Medical Retirement for Federal Workers: Basic Steps

In preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS, it is often helpful to know the basic, physical procedural steps of filing.  It is the Office of Personnel Management which has the statutory mandate to make a decision of approval or denial on a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is located in Washington, D.C., with its intake office in Boyers, PA.  Thus, while the latter location is the central processing point where all Federal Disability Retirement applications are forwarded to by the various Agencies across the country, it is the former location which makes the decision of approval or denial on all Federal Disability Retirement applications.  

The various agencies themselves, from all across the United States, must process the applications by all current Federal and Postal employees by filling out certain portions of the application — the Supervisor’s Statement, Agency’s Efforts for Reassignment and Accommodation, Certificate of Service, Disability Retirement checklist, etc.  For Postal employees, the central H.R. Office is located in Greensboro, N.C.  

Once it is processed and routed through the National Finance Office, then it arrives in Boyers, PA where the initial processing of the Federal Disability Retirement packet begins.  From there, it is assigned a CSA Number (for FERS, the number begins with an “8”; for CSRS, it begins with a “4”), and sent down to Washington, D.C.  

For Federal or Postal employees who have been separated from Federal service for 31 days or more, the Federal Disability Retirement application must be filed directly with OPM in Boyers, PA, bypassing one’s former agency.

Some Agencies will have more localized Human Resources departments which comprise varying degrees of helpfulness and assistance; others have centralized H.R. offices with (again) varying degrees of efficiency and effectiveness.  As with all administrative processes in life, it is best to make “human” contact at each stage of the process, wherever possible.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Early Retirement for Disabled Federal Workers: The Assignment

In filing a Federal Disability Retirement application with the Office of Personnel Management, the very arbitrary nature of the timeline in each individual case makes for a rather frustrating process.  After winding its way through the Agency, then through the finance office, and finally making its way to Boyers, PA, the Federal Disability Retirement packet will finally be sent down to the Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C.  

It is at this point — when the “in-take processing” of the case has been completed in Boyers, Pennsylvania, that a “case number” (a CSA Number) will be assigned.  The fact that a CSA Number has been assigned, however, does not necessarily mean that a case has been assigned to an OPM representative for review or consideration of the Federal Disability Retirement application.  Indeed, the case itself may sit in an open file for many weeks before it is finally assigned.  Further, the CSA Number itself will be one which begins with the number “8” for FERS individuals, and the number “4” for CSRS individuals (which is obviously becoming more of a rarity).  Both numbers will have 7 digits to it, and end with an eighth — a “0”.  While knowing these details will not get one’s case adjudicated any faster, it is often good to know the administrative details in a Federal Disability Retirement case — if only to understand the bureaucratic maze which every Federal Disability Retirement application, whether under FERS or CSRS, must undergo.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: Easter

Easter is a time of reflection and rejuvenation for Christians.  It is a designated week of Holy reflection — through capture, suffering, death, resurrection and forgiveness.  In a world where the distinction between the sacred and the profane has blurred to indistinguishable heights of platitudes and uncertainties, to reserve a week in one’s life for that which is “Holy” is indeed a phenomena worth preserving.  Christmas has become a season of celebration in a secular sense, full of traditions and shrieks of joy from the mouths of children; Christmas trees, decorations, presents and surprises; and while I am sure there will be disagreement on this matter, the assimilation of Christmas with a secularization of celebration, for whatever reason, is not disturbing.  Yet, somehow, despite the Easter Bunny, egg hunts and the attempt to merely marginalize Easter as a “time of Spring”, the awe of Easter has retained a reserved, contemplative aura with a special meaning. 

As an attorney who represents Federal and Postal employees with various medical conditions and disabilities, the common thread which I hear on a daily basis is the pain and distress which the human condition is able to endure on a daily basis. I do not equate the human condition and the clients I represent with the suffering which Christ endured; yet, those who suffer clearly have an affinity with the One who suffered on the Cross, yet forgave those who condemned and crucified, for the sake of the world.  I am daily amazed and humbled by the positive attitude and ability to endure, by Federal and Postal workers from all across the United States.  May we all have a sense of humanity within us that we can have forgiveness during this Holy Week.  Happy Easter.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire