Medical Retirement Benefits for US Government Employees: The Waiting

We wait in lines and on telephones; we wait for the mail and to be served in restaurants and supermarkets; waiting is a necessity, based upon a closely-held belief that the end-product for which we expend such virtues as patience is worthy of the investment of time. There is always a quick calculation which must be engaged before the waiting can begin; of weighing the importance of the service or product to be received, in conjunction with the time it will take to attain the goal of receipt, and in further consideration of the comparative value of other things “to do”.

For the Federal or Postal Worker who is filing for Federal disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal Worker is under FERS or CSRS, the worth of waiting must always be balanced with the proverbial question, “For what?”

Waiting for a Federal agency or the U.S. Postal Service to initiate an action which may or may not impact a Federal Disability Retirement application is normally not “worth” it, for such a wait may never produce anything fruitful. Waiting because to do otherwise — to act — will incur efforts of cognitive or physical exhaustion is something which will only delay an inevitable need, and is therefore unwise to engage, is something that must be often countered by sheer force of will.

On the other hand, once a Federal Disability Retirement application is filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the real game of waiting begins, and one which no one has very little and limited control over. For, ultimately, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management — the agency which has the authority to approve or deny a Federal Disability Retirement case — has the cards which count, and the requested product of the goal to attain: a decision on a Federal Disability Retirement application filed by the Federal or Postal Worker.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Medical Retirement for Federal Workers: The Jump from Thought to Action

There is a wide chasm between thought and action; and, while many can deceive one’s self by remaining mired in the activity of thought, it is the gauge of the objective, physical world which validates the efficacy and resulting consequences of one’s actions, which makes for determination of accomplishment and completion.  The proverbial “dreamer” who never transitions from the creativity of thoughtful contemplation to actualization of ingenious ideas and proposed intellectual discoveries, remains stuck in the netherworld of potentiality, never to move beyond the mysterious quietude of one’s own mind.

For Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition has impacted one’s ability to perform the essential elements of one’s job, remaining forever in thought-mode as opposed to action-orientation, keeps one in the hostile environment of avoiding multiple pitfalls and minefields of delay, procrastination, and potential adversity from one’s supervisors, coworkers and agency heads.

Whether under CSRS or FERS, the Federal or Postal employee with a medical condition which is impacting the ability to continue in the job, should consider the giant step from thought to action, and reflect upon the benefits of a Federal Disability Retirement submission, ultimately to be decided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

The step from thought to action is often exponentially magnified by the earthshaking reverberations of a changed life.  But to fail to act is often the greater of evils, and to remain in the unending turmoil of one’s anguish is never an answer to a problem.  Instead, it is the composite solution which will render the ultimate satisfaction: thoughtful action.  It is where thought and action work in harmony, and for which Man evolved to reach the pinnacle of his Being.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

CSRS & FERS Medical Disability Retirement: The Angst of Thought

The distorted and warped world within which we live is often a creation of our own imagination; while it speaks well for man’s creativity and unique conceptualization of a virtual universe, it may not be the most effective formula for physical survival.  On the other hand, perhaps it is our very ability to escape the reality of the barrenness of this world, which allows for such survival.

In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, it is often that “next step” — from fear, loathing, and conceptualization of the foreboding future and what it may portend — which gives one pause in taking the leap from thought-to-action.  But it is action which enlivens the spirit, which uplifts one from the doldrums of cataclysmic cognitive proportions.

Taking concrete steps, as opposed to merely anguishing over the need to get from point A to destination B, is precisely what distinguishes one from being in a state of continual suspension in life, as opposed to progressing towards a goal.  The world of our own making — the linguistic, conceptualizing world of the virtual universe of man’s own creation — must always be balanced by the reality of the physical universe.

Making a decision is important; acting upon a decision is the next important step.

Beginning the process of contacting the doctors, obtaining the forms, or engaging an OPM Disability attorney — those are the actual steps in preparing a Federal Disability Retirement application, whether under FERS or CSRS, which will rescue one from the angst of thought, and spring into action the universe of accomplishment for the future.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire