Federal Employee Medical Retirement: The Calendric Term

The marking of a calendric year, and its end, is traditionally recognized by an enthusiastic celebration embracing drinking, noise and a quantity of hugging and kissing.  Whether the year contains anything to celebrate is irrelevant (some would say that all years, like puppies and aged whiskey, are inherently precious); and some years are magnified by shaping events which deserve greater recognition and celebration than other years, but it seems to matter not to the participatory celebrants.

For the Federal and Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition impacts one’s ability to perform the essential elements of one’s job, the day before the end of a calendric year differs little from the day after and the beginning of a new calendric year.

The pain and medical condition fails to recognize the distinction between the before and after.  It is perhaps well that we celebrate when health, time and opportunity allows; for, our time within the confines of a given lifespan is short enough, and every day can therefore be viewed as a moment to celebrate.

For the Federal or Postal Worker who must contemplate filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, however, the time is often dictated by events beyond one’s control, and must be seen not in the light of sequential days on a calendar, but rather, in light of today and what tomorrow might bring, regardless of the month or year.

Calendric bifurcations of time, seasons and years are meant for the sequential thought process; for others who suffer, each day is measured by what the next day will bring.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Government Disability Retirement: Another Year Passing

Because the administrative process of preparing, formulating, and filing — then waiting for a decision — a Federal Disability Retirement application with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, can take several months for the Initial Stage of the bureaucratic procedure alone, it is important to plan ahead for the future.  

New Year’s eve, for Federal and Postal employees contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, is merely a reminder that another year has passed.  For those waiting for a decision from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, it is another indicator of the frustrating wait which the potential Federal or Postal annuitant has been through, is going through, and must still endure.  And this is only for the “First Stage” of the process.  

The waiting time is extended if the Federal Disability Retirement application is denied at the First Stage, and must be appealed to the Second Stage of the process, or what is identified as the Reconsideration Stage of the process.  Then, of course, if it is denied by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management at the Second Stage, one has a right to appeal the case to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.  

Waiting is a necessary part of the administrative, bureaucratic process of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.  Filing soon after one has recognized that one’s medical condition prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, is the only “cure” for the long wait. As with everything else, it is better to get in ahead of the line, and have someone help you with the process.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Medical Disability Retirement: Happy New Year

For many people, celebrating the “New Year” often encapsulates a parallel time of reflection, of resolutions for change and improvement, etc.  For Federal and Postal employees who are contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, this is a good time to take a personal inventory of one’s future goals, assessing the viability of continuation in one’s position as a Federal or Postal employee, and seeking clarity for future plans and career goals. 

Federal Disability Retirement is simply an option to be considered, if one is finding that one’s medical conditions — whether physical, psychiatric, or a combination of both which exacerbate and feed onto each other — are impacting one or more of the essential elements of one’s positional duties.  Whether in a sedentary administrative, cognitive-intensive position, or mostly a physically demanding job, or even a combination of both, if a Federal or Postal employee is finding that continuation with the essential elements of one’s job is becoming an impossibility, then Federal Disability Retirement is certainly an option to be considered. 

Celebrating the “New Year” should always include taking an inventory for the future.  For Federal and Postal employees under either FERS or CSRS, considering the option of formulating, preparing, and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application should be part of that equation.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

OPM Disability Retirement: The New Year

The New Year is always a time of reflection, resolutions, and an insight as to how quickly time passes by. It seemed like yesterday that we were all amazed that we were entering the “Twenty-First Century”. In a span of a single year, circumstances change; people and perceptions become altered; friends and co-workers seemingly become transformed into strangers; and medical conditions which yesterday appeared irrelevant, contained or able to be endured, suddenly take on a life of its own.

Medical conditions are a reality which cannot be ignored. Then, of course, there is the problem of a medical condition, its impact upon one’s life, one’s employment, and one’s ability or inability to have an acceptable “quality of life” — as distinct from being able to convey a description of a medical condition in order to qualify for FERS & CSRS disability retirement benefits. It is in the describing of a medical condition, and the practical impact upon one’s employment, which is the key to Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS. There is a distinction between the reality of a medical condition, and the ability to describe it to an impervious and implaccable agency — the Office of Personnel Management. Many think that, because one suffers from a medical condition, that it is enough to become eligible for disability retirement benefits. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Disability Retirement: Decisions before the New Year

Just before the New Year, the Office of Personnel Management tends to overload on making decisions on the initial application of a FERS or CSRS disability retirement application.  If the decision is positive, it is indeed good news, and a great Christmas present.  If the decision is a denial, it is time to immediately set aside any temporary moods of depression, and recognize that, in taking into account the Christmas & Holiday seasons, the delays in the mail system, and the fact that the date of the denial letter may already be weeks old, you only have thirty (30) days from the date of the denial letter to file a Request for Reconsideration.  Timing is always important, and submitting the request in a timely manner, and beginning work on gathering the additional medical documentation is important, especially in light of the “shortened” period of response-time precisely because of the Holidays, Christmas, New Years, etc.  Procrastination will not help one’s case; one needs to be “business-like” and move forward to affirmatively take it to the next level, for the next fight with OPM.

Sincerely, Robert R. McGill, Esquire