Separation changes timing, not the medical standard
You can apply while employed or after separation, subject to the filing deadline and eligibility requirements. A resignation or removal does not by itself establish or defeat a FERS disability claim. The evidence must address your condition and useful and efficient service in the FERS-covered position.
If you are still employed
Begin ORA through HR. Request the required agency and provider documentation early. Filing does not compel your agency to postpone a personnel action, approve leave, or continue pay. Work, leave, pay status, and benefits each have their own rules.
If you are on leave without pay
LWOP is not separation. Nonpay time can affect service credit and insurance. OPM generally credits up to six months of nonpay status in a calendar year for retirement eligibility and computation; excess time and exceptions require individual review. It is incorrect to say all LWOP is noncreditable.
FEHB and FEGLI have limited continuation provisions during nonpay status, with different payment and timing rules. Ask HR for the dates and premium obligations that apply to you using OPM's nonpay-status guidance. There is no universal rule that your agency must remove you after one year.
If you resign or are removed
Confirm the effective separation date on your SF-50 and protect the ordinary one-year filing window. Current OPM instructions direct former employees to submit a disability application directly through ORA. Your former agency still must supply required agency documentation. Keep requests and follow-up correspondence.
Do not assume resignation immediately resolves insurance or payment. The end of employee coverage, possible temporary continuation, and any later retroactive annuitant coverage depend on applicable rules and the final retirement determination. A pending application does not automatically authorize interim payments.
Removal and other disputes
Personnel-action records may be relevant, but a proposed removal is not the same as an OPM disability approval. Removal appeals, discrimination complaints, grievances, and disability retirement are different proceedings with different deadlines. Claims that a resignation was involuntary require a fact-specific legal analysis; an accommodation denial alone does not establish constructive removal.
Protect the deadline and your records
Do not wait for every document if a deadline is approaching: ask OPM promptly about timely filing and seek qualified legal advice if needed. The mental-incompetency waiver is narrow; it is inaccurate to say no extension or exception can ever apply. Keep proof of submission, separation records, and dated agency communications. TFDR does not provide representation or handle appeals.