OPM Disability Retirement: Helpers

Then, of course, there are those Human Resources and OPM personnel who have been, continue to be, and will always be, greater helpers throughout the process in assisting Federal and Postal employees to obtain disability retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS.  They are diamonds in a sea of hindrances and obstacles.  And when you come across such an individual, at any stage of the process, one must always express one’s gratitude.  One might argue that they are “just doing their job”, but what such individuals do is clearly beyond the job that they are paid to do.  No only do they assist in the process, but they “humanize” the process; and, especially when a Federal or Postal employee who has a medical disability receives not only assistance in the process, but guidance in providing help to ease and smooth the road to approval, it is indeed a pleasant experience to come across the human touch. A word of thanks to all such Human Resources Personnel.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Disability Retirement: Patience Is the Key

There is a cyclical pattern which can be identified with the passing of time, and the Office of Personnel Management is no different from other Federal Agencies, departments, or personnel “make-up”.  Summer is here; with the season of vacations and time with families, combined with an already back-logged line of cases and overworked, understaffed personnel, expect delays in receiving a decision on a disability retirement application.  Patience is the key, and Federal and Postal workers have learned by the very nature of working for the Federal Service, how to be patient.

At the same time, being dependent upon an approval of a disability retirement application is worrisome, especially where finances are tight, and the future is uncertain.  Pestering an OPM representative rarely helps to move a case along, and indeed, may even bring about a negative result.  Remember that OPM representatives are simply doing their jobs; do not unnecessarily take up their time by calling them about the status of your particular case.  It has been said that patience is a virtue; by that account, Federal and Postal workers who have filed for disability retirement must be the most virtuous of human beings, for they have endured not only the years of loyal work to the Federal Service, but beyond, while waiting for a decision from the Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire