Federal Worker Disability Retirement: Erasers

Erasers have been replaced by the ‘delete’ button; that concept alone is a peculiarity:  of the mechanism used to expunge is itself made obsolete and disappears.  It is a tribute to the human imagination that we can project scenarios in which individuals, including ourselves, are no longer part of the equation.

The anomaly, of course, rests in the reality that when we so imagine a scene which occurred, but of which we ‘delete’ certain events or individuals, the one who imagines such changes is omnisciently present by virtue of being the one who thinks and creates such thoughts.  That is sometimes part of the problem in considering a change in one’s life; we are often incapable of imagining the change because we cannot fathom deleting our presence, or altering the circumstances, from that which we have known and traveled for so long.

Habitual dependence allows for a comfort zone which is difficult to traverse and alter.  For Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition impacts one or more of the essential elements of one’s work duties, the problem is often not the capacity to imagine change — for the medical condition itself has forced upon the Federal and Postal employee the changes by virtue of physical or cognitive alterations — but rather, the problem often involves imagining the necessity of making changes based upon the changes already wrought.

Such second-tier changes require planning and implementation beyond that which the medical condition forces; and consideration of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether under FERS or CSRS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is a necessary step in that process of accepting further changes.

It is like the eraser protesting to the computer that complete obsolescence cannot occur, despite the inevitable march of technology and time.  Oh, and by the way, they still do sell erasers.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Disability Retirement: When the Plan Goes Awry

When the old Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) would release its “5 Year Plan”, it presented a systematic economic model of an ordered and organized state — a feature of a centralized model, based upon a philosophy of an intelligent and purposeful populace which worked in tandem with the collective needs of a labor-force reflective of a superior ideology.

Or so it seemed on paper.

What reality brought forth and what a planned model proposed, turned out to be entirely two different things.  And isn’t that true of life in general for the individual?  It is well to have a plan for one’s life; but adjustments must be made, and refinements must be allowed for, as the reality of circumstances reveal the imperfections of any human planning.  Perhaps an unexpected birth joyfully interrupts; a death in a family necessitates delaying certain endeavors; or an illness or injury impacts one’s ability to continue in the career of one’s chosen field of vocation.

Federal Disability Retirement filed through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is an option which should be considered in the changing course of a person’s life-planning.  Perhaps it is not the most attractive or celebratory alternative to choose; but when limitations from the reality of life are imposed, one must not expect to choose from an endless series of options, but rather from those which are offered and realistically proposed.

For Federal and Postal workers, the option of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether under FERS or CSRS, is a choice offered as part of the total compensation package of one’s employment; and when needed, it is a choice which, fortunately, exists in order to be able to revise and reformulate one’s future plans.

By the way, what ever happened to those old Soviet Union 5-year plans?  Like so much of history, they temporarily disappeared onto the proverbial ash heaps of fiction and folly, only to be revived when history fails to teach its lesson of repetition and recurrence.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Disability Retirement for Federal Workers: The Measure of Success

What constitutes a compromise from perfection?  The ultimate goal is to attain the height of any endpoint, but at what juncture does one declare a level of satisfaction and determine the necessity of submission?  In any endeavor, one attempts to formulate in the best manner possible.  However, practical considerations — of time constraints, the products which one must work with, and the coordination of efforts with others, all must be taken into account into coming to a completion and fruition.

In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, one must always understand that the preparatory stage of the process must take into account the pragmatic issues which come up — the extent of time a doctor will take in preparing a Medical Narrative Report; the constraints imposed by the duties of one’s position description; and, of course, time constraints of filing a case in a timely manner.

Formulating one’s Statement of Disability is what often makes the Federal or Postal employee hesitate, as well it should, precisely because the level of perfection which should be reached is important.  This is where the description — the “nexus” — between one’s medical conditions and one’s positional duties, must be described and delineated in such a manner that it is compelling, effective, persuasive and measured by accuracy.  It is the difference between having a professional driver in the seat of a stunt car, and one who has never tried it.

Perfection is a goal; it need not be reached, but the measure of success of often determined by how close one gets to it.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: Each Stage is a Preparation for the Next

Proper preparation is the key to success in every endeavor.  Often, such preparation means that one must project for a disapproval at any given stage in filing an application for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS.  This does not mean that one “expects” that a Federal Disability Retirement application will be denied or disapproved; rather, it means that in the event that such a denial is issued, you have properly laid the groundwork for the next stage.  Much of what constitutes anticipatory preparation has to do with predicting the various points of weakness in a case. 

It is rare for a case to ever be a certainty — although, it is quite understandable for an applicant to believe that his or her Federal Disability Retirement application is “the one” — the one that will only need the First Stage of the Process; the one that cannot be disputed; the one which won’t need but a minimum amount of preparatory work; the one that…   Such an attitude is quite understandable, precisely because the applicant is the same person who is experiencing the multiple medical conditions, and such an experiential perspective cannot possible understand how an application involving his or her medical condition could possibly be denied.  At the same time, however, such a perspective fails to understand the puzzling, often arbitrary and capricious decision-making process engaged in by the Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire