Medical Retirement for Federal Workers: Once upon a Time

Once upon a time, there were great “causes” for which people fought to live for; evil empires which desired domination and for which the world went to war; liberties denied and suppressed, resulting in meaningful mass protests; and in the microcosm of individual lives, hope for a future and a better tomorrow, for which people married, had families, and strove for stability.

In today’s world, the opposite seems to prevail; the news is replete with trivial reasons to exit life; if one is turned down when a prom invitation is issued, it is a basis for an outrageous reaction; assertions of hurt feelings can be the foundation for court filings declaring a violation of rights; and when a society mandates the importance of rights over courteous behavior, the crumbling of foundational structures is not too far from a once-distant and dark future.

The famous and classic book by Harper Lee encapsulates the contrast of great and small troubles; of a microcosm reflecting larger issues worthy of consideration; but always, there was a sense that tomorrow would bring about a brighter future.  In it, Atticus speaks of the idea that one can never quite understand another unless one walks in his shoes, and looks at things from the other’s perspective.

For Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition impacts one’s ability to perform the essential elements of one’s job, such a sense of the world is a well-known commodity.  All of a sudden, one becomes a pariah, when one may have been that shining star just a month before.

Federal Disability Retirement benefits are available for Federal and Postal Workers who seek a brighter tomorrow, and for whom greater causes still exist. That is why the benefit allows for the potential and possibility of the Federal Worker to seek other employment and a second vocation; for, Federal Disability Retirement benefits recognize the worth of the individual, and the fact that there is life after the devastating effects of a medical condition which may end one’s Federal or Postal career.

One may laugh at such notions, or have the cynical view that Federal Disability Retirement is merely one of those benefits for which the Federal government is giving another proverbial “handout”; but the fact is, like Atticus Finch in the classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, there is always a brighter future for every generation, no matter the despair one may feel at any given moment in history.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Medical Retirement for Disabled Federal Workers: Transfinite Cardinals

It is a concept invented in order to avoid the inherently problematic implications of the “infinite”; yet, it clearly means that it is “not finite”. It is meant to avoid a type of exclusive disjunctive and attempts to equivocate and obfuscate, implying that it somehow goes beyond the finite but refuses to become embroiled in the complexities of the infinite, thereby allowing for a compromise by remaining forever in the limbo of mathematical purgatory.

Such conceptual word-games save us for a time; and, sometimes, time is what is needed. Thus, for universes of pure theoretical constructs, where application has little or no impact upon the reality of life, conceptual language games can be daily engaged and walked away from, without any practical consequences. It is, however, when theory intersects with reality, that qualitative reverberations become felt, as in the application of theoretical physics upon the pragmatic application of nuclear fusion.

Advancing from Thought to Action

For the everyday Federal and Postal Worker, the theoretical existence of Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether one is under FERS or CSRS, is likened to transfinite cardinals: until the intersection between thought and action occurs, it remains safely in the universe of theory, mind, and limbo; but when the reality of a medical condition hits upon the physical universe of the real, and impacts the Federal or Postal employee’s ability/inability to maneuver through the employment sector because of physical limitations or psychiatric obstacles imposed by the medical condition, then one must reach beyond the theoretical and take pragmatic steps of prudent applicability.

Like boilerplate legalese in multi-paginated contractual agreements, theoretical constructs exist for potential applications in the real universe.

Federal Disability Retirement benefits remain in existence for all Federal and Postal employees, and must be accessed by submitting an application to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. It is like the Platonic Ideas of Greek philosophy “out there” in the ethereal universe, but of no consequence but for ivory tower constituents. And like transfinite cardinals, Federal Employee Disability Retirement benefits remain in a parallel universe of theoretical constructs, until that time when a particular Federal or Postal employee accesses the need to ignite the fuse of pragmatic intentions.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

 

Disability Retirement for Federal Government Employees: The Bucket List

The notion itself has gained a level of popularity which defies the dignity of established social norms; somehow, there is underlying a suspicion that generations of staid individuals secretly desire for things they never acquired. A life of quietude is no longer acceptable; one must now traverse the Himalayan mountains and meditate in the far reaches of unexplored valleys in order to achieve a complete life; and as the virtual world of video sensations require an ever-heightened magnitude of excitement and accelerated testosterone levels, growing up and making a mere living in one’s own town constitutes a wasted life.

Bucket lists represent a proportionality of quiet desperation; for, the longer the list, the greater exponential symbolism of one’s failure to have accomplished a desired completion of life.  Aristotle’s contemplative perspective of a worthwhile life is no longer the paradigm; quantity, magnification, and romantic notions of adventure and comic book-like excitements represent the pinnacle of value.  Until, of course, the reality of human frailty and the mortality of finitude brings one back to the starkness of daily living.

Medical conditions have a peculiar way of bringing one back to reality, and humbling one into realizing that, bucket lists aside, there are mundane levels of priorities which override such artificial conceptual constructs of self-fulfilling interests. Being pain-free; having one’s short-term memory remain intact; the mere ability to walk from one’s car to the office, etc.  Medical conditions tend to force upon us the true priorities of one’s life.

For Federal and Postal employees who have come to a point in their careers where a medical condition prevents them from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal position, the “bucket list” is satisfied with one item on the list:  How best to attend to one’s medical condition.  OPM Disability Retirement is an option which must always be considered by the Federal or Postal employee, whether one is under FERS or CSRS, in order to satisfy the checkmark. Filed through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, it is a long, bureaucratic process which must be waded through in order to attain the desired end.

While an arduous administrative process, it is not quite as physically difficult as climbing a mountain, nor as exciting as diving from a cliff’s edge down a ravine into the deep blue of a cavernous lake;no, Federal Disability Retirement is a mundane process which may allow for a time to attend to the needs of one’s medical conditions, and perhaps to go on to engage a second, alternate vocation.

It is perhaps not on the top of most people’s bucket list. But then, such lists were always just another creation of Hollywood, meant to be completed in storybook fashion by those whose teeth are perfectly straight, white beyond nature’s coloring, and viewed in panoramic settings with a cup of steamed latte.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: Tides and Turbos

Tides represent the natural ebb and flow of a rhythm in nature which occurs beyond the capacity or power of Man to control; turbos are mechanical inventions which exponentially increase the power of a machine to attain heights of artificial prowess previously unmet.

Both inspire a certain sense of awe.

The pull of the waters, though gentle in the lapping of waves and the gradual increase and decrease of the land becoming overtaken by the waters, then receding, is nevertheless an unstoppable phenomena; and anyone who has sat behind the wheel directing an engine with turbo power understands the sudden boost of energy and speed which can be wrought.

Both represent a force; the former, one which cannot be controlled; the latter, one which can only be directed.

How we approach life, our philosophy and manner, often parallels tides and turbos.  Some merely accept and go with the flowing rhythm of tides; others try vainly to control that which cannot be subjugated.

For the Federal and Postal employee who faces a medical condition such that the medical condition begins to impact one’s life and vocation, it is often a lesson to heed; for if one’s personality has been throughout akin to the tides of nature, it is often easier to accept that a change is necessary; on the other hand, if life has always been characterized by one’s attempt to control and contain, it may be that resistance to the inevitable is something which one must contend with.

Knowing one’s self in the turmoil of change is often the first step in a successful process.

As filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is a major event in one’s life, knowing first what must be embraced is often the initial, and most difficult, step in the process.  Whether the enjoyment of watching the tides, or the thrill of feeling the turbos, characterizes the life of an individual, will aid in preparing to formulate the next step in a Federal Disability Retirement case.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

OPM Disability Retirement: Daylight Savings and First Light of Dawn

No matter our technological prowess, the attempt to distance ourselves from biological determinism fails at its most basic elements:  by most accounts, the simple change of moving the clock forward (or backward, when once Fall comes again) completely disrupts our connection to nature and the environment which we strive so hard to detach ourselves from.

We like to think that the artificial world which we have created, of imposing structures destroying and subjugating the natural elements, with allowance for a few trees spotting the proverbial jungle of our antiseptic existence, separates us and distinguishes our kind from other species.  But somehow the simple and artificial act of changing the appearance of time interrupts our biological rhythm for days and weeks, only to repeat the cycle again in the Fall.

Similarly, despite our reliance upon light bulbs and artificial illuminating devices, there is something strikingly different about the first light of dawn, with that shimmering brightness breaking open the chasm of darkness.  Lights created of man have certainly advanced civilization; but the sunlight of dawn is an irreplaceable phenomena of pure enjoyment.  That is why we have such metaphors as, “light at the end of the tunnel” which, by the way, is normally meant natural sunlight, and not a lamp post illuminating the street.

The first light of dawn is akin to hope for the future, and for Federal and Postal employees who suffer from medical conditions, such that the medical conditions impact one’s future by preventing one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, often the only metaphorical light at the end of one’s traveled tunnel is to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether under FERS or CSRS, from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Such an action allows the Federal and Postal employee to attain a foundational element of financial security, but more importantly, to have the interlude to attend to one’s medical conditions.

Medical conditions, like daylight savings, clearly interrupt the natural and biological rhythm of Man; but like the first light of dawn, it is up to us to find a path back to the natural order of things.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and USPS Disability Retirement: Change within Flux

The anomaly is that change occurs only within the context of constancy; for, if everything was perpetually in a state of flux, the very concept of ‘change’ would lose its meaning.  It is similar to the argument often made in philosophy where one posits that everything we perceive ‘is merely a dream’; yet, one cannot even arrive at a concept of dreaming until and unless we first acknowledge the reality and existence of a mind which dreams.  We therefore often confuse that which comes after by forgetting the preconditions which are required for positing the subsequent argument.

Ultimately, what is necessary is the foundation of any argument, in order for the flurry of changing activities to flourish.  But a balance must always be sought, and it is when change itself becomes a constancy, and overtakes the undergirding of stability, that one’s life becomes one of chaos and turmoil.

Medical conditions tend to do that to people.  The lack of relief from constant pain; the upheaval of psychiatric conditions, of panic-induced attacks and racing minds; of insomnia and non-restorative sleep; of medications which are necessary but have serious side effects; and the interruptions from stability by the necessity of doctor’s appointments, loss of time at the job, etc.

All appears to be in flux and turmoil.

For the Federal and Postal employee who suffers from such a treadmill of turmoil, consideration should be given in filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.  It is offered to all FERS & CSRS employees.  Where work was once a column of stability, during a chronic and progressively deteriorating medical condition, it can become the source of increased stress and anxiety because of the lack of understanding or empathy from coworkers, supervisors and the agency in general.

Preparation of a proper and effective Federal Disability Retirement application is essential; flux, turmoil and change should be the intermission, and not the main event.  As such, reversal of course in order to establish the principle of life should be the goal:  of stability first, and changes thereafter.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Medical Disability Retirement: Stuck in Time

Each of us embraces an era, a period, a slice of time with which we relate to, have fond remembrances of, or for whatever quirky reasons, possess an affinity or attachment to.   Perhaps it is the Fifties, with its stodgy reputation for conventionalism; or the radicalization of the Sixties; via music, movements, political upheavals or cultural phenomena, certain time periods seem to have a hold upon people, depending upon personalities, upbringing, backgrounds and interests.

There is nothing wrong with such creative time travels; it is a recreational endeavor of which we all engage; of watching movies, about which we read books; or even some will don a piece of clothing, such as a bow tie or a style of shoes.   Enjoying a time period can be a soothing leisure activity, often without being conscious of the affinity and connections itself; but it is when we become stuck in time, that problems arise.

That is often how a medical condition pivots a person; unexpectedly and unpreparedly, a chronic, progressively deteriorating medical condition will freeze a person’s family, career, goals and aspirations in a period of time, unable to get unstuck or have the flexibility and options necessary for forward movement or progress.

For Federal and Postal employees, the alternative of filing for and obtaining Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS or CSRS, allows for the potential capacity to become unstuck again.

Imaginary time travel, for purposes of recreational activities, can be an enjoyable past time; but when one becomes stuck in time involuntarily and through unforeseen circumstances, getting stuck in time becomes a pathway of unforgiving proportions which must be maneuvered out of.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: The Control Factor

Procrastination is Man’s feeble attempt to control the inevitable march of time.  In the midst of a technologically complex world, where we no longer control the advance of events or circumstances which impinge and invade upon our lives, the subjective cocoon we weave to withstand the onslaught of uncontrollable external subjugations will take many and varied forms.

Time, events and actions occurring daily around us continue in their linear course of unfolding revelations without input or necessity from the individual; technology advances without any particular reason or rationale; or so we believe.  But by delaying, we delude ourselves into thinking that we are Masters of our own destiny.

Such an attempt at controlling the inevitable onslaught of that which we have no influence over, is tantamount to an impotent protestation, nothing more than a juvenile “sit-in” like children refusing to eat their carrots or broccoli, although at least in those examples the elements resisted were purportedly healthy for us. What we often fail to understand, however, is that the very attempt to control is often that which is harmful to us.

For the Federal and Postal employee who suffers from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, there is often a long and deliberate delay between the onset of a crisis resulting from a progressively deteriorating medical condition, and the preparation, formulation and filing of a Federal Disability Retirement application.

This is the natural course of things.  For, the very factors over which the Federal or Postal Worker has no control over — time, the medical condition, one’s deteriorating health — all serve to impart a sense of loss of destiny.  But to delay and procrastinate will only exacerbate the inevitable; Federal Disability Retirement through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether one is under FERS or CSRS, is the best step to reach that oasis of rehabilitation and quietude.

But like the child who knows not what is good for one’s self, it is often the rebellious and feeble attempt of Man to control that which is beyond one’s control, which potentially results in the downfall and destruction of one’s future.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Medical Retirement for Federal Workers: The Jump from Thought to Action

There is a wide chasm between thought and action; and, while many can deceive one’s self by remaining mired in the activity of thought, it is the gauge of the objective, physical world which validates the efficacy and resulting consequences of one’s actions, which makes for determination of accomplishment and completion.  The proverbial “dreamer” who never transitions from the creativity of thoughtful contemplation to actualization of ingenious ideas and proposed intellectual discoveries, remains stuck in the netherworld of potentiality, never to move beyond the mysterious quietude of one’s own mind.

For Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition has impacted one’s ability to perform the essential elements of one’s job, remaining forever in thought-mode as opposed to action-orientation, keeps one in the hostile environment of avoiding multiple pitfalls and minefields of delay, procrastination, and potential adversity from one’s supervisors, coworkers and agency heads.

Whether under CSRS or FERS, the Federal or Postal employee with a medical condition which is impacting the ability to continue in the job, should consider the giant step from thought to action, and reflect upon the benefits of a Federal Disability Retirement submission, ultimately to be decided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

The step from thought to action is often exponentially magnified by the earthshaking reverberations of a changed life.  But to fail to act is often the greater of evils, and to remain in the unending turmoil of one’s anguish is never an answer to a problem.  Instead, it is the composite solution which will render the ultimate satisfaction: thoughtful action.  It is where thought and action work in harmony, and for which Man evolved to reach the pinnacle of his Being.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement: The Problem of Perhaps

Perhaps it is time to approach the problem from a different perspective; perhaps it is not.  We often engage in games of self-delusions, of allowing words of self-justification to interfere with sequential and linear lines of thinking, in order to bypass the harsh reality of what is often an inevitability.

The allowance of bifurcation of thought — of the logical disjunctive of choices and options to choose from — makes an allowance of pretense to procrastinate in intellectually acceptable ways.  We sound thoughtful and intelligent when we weigh the various alternatives.  And, indeed, it is normally a “good thing” to gather, review and evaluate the options open to us, and to make the proper decision based upon such an analysis.  But at some point in the process, continuing in a morass of intellectualization becomes problematic.

When the choices are limited, clear, and necessary to act upon, to play the “perhaps” game becomes merely a way to delay the inevitable.

For the Federal and Postal employee who must contemplate a drastic change of circumstances by preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, engaging in such mind-games merely prolongs the process.  At some point, action must proceed from thought; and for the Federal and Postal Worker whose medical condition is such that it impacts one’s ability to perform the essential elements of one’s job, it is the action which must prevail over the perhapses of our mind.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
Federal Disability Lawyer