Of course, when a person begins his or her career with the Federal Government, the consideration of a Federal Disability Retirement benefit does not enter into the equation of accepting the position. Most Federal and Postal workers would rather work and be healthy, than to resort to preparing and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.
Indeed, the problem with Federal and Postal workers is not that the option of Federal Disability Retirement is considered or taken; rather, the problem lies more in the fact that it is an option of last resort — which is probably how it should be, however necessary such an option must be for many Federal and Postal Workers. But at some point in the linear continuum of a person’s career, where health and work collide and one must make a choice between the two, it is too often the case that the Federal or Postal worker has passed the point of “reasonableness” in preparing and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.
It is rare that it is ever “too late” to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits (unless we are talking about missing the Statute of Limitations in filing); but most Federal and Postal workers, whether from a sense of duty, commitment, or sheer stubbornness, will work beyond the point of a well-reasoned and informed state of health or self-preservation. But however and whenever that point of finally choosing the path of preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, comes about, one should prepare one’s case carefully; formulate the disability retirement application with care and foresight; and file it in a timely manner.
When the time comes, and the path to a recuperative period of one’s life is finally considered, it should be done “right” — as much as one has invested in the effort of work itself throughout one’s career.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer | Tagged: all conditions listed in the application should explain the "nexus", applying for federal disability retirement on your terms and before your options are limited, careful walking in the path toward federal disability retirement, civil service disability, considerations before and after the disability application, considering all the options a federal disability applicant has, disability retirement with the us government: putting all the employee's options on the table, early out option for injured postal workers available but not authomatic, federal disability law blog, FERS disability lawyer, fers disability retirement as your path to a healthier future, financial and medical considerations for an injured postal employees, just narrowing your options putting your health always as a priority, knowing your federal employment options if that injury doesn't go away, law firm representing clients in opm disability law all across america, life choices - giving the last bit of your health to your family and loved ones, looking at the milestone and choosing the path that will take you a long way, making a pragmatic consideration on disability issues, medical retirement options for federal employees, nationwide representation of federal employees, opm disability retirement: choosing the best path giving your medical conditions, owcp disability retirement, Postal Service disability, resources for injured federal workers, the bridge that connects the two most important dots in an opm disability claim, the bridge you must build in your federal employee disability application, the disabled federal employee and the options on the table, the two different paths a disabled federal employee can take, understanding your legal options while working with a disability in the federal workplace, USPS disability retirement, usps plus disability options, when medical retirement is the only option for a federal employee, your medical application has to be based on the nexus and not necessarily on the seriousness of your medical conditions |
Leave a Reply