FERS Disability Retirement Help: The Quagmire of Past

The balance between times is an important talent to garner, cultivate and help flourish; it is that lack of ability which doesn’t come naturally, but is a necessary tool for living a successful life.  We watch jugglers adeptly perform the feat of seemingly effortless magic — of a dozen balls twirling this way and that, making circles and loops as if in a continuum of timeless fluidity.

We have a past; we live in the present; we look to the future.  The past is based upon our memories and is no more; the present is the existential encounter with Being; the future is based upon our past memories projected into a time anticipated but not yet objectively “real”.

The quagmire of past is the failure to compartmentalize and store away with disciplined severity; the entrapment of the present is when a person allows for the appetitive, lower parts of the soul to dominate; and anxiety about the future comes about when we know that we are wasting our time either by dwelling too much upon the past, or in the manner of our present living.  In the end, the quagmire of past is often a difficulty which cannot be completely controlled, but governed and managed by how we live today.

For those who are employed with the Federal Government or the U.S. Postal Service who are suffering from a health condition but concurrently stuck in the quagmire of past because you cannot believe that you are no longer the same “you” of a decade ago, it may be time to focus upon the present circumstances and plan for a better future by preparing, formulating and filing for Federal or Postal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Contact a FERS Ret. Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider that the quagmire of past needs to be replaced with a hope for the future, and getting a Federal Disability Retirement annuity may be the best first step in the present circumstances to achieve that goal.

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.

 

FERS Disability Law: Mantel and Mantle of Sadness

By either word, it relates to the significance of the emotion, and where it is placed — or remains — in one’s daily life.  Is sadness placed for prominent display upon the mantel of your existence?  Or, do you cloak yourself with the mantle of sadness, and walk about each day with it tightly wrapped around you?

Other characteristics can also be applied — as in the medical condition which one suffers from; the daily pain which one experiences; the panic attacks, depressive moods, and heightened anxiety which cannot be avoid, impacting the ability to perform one’s essential duties in one’s Federal or Postal job.

Is it time to take the medical conditions down from the mantel, and by doing so, shed the mantle which impacts and pervades all aspects of your life?

Federal Disability Retirement is a benefit available to all Federal and Postal employees under FERS, who have a minimum of 18 months of Federal Service.  Whether it is the mantel or mantle of sadness, or the mantel / mantle of a medical condition which needs to be attended to, you should contact a FERS Medical Attorney who specializes in OPM Disability Retirement Law, and see whether or not you, as a Federal employee, may be eligible for a Federal Government benefit you deserve.

For, in the end, however we try and escape or avoid life’s difficulties, it is the mantel of our own making, or the mantle we choose to enshroud outselves in, which will make all the difference.

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 Attorney Help: Loss

The metaphors are replete; the stories of human suffering, of the chasm which develops in one’s “heart”; of the emptiness driven by it; “loss” is the sudden absence of that — or of whom — we took the existence once for granted.  Perhaps it can be an object; or even a place; of a home or town now destroyed and no longer the same.

Displacement can be a form of loss, and indeed, one which can result in misery, disorientation and alienation.  Loss of a friend; of a family member; of years of taking it for granted that existence will continue today as it did yesterday, and the day before.  The irony is that the absence of that very existence is the thing which reminds one of the former presence.  Suddenly, you recall the pervasiveness of that former existence — “She used to always do X” or “He was always right over there”, etc.

Does time buffer the severity of present loss?  Do the memories fade, the daily routines change and adapt to the sudden non-existence such that, over a period of months and years, such absence which is noticeable currently will dissipate with fading memories and getting used to that absence which was so profoundly pronounced?

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, “loss” is a familiar concept: For, to begin with, the loss of one’s health is a profound recognition of an absence of one’s former self; further, the realization that Federal OPM Disability Retirement is a necessary next step is to seek a replacement for the loss of one’s career.

All of those many years, the “job” was a central activity — meaningful, significant, relevant — then, preparing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application to be submitted to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under FERS is the next step towards embracing the non-existence of that former self.  The positive side of things, however, is that such a loss can be replaced by a future which prioritizes your health, and where the presence of a better tomorrow can fill that emptiness of yesterday’s loss.

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.

 

FERS Disability Retirement from OPM: Delaying the Inevitable

A fascinating historical period involved, in the 17th Century, the controversy between Jansenism, Pelagianism and multiple other “isms” concerning predestination, grace, effectual grace as opposed to prevenient grace, and whether our efforts for moral behavior make any difference at all, and Pascal’s response to such issues.

For, if something is inevitable, is there any point in expending the effort in attempting to “influence” the outcome if the outcome is predetermined, anyway?  If the Calvinist theology of a limited number of “the elect” is true, and X is not of the class of “the elect”, what would be the point of acting in a morally upright manner if it makes no difference?

Instead, wouldn’t human beings likely try everything to delay the inevitable — of clawing onto this life merely to survive at all costs, including murdering and enjoying every sensual pleasure, knowing that the inevitable was the pain of eternal damnation?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, “delaying the inevitable” — of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management — may seem somewhat akin to the 17th Century theological controversy described above — if merely because continuing in one’s career is preferable to ending that career and going into early medical retirement.

However, there is one crucial difference: The “inevitable” will allow you to work at another job in the private sector or for the state and local government, and still allow you to make up to 80% of what your former (Federal or Postal) position currently pays.  Thus, unlike the inevitability of hellfire and damnation, you can actually move forward into a second career.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Medical Retirement under FERS and stop worrying about delaying the inevitable; for, the inevitable is not as negative a state of being as you might think.

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.

 

OPM Disability Retirement Application: Worth in Our Day

Worth has become a meaningless concept; inflation, the valueless dollar, the expansion from millionaire to billionaire, and now to the next level — the first “trillionaire” — who will it be?

There was a time not long ago when aspiring to make or save a million dollars was within sight; that, once achieved, it was a level of monetary achievement which would allow for a fairly comfortable living.  These days, purchasing a home in a relatively middle class neighborhood ranges in the $600,000 – $700,000 range and beyond, rendering a million dollars to be viewed as somewhat of a pittance.

And what of human worth?  As money becomes meaningless because the decimal point continues to move to the right, leaving unfathomable zeros multiplying to the left, do we treat workers with any greater dignity, with any greater value in parallel conjunction with the exponential multiplication of those zeros?  Doubtful.

At least, however, the Federal Government does recognize that a person who is disabled from performing his or job elements should be eligible and entitled to disability retirement benefits.  To that extent, worth in our day has improved from the middle ages where the disabled were merely discarded as beggars on the streets of London and Paris, as well as in middle America.

Contact an OPM Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and consider the option of going out early with a Federal Disability Retirement benefit.

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: When Hiring a Lawyer

When hiring a lawyer or a law firm, what are your expectations and who are you hiring?  Are you hiring an “Intake Officer” (whatever they are); a paralegal; a legal assistant; a “Disability Specialist” (whatever THEY are) — or are you hiring a lawyer?  That is, a person who holds the law degree, who is entitled to practice law, and who is the knowledgeable “expert” in the field of Federal Disability Retirement Law?

How can you tell?  Do you know you are hiring a lawyer merely because someone tells you so?  Or, are these the indicators: When you make a call, the lawyer answers your call.  When you leave a message, the lawyer calls you back.  When you send an email, the lawyer responds.

Or: You always only speak to an “assistant”, and never to the lawyer; the “Disability Specialist” (again, what is a “Disability Specialist” — and what does it mean to be a “specialist”, especially if you aren’t a lawyer?) is always the one who seems to be handling your case; and what happens if your case get denied at the Initial Stage of the Federal Disability Retirement process, and then again at the Reconsideration Stage of the process — who will see you through at the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board?

When hiring a lawyer or a law firm, make sure that you are actually getting what you are paying for: An actual FERS Disability Retirement Lawyer who will guide you with his experience, wisdom and legal acumen.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Early Out for Federal Employees with Disabilities: Indicators

They are the flashing lights to warn others of actions about to be taken; or, they can be “clues” which allow for a preview of things yet to occur.  Retrospectively, we are all experts at identifying them; prospectively, many of us ignore or are otherwise oblivious to them, despite their obvious presence.

When we perform a forensic analysis in looking back, we will often realize that there were, indeed, many indicators which should have forewarned us of the impending troubles.  While no one likes to play Monday-night quarterbacking (actually, we all love doing it; we just like to pretend as to its involuntary necessity), such forensic analysis is a useful tool in apprising ourselves of the things which we missed.  But when an event in life occurs only once, or we only have one shot at something, no amount of retrospective analysis is going to be helpful.

Medical conditions have that characteristic — of indicators or signs which should have warned us of future problems, of which we dismissively ignored in hopes that the warnings — and the future substantive troubles — would simply go away.

Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS is also like that — while you have 3 Stages in order to get approved (the 4th Stage being an irrelevant one because there is no quorum on the MSPB Board), you normally only have this “one-shot” at obtaining an approval.  Because of this, it is important to consult with a FERS Disability Retirement Lawyer and make sure that all of the “indicators” are taken into account before you make that proverbial “right turn” into the future.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Postal & Federal Worker Disability Retirement: Moving to the Next

Next what? This is a nation which is known for constantly moving to the next — whatever.  Other countries build upon a series of yesterdays, slowly, methodically, accumulating knowledge from past wisdom, building a culture, cultivating traditions, finding sacred solace in silent offerings to the past.

Our nation is one of abandonment, replacement — of moving to the next news cycle, the newest fad, the most recent money-making scheme and the next popular star, designer, show, Broadway hit, sports celebrity or what have you.  It is always going to the next, moving forward, never looking back at the human detritus left by the roadside of a speedway without limits.

Never mind that half of the population is depressed, medicated, left to fend for themselves and unable to cope with the fast-paced rate of a society without empathy.  Always, moving to the next.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, “moving to the next” is not an option insofar as the “next” constitutes the next mission-oriented duties of a Federal Agency or the U.S. Postal Service.  Instead, if the “next” is the need to file for FERS Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, contact a Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer and move to the next phase of your life as a Federal Disability Retiree.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Medical Retirement for Federal Employees: The Audience

We shall see.  Sports without an audience.  There have been enough psychological studies done to establish that people — including groups of people (i.e., teams) — act and react differently in comparative analysis between behaving before crowds as opposed to without them.  The greatest performers have been those who “know” their audience.  In other words, the “crowd pleasers”, the ones who can manipulate the emotional responses of the audience, etc.

Do some play for the 6 o’clock highlights?  Does a spectacular play become so when no one is watching?  Yes, yes, there is the television audience; but the fans once removed is like the tree that falls in the forest without anyone witnessing it; the tree does indeed fall, but the silence that surrounds is what dominates.  We shall see.

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, remember who our audience is: It is not your Agency; it is not your Supervisor or your coworkers; it is a separate agency altogether — the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

It is a paper presentation to OPM, and how it is characterized, what is presented, the extent and quality of the presentation — these all matter.  For, in the end, the “To Whom” is always crucial in every arena of play — whether in sports, in law, or even in the privacy of one’s home; it is the audience that makes the difference.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Disability Retirement: Advice

The great thing about it is that everyone can give it and no one needs to accept it, let alone act upon it.

Old people think that they have much of it to dispense; young people think that the old people are full of it but don’t understand the world of today; and all the while, those in the middle generally remain silent until it’s too late, anyway, and walk about shaking their heads in disbelief, thinking that if only X had listened.  Parents try and give it in fear of mistakes being repeated from their own past histories; and bosses think with self-importance that the wisdom they disseminate is what brought them to their vaunted status to begin with.

Advice is there to be given; whether people take it is quite another matter.  Now, with modern technology and the Internet, there is more than a fair share — both good and bad.  The trick is to discern between the two extremes.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the time to seek and take advice on matters central to Federal OPM Disability Retirement Law — of the process and procedure; of the substantive criteria which has to be met; of the gathering of all evidence necessary — is better sought as early as possible in the process.

Not all advice is equal.

Consult with an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of seeking and applying advice which is crucial in obtain your Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire