OPM Medical Retirement Under FERS: Life’s Distraction

Many are needed; if not for sanity’s sake, then merely to allow a person to focus upon something else, before re-focusing upon the more primary tasks at hand.

Life’s distractions are normally healthy endeavors — of hobbies engaged, the entertainment and leisure to be enjoyed, of the pleasures of relationships, kids, family, vacations and weekend warrior engagements.  A pick-up game of basketball; a summer league of regularity; a child’s wish for a father’s overly-exuberant cheering; or even of a quiet evening spent engrossed in life’s distractions.

There are, as well, negative distractions — of problems to be solved; of aging parents and their chronic needs; or of a medical condition becoming more than a distraction, where it becomes the primary focus of impending impediments.

In general, life’s distractions are meant to be just that — something which takes away, for a period of time, in order to allow for a person to get back to life’s primary endeavors.  But when that distraction itself becomes the focus of life’s primary endeavor — as when, for a Federal or Postal worker whose medical condition begin to prevent one’s ability and capacity to perform the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job — then it loses its status as a mere distraction, and must be attended to in some direct fashion.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who need to contemplate initiating the process of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under the FERS system, contact a Federal Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and let not life’s distractions become the mainstay of the many problems we must face on a daily basis.

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 under FERS: Is It Enough?

That is always the question, isn’t it?  Especially, these days, when there are so many options, so many avenues, so many ways to get off of the proverbial path and become a wayward nonconformist.

Is love enough to last a lifetime?  Is a sense of obligation enough to be committed for the agreed-upon enmeshment?  Is religious fervor enough to maintain one’s faith even in the face of secularism’s hedonistic pull?  Is pleasure enough to sustain one’s sense of wanting to exist?  Is duty enough to compel a soldier to sacrifice for his country?  Is life enough to sustain?

That was the ultimate question for French existentialism, especially as delineated in Camus’ set of essays, beginning with the Myth of Sisyphus.  What is “enough”?  How can it be quantified?  Underlying it all, isn’t the ultimate question beyond whether something is “enough”, actually an irrelevant question?

For, as Aristotle would put it (and in this Post-Factual World, where Aristotle and Plato are no longer read, and thus, no longer relevant), we must go back to the basics, to the “foundational principles” underlying our belief systems: What is meaningful in our lives?

When there is a void in meaningfulness, hedonism fills that emptiness.  That is why teenagers turn to drugs; that is why adults succumb to alcohol; and that is why, when ISIS came into existence, and when the war in Ukraine began, thousands of Americans flocked to join in the “cause” — because, when the void of meaninglessness pervades, people jump to join anything and everything which becomes the cult of relevance.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition no longer allows you to continue in that career of choice — the work which gave “meaning” to your life — it is important to recognize that, indeed, there is “life after a Federal career”.  Likely, you may be somewhat saddened by the fact that your Federal or Postal career is over.  However, beyond your career, there is no meaning to life without your health.

And yes, there actually is “life after getting a Federal Disability Retirement” — and there abounds countless testimonials which attest to the fact that it is, indeed, “enough” to get a FERS Disability Retirement annuity, focus upon your health, then go into some other line of work in the private or state sector.

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 Benefits: The Self

You are walking along a sidewalk, perhaps near your home or where you work; suddenly, a voice is heard and you look up, and someone of vague familiarity is pointing to you and declares in a loud, ecstatic voice: “Jason! It’s you! I can’t believe it — after all of these years!”

It turns out to be an old acquaintance; a person from your childhood, perhaps; someone you had not seen or heard from in many years.  Yet, the identification by the pointing of a finger, the declarative statement of a recognition of “you”, in their aggregate, establishes an acknowledgment which rarely occurs: there exists a “self” which is separate, unique and apart from “others”.

Maybe you don’t even like the guy; maybe you barely remember him or her as an integral link in your past; and yet, that very same individual, forgotten and unknown just a moment before, pointed to you and validated your existence of “the self”.  Maybe you converse for a while, invite him to your home, strike up a renewed relationship, go out to have some coffee, etc.  Or, maybe you deny any familiarity and keep walking, thinking that it is the introduction to a scam, even though you were correctly identified by name, but maybe it was by sheer coincidence and the next line out of the guy’s mouth was to be: “Hey, I found this wallet and there’s a lot of cash in it.  Here’s what we need to do…”.

It is a rare moment when we become confronted with “the self”, because for most of every person’s life, “the self” is merely an entity which moves through society like an automaton by habit and convenience.  In those rare moments, however, there is often a time of reflection — of one’s goals; one’s future; one’s need for change.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who have come to that point of self-reflection upon the self, and who have concluded that a medical condition is no longer compatible with continuation in one’s career, contact a Federal Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

It is often as a result of the hypothetical described above, or by an encounter with one’s deteriorating health, that “the self” is finally recognized, and with it, needed changes become apparent.

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.

 

Medical Retirement for Federal Government Employees: Lying

It is a peculiarly human endeavor, not known to be prevalent — if in existence, at all — in other species of the animal kingdom.  Shakespeare references it often; criminal behavior is detected within the web of it; and in everyday life, half of the population in courtrooms across the world engage in it; or, is that fair?  Can it be that there are “differing perspectives” or “alternative truths” (the lexicon of modernity)?

For instance, when an eye witness to an event swears under penalty of perjury that “I saw X stab Y” when, in a closed-circuit video replay, it clearly shows that it was Y who stabbed X — is the “eye witness” lying?  Is being mistaken the same as lying?  Or is it good enough that the prefatory qualifier of “I saw” enough to justify the mistaken encapsulation of an event having occurred?

Does intention matter?  Does it make a difference if, prior to making the statement under oath, revenge was a factor in one’s motive?  What if the eye-witness said to her/himself prior to taking the stand, “I’ll get X back for being mean to me by testifying that he stabbed Y first before getting stabbed himself”?

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, it is often the case that — unfortunately — lying abounds when it comes to others in the agency filling out the Agency’s portion of a Federal Disability Retirement application.  Whether in stating that the Agency tried everything they could do in their power to “accommodate” a person — when the truth is, they did nothing and didn’t care to do anything — it is unfortunately a pervasive fact of life in the kingdom of man.

We are a species with a proclivity for lying, and the best we can do is to counter our own proclivities by trying to present the truth in as strong a light as possible.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement: The mediocre medical report

One can, of course, obtain an “excellent” medical report — i.e., one that has full, unequivocal support in providing a clear diagnosis, description of symptoms, impact upon specific job functions, etc., with an unequivocal conclusion of disability beyond the specific elements of one’s job functions, etc. — and yet get denied by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

On the other hand, one can submit with a Federal Disability Retirement application a “mediocre” medical report — e.g., one that is generalized and non-specific, and shows scant reference to specific job functions, and provides barely a conclusion of disability, and yet get an approval at the First Stage of a Federal Disability Retirement application.

So, one may ask, where is the consistency shown by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management?  Is it all a matter of perspective — of a crap shoot as to who reviews a Federal Disability Retirement application at OPM?  The fact is, there is no “perfect” methodology that will guarantee that a well-prepared Federal Disability Retirement application will be approved at the First Stage of the OPM Disability Retirement process.

However, there are certainly “chance-enhancers” — those preparatory actions that exponentially increase the A 5-Step Pathway to Success at each stage of a Federal Disability Retirement process — that will help to ensure that, more likely than not (sort of like the legal standard itself — of a “preponderance of the evidence” — that is applied to a Federal Disability Retirement case), your Federal Disability Retirement application, whether you are under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, will have a successful outcome with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

First and foremost, understand the critical structure of a Federal Disability Retirement application:  The foundation of every Federal Disability Retirement application is the medical report.  It is the foundation of a Federal Disability Retirement application (otherwise referred to as an “FDR”); from it, the legal arguments arise and the justifying Applicant’s Statement of Disability are together formulated.

Thus, just as a shaky building’s foundation will likely fail to withstand even a minor earthquake or a minimal subterranean tremor, so a mediocre medical report will often decrease the chances of a First Stage FDR approval.

Are there ways to counter such mediocrity?  Yes — by pointing out other critical elements of the case. And, of course, sometimes the choices are limited, where it is better to proceed even with a mediocre medical report than not at all, and to put the best case forward regardless of the insufficiency of a mediocre medical report.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: The distance marker

Highways have them; sports arenas and fields are littered with their recognizable placements; and runners rely upon them.  On highways, they are often coordinated with exits upcoming, but most drivers fail to recognize their relevance, and rarely take note of them.

What most people don’t understand, comprehend, and fail to appreciate, is that their importance is not merely about the distance still left to go, but how far one has already traveled.  The former is often tied intimately to the struggles one foresees extending into the future; the latter, forgetful or forgettable, as life’s accolades are rarely declared, and seldom trumpeted.

Thus, when a career is cut short, or a change in the course of a person’s life is necessitated by unforeseen circumstances, the internal agony and angst of life is always focused upon how much further we must go, as opposed to taking a breath and appreciating what distances we have already traversed.  Perhaps that is for the best; for, if pause were to become a pattern of petulance, progress would never be permeated.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition impedes, prevents, or otherwise interferes with the performance of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal positional duties in the Federal agency or the U.S. Postal Service, the thoughts are always projected towards the future, and should be, as that is a “good” thing.

Too much reflection upon past accomplishments rarely does one good; and, in any event, the Federal agency certainly doesn’t care (don’t hold your breath for an anticipated office party recognizing your accomplishments and contributions), and except for some modicum of acknowledgements in performance reviews, will not give any leeway for future considerations based upon past successes achieved.

Perhaps that is why distance markers are ignored, except by those who have a purposeful drive in reaching a designated destination.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, where filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal employee or U.S. Postal worker is under FERS or CSRS, or even CSRS Offset, becomes a necessity and a choice for the future, the distance marker to recognize is the attaining of that Disability Retirement annuity — and beyond, where life can be lived after Federal Employment.

And of the distance already traversed?  Reflection upon past successes can be the foundation for future endeavors; mark them, and even remember their placement and location; but never pause longer than half a breath, before moving on to the coordinated exit recognized as the effective preparation, formulating and filing of a Federal Disability Retirement application, lest not only the distance marker passes you by, but you miss the coordinated exit, as well.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement: Extending the Vibrancy of Life

Much of life is spent in avoidance and protective retreat; it is only in the ignorance of youthful exuberance that we recklessly run into the streets without looking for oncoming traffic.  Sports reflects the truth of that human essence; it is not an accident that we witness the repetitive folly of gaining an early lead, only to act in fear of losing and thereby fulfilling the prophesies of our own making.

The question, then, 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 positional duties — is it an option to remain?

If the answer to that question is an unequivocal “no”, then the two other choices harken: File for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, or wait until the agency fires you or forces you to resign.  If the latter, then the Federal or Postal employee still has up until 1 year to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the date of separation, whether through termination or separation by voluntary (or “forced”) resignation.

Avoidance of the issue will not do; at some point, either the decision to move forward in life will be made by the central actor in the cast (you), or by the supporting residue surrounding the play (the Federal agency or the U.S. Postal Service).

In the end, the vibrancy of one’s life is not determined by blindness or disregard of one’s circumstances, but by recognizing the steps necessary to enliven daily value.  One’s career and the extension of worthwhile work is always important to one’s life, but when a medical condition begins to exacerbate and devalue the substantive content of one’s life, then it is time to move beyond and search for an extension of that vibrancy of life.

Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, is often a “first step” in achieving and resetting that youthful exuberance we once felt, but lost along the way, precisely because it allows for a base security of the foundational needs of living:  an annuity obtained, then time to recuperate from one’s medical conditions and determine a course for the future.

One need not be looking back with fear of losing the game, as the repetition of sports history will reveal; rather, the future still can hold the key to extending the vibrancy of life once grasped, but somehow lost in the morass of our busy lives.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Medical Retirement for Federal Employees: Narrative for the Ages

The Age of Modernity is too cynical to believe; or, at the very least, too arrogant not to disbelieve.  It was once thought that information is all that is necessary to propel humankind into a state of sophistication, but time has revealed that Orwell’s reverse effect merely compels us to rely upon devices more and more, and that neither knowledge nor greater wisdom is gained by the wide dissemination of data and content.

We want a “cause” to believe in; yet, each day, we encounter those who allegedly toiled throughout their lives for just such a motivating core, only to find a shell of a person, neither interesting nor interested, and grubbing for amassing of life’s toys, like everyone else in the neighborhood.  Is it, in the end, true that the one who “wins” is defined by the last person standing with the toy and a smile?  We seek for the narrative which fits, and one which declares truth for all ages; but whether we would even be able to recognize “the One” if we passed by it, is doubtful.  This is a time for reflection and re-dedication to one’s core belief-system, despite the world’s agony bereft of such a centrality of intuition.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who must contemplate changes in the coming year because of a medical condition which is impacting the Federal or Postal worker’s ability and capacity to remain in the Federal or Postal position, the narrow focus of formulating one’s statement of narrative on SF 3112A is an important microcosm of effective conveyance.  The questions asked on SF 3112A are simple enough; but the narrative which the Federal or Postal employee must prepare, formulate and submit, will determine the future course and causal impact in getting an approval of an OPM Disability Retirement application.

Prepare it carefully; formulate it thoughtfully; submit it only with wise counsel and guidance, wherever and whatever the source.  Yes, perhaps one’s narrative on SF 3112A is not as “grand” or “timeless” as the narrative for the ages of which we seek; but for the individual life of the Federal or Postal employee who is searching for answers for an uncertain future yet to dawn because of a medical condition, the significance and importance may be just as great.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire