FERS Disability Retirement Law: Of Future Events

Are we the only species which imagines, worries, obsesses over — of future events as yet unfulfilled?  Do we create scenarios from “whole cloth” of events which might occur but which often never come to fruition?

Of course, the past is a good indicator of future events — a harbinger and foreboding of storms to come; the present, of predictors based upon current trends; and of the future, whether seen in the coiling bundles of anxious imaginations or steeped within solid predicates that cannot be ignored; and in the end, it is this species called “human beings” who engage in such folly.  But for such insanities, we would not have stock markets and commodities “futures” to bet upon.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who worry about their futures because of a health crisis which prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of his or her job, worries and anxieties about the future can be daunting, overwhelming, and obsessively of concern.

The future must be planned for; the present circumstances need to be dealt with in order to plan for that future; and the past actions of your agency are probably a good indicator of future events.

Contact an OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin planning for your future by preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under FERS; for, in the end, it is up to the greater predictor of future events to embrace the inevitabilities of life’s misfortunes, taking the past into account, facing the present circumstances with a direct and serious assessment, and thus correlating the past and present to prepare for future eventualities.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
Lawyer exclusively representing Federal and Postal employees to secure their Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

 

Federal Disability Retirement Benefits: Descending Into

Whether into the arena of the devil’s playground or into insanity, the metaphor always seems to include a descent, and not its opposite, an ascent.  Why heaven is above and hell is below has been lost for its context and underlying meaning; the perspective of “up” as opposed to “down” must somehow be relevant, but science has certainly diminished the metaphorical significance by debunking any notions about time and place.

We now know that the sun does not “rise” and “set” in the rotational movement of the earth; that from the perspective of deep space, there is no “up” or “down”, and that our place within the universe is but a small, insignificant pinhole within the context of a greater universe.  But the human story, regardless of the cold perspective provided by science of an “objective” world, is that we descend into madness, descend into hell, and descend into chaos.

Language is a peculiar animal in this way; it uses its ordinary sense within a culturally relevant context, but when that context disappears or is no longer “alive”, the old manners of usage become an anomaly of puzzles.  Yet, even with its loss of cultural significance, “descending into” somehow maintains its appropriateness when it comes to mishaps, tragedies and difficulties.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal position, descending into greater chaos and difficulties may be mitigated by preparing and filing an application for disability retirement.

Consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of ascending towards another life beyond the Federal or Postal sector, thus preventing descending into a state of turmoil and possible termination.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: Choices and Regrets

The two go hand-in-hand, although we may not necessarily see them as unalterable couplets forever ensconced and inseparable. Instead, we often make choices, then afterwards, express our regrets without having learned from the process of “choice-making”.

Choices available are often unanalyzed and nebulous; left to appear, remain inert and ignored; the “active” part of a “choice” is when we engage in the act of “choice-making” — of engaging our minds with an inactive but available “something” — a choice there, but lifeless until the activation of our choosing invigorates the inertia of indecision.

Regrets, on the other hand, are comprised by the dust of past choices made. Once settled, they remain in the hidden caverns of forgotten memories until, one day or hour, or moment of quietude when we have the time to reflect back, the unsettling of the dust collected is stirred and rises from the ashes, like the mythological Phoenix that appears with wings spread and ready for flight into our imagination and stabbing at the vulnerabilities of our inner soul.

We regret that which we have chosen; and like the past that haunts, such regrets are ever so painful when once we recall the choices available and the ones we made.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job and position, the next steps taken — of choices being made in whether and how to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits — are important in determining whether regrets will follow.

Consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, lest the choices to be made will result in regrets later recalled; for in the end, it is the choices that determine the future course of success, and not the regrets that harken back the past of lost opportunities.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Retirement for Psychiatric or Physical Incapacity: One among many

Does it tell us anything that we recognize that we are merely one among many?  Does such an awareness actually add anything to one’s conscious life, or is it just another one of those pithy egotistical “self-realization” statements that purports to sound profound but adds little, if anything, to any existential intuition beyond the words themselves?

Does a lone dog pampered by its owner have a similar awareness when it is taken for a walk, encounters other dogs or sees rabbits scurrying across the suburban landscape?  Does it pause and reflect: I am merely one among many?  Is language a prerequisite to conscious awareness of one’s place in the universe, or is the mere fact of existence enough to bring about an instinctive realization of the same relevance?

To be “one among many” certainly brings about a certain perspective, does it not — perhaps of one’s significance or irrelevance; that each has a burden or part to play, but is not necessarily responsible for the entirety of the problems encountered; and perhaps even of a sense of community or sharing-ness, that one is merely one cog in a complex multitude of wheels spinning about in a universe that is often impervious and uncaring?

Medical conditions, however, have a way of destroying even that perspective, in that it makes loners of us all.  When a medical condition hits, it leaves one with a profound sense of isolation, where one begins to think and believe that no one else in the universe experiences the pain, tumult, angst and loss of joy, and that the one suffering from the medical condition is all alone in the universe.  To that extent, the statement that one is “one among many” helps to remind one that, No, others too have gone through similar trials and circumstances, and such suffering is not unique in this world.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, it is important to recognize that while each person’s condition is unique, it is also shared by many others.

Federal Disability Retirement itself is a recognition that the frailty of the human condition must sometimes allow for an end to a career, but that further, productivity in some other career or vocation is still possible.

Federal employees and Postal workers are one among many, and preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is to share the burden of self-realization that while your medical condition may indeed be unique to you, you are not alone in the need to change direction and move on into another and more promising future where the one among many may be many more than you first thought.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Retirement for Medical Incapacity: Tranquility times turmoil equals?

Alliterations often require deliberate disentanglement; for, the focus is often upon the consonant being repeated, as opposed to the coherence of the alliterated sequence of words.  Both can be attained, however – of coherence and of repetition without incomprehensible aggregation, and in this instance, the multiplying effect of the calm of one’s life by events beyond one’s control can easily result in turmoil that was never requested, never desired and remained always unasked and unrequested.

Tranquility x turmoil is the idea that we fail to enjoy the relative calm in our lives because of the anxiousness of knowing that all good things cannot last for long, and must come to an inevitable end, no matter how hard we try to remain the solitary stoic in life, regardless of the hermitage we seek and irrespective of the complications we shed in order to attain a Zen-monk-like livelihood.

That is when, for instance, a medical condition hits us and the complexities of the life we attempted to avoid come to the fore and become all the more magnified, times 10 in an exponential ferocity that we simply cannot ignore.  True tranquility, however, requires the ability and capacity to keep all things in perspective, and to resist the temptation to allow for the turmoil to overwhelm us.  Keeping in mind that the concept itself can never be reduced to a mere mathematical equation, the question then becomes: What is the multiplicand, the multiplier, and finally, the product?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition begins to prevent the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of the Federal or Postal worker’s job, it is when the monotony of daily living (tranquility) becomes interrupted by the medical condition itself (turmoil), that the product of decision-making is forced upon one’s life.

There are multiple options, and none of them are very satisfying: The Federal or Postal employee may just endure and continue on “as if”; the Federal or Postal employee may get terminated or sanctioned because of excessive usage of leave, whether of Sick Leave, Annual Leave or LWOP, or a combination of all three; the Federal or Postal employee may ultimately believe that resignation from Federal employment is the only option left; or, the Federal or Postal employee may recognize that preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be submitted and considered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, is the most viable conclusion to a mathematical equation that one never expected to have to calculate.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement: Mood, weather, medical conditions

The Age of Science is upon us.  No longer do we believe that the moon is a god in the orb of heavenly spheres; that incantations will solve problems of health or bad vibes; and one’s mood is not a matter of environment or upbringing, but can be resolved with a pill or an electric shock wave.

The weather is confined to discussions about carbon emissions and global warming by man-made intransigence, and never about gods controlling the destiny of ill-temper because they became angry with an individual; and medical conditions cannot be exorcised by mere religious fervor, anymore, and to do so when a child is involved may end one up in jail for abuse and neglect.  One’s mood can still be influenced by one’s upbringing; the weather can sometimes impact moods, dog’s howling and animals acting skittishly; and medical conditions – well, they have became the sole province of science.

There is no room left for hobbits, goblins or fairytales left to the imagination; perhaps that is what is deemed “progress” and the expunging of antiquated horrors.  One need only to review the medical procedures of yesteryear to thank whoever for the advances made in modernity – of painful procedures and implements now banished; of even simple theories that used “blood-letting” in order to balance the humors that went out of kilter.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who – regardless of what “science” says about mood, weather and medical conditions – have been impacted by all three: one’s mood still seems impacted by the weather on various days; and the weather seems to exacerbate medical conditions, whether psychological or physical; and in a cycle of effects, the medical conditions seem to impact upon one’s moods, it never seems to be the whole solution that the surgical knife or the doctor’s pill resolves everything.  Somehow, there always is a suspicion that there is “more to it”.

Looking at filing a Federal Disability Retirement is somewhat like the interaction between mood, weather and medical conditions; it is not the “only” or even the “ultimate” solution to life’s problems, but is merely a vehicle and component in a complex set of life’s “issues” that may need to be accessed.  In order to do that, it is necessary to prepare, formulate and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, and it may well be that such a filing is ultimately impacted or influenced by one’s mood, the weather and certainly the extent of one’s medical condition and one’s inability to perform all of the essential elements of one’s job. Go figure.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement: Selling one’s soul

During the Holiday Season, there are always thoughts pervading concerning redemption, salvation, the “true meaning” of X, and whether we are living by the principles of which we espouse.  It is a natural phenomena, precisely because the rush and exhilaration of preparatory work suddenly subsides, and in a flash, the day of reckoning dawns upon us, and the quietude reverberates, resulting in untenable moments of reflective profundity.

The narrative of the kindly old man who drops presents for souls yearning for something more; or of redemptive confessions and regenerative promises declared on faith; these all make up the essence of Western Civilization’s essence of pride, prosperity and the progressive paucity of philosophical punditry.  They are the historical metaphors of past meanings, present meanderings and future outpourings.  Throughout, it is the essence of one’s soul which we are avoiding, and the vestibules of our reaching out to the future promises we have kept hidden.

Can a person sell his or her soul?  There are ways beyond mere transactions which transfer money for goods and services; there is compromise, submission, the word not spoken, and the moment forsaken.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who feel lost in such a downtrodden negation of heart, it is often understandable when a medical condition interrupts the delicate flow of life and living.  Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal positional duties, will often feel that their life has been put on pause, and that others are progressing forward while theirs is but a lapse in time.

To file for Federal Disability Retirement (they feel, or are implicitly told) through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is likened to “selling one’s soul” because, by doing so, one is abandoning one’s duty and fealty to the idea of the “good of the mission”.

Beware, however, to always clarify whose soul one is speaking about.  For, filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through OPM, for the Federal or Postal worker who is under FERS or CSRS, is to merely govern one’s own life, and to look out for the best interests of one’s own future.  It may be that when agencies, coworkers, or even one’s own family talks persuasively about how having that “good” job is more important than one’s health and well-being, that the soul that is being compromised is for the sake of another, and not your own.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Medical Retirement for Federal Employees: The Future of Now

Human beings have the unlimited capacity of projecting into the future, such that a present picture of what may occur some time hence can be visualized; but whether and how many bring the future to the fore, such that the present becomes encompassed into the reflective reality of current circumstances, is of an imaginative rendering few take the time to engage in.

By focusing upon the future as some ethereal fog somewhere in the distant netherworlds, we can justify the tendency to procrastinate and kick the proverbial can down the road; and, similarly, we can get lost and embroiled in the problems of the now and today, and groan with delicious consternation about the inhumanity and uncaring nature of the world.  But to meld and cross the lines of future and now by projecting forward, then bringing back, such that the future becomes the now in our enlivened universe of deadened souls, is to plan for a time hence in real time of current clockwork.  It is an exercise of the imagination which is necessary in order to better prepare both for today and for tomorrow.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition begins to impact and prevent the Federal or Postal worker from performing all of the essential elements of one’s positional duties, it is important to consider those matters not just in linear form, but as a reality of clashing values and systematic interludes of conflicting confidences.  Yes, you want to continue on, but does the current state of pain and debilitating medical conditions allow for such expectations?  Yes, what you decide today will impact your future in ways financial, medical and career-wise, but does delaying consideration now change such a projection of future events?

Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, is never an easy dictate of imaginative musings; but when the warning signs are emitted, both from one’s own body as well as from the harassing actions of one’s own agency and the U.S. Postal Service, the reality is that the future of now, and the now of one’s future, have coalesced into a moment of necessity where time stands still and the world is about to shift in directions beyond your control, unless you take those affirmative steps necessary to secure the benefits for a future uncertain at a date unknown.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire