preceding the quarter during which he or she first experienced wage-loss due to exposure to a toxic substance at a DOE facility or RECA section 5 facility, excluding any quarters during which the employee was unemployed. Because being “retired” is not equivalent to being “unemployed,” quarters during which an employee had no wages because he or she was retired will not be excluded from this calculation. (b) Normal retirement age means the age at which a covered Part E employee first became eligible for unreduced retirement benefits under the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) provisions of the Social Security Act. In general, persons born during or before 1937 are eligible for unreduced OASDI retirement benefits at age 65, and t
