Federal Disability Retirement: The Logical Beginning Point

The consequences of information overload is that many people no longer have the cognitive capacity to make proper decisions concerning logical beginning points.  Studies have been made, with varying results, but with some indicating that the constant barrage of technological over-exposure results in stunting of that part of the brain which is generally used for making affirmative decisions.

While multi-colored MRI scans make for interesting visual commentary, from a scientific viewpoint, all that can properly be stated is some loose correspondence between certain areas of the brain and a level of activity or inactivity which can be correlated.  Regardless, it would seem logical to assume that too much of anything can negatively impact the capacity of the individual to competently engage in other activities.  Application of energy in one sector will necessarily take away the requisite capacity of engagement in another.

For the Federal or Postal employee who is suffering from a medical condition, and who is also subject to the identical volume of information overload, one may posit that life-changing decisions to be made would be exponentially exacerbated with difficulties of the fundamental nature:  “Where do I begin?”

The beginning points in preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management are important first steps; what consequential impact such beginning points may have upon the ultimate outcome of a case will determine the future destiny of the Federal or Postal employee.

With such important issues on the line, it may well be prudent to consult with someone “in the know”, and not let the arbitrary winds of change dictate the future course and destiny of one’s life.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement for Federal and USPS Workers: Someone Told Me

The rumor-mill continues to thrive, is alive and well; and so long as human beings remain social animals who enjoy the congregation of a mixture of many in formulating a group to gather, interact, receive tidbits and convey barbs of subtle and not-so-subtle criticisms, information, and conveyance belts of commentaries, the mill which produces a vast array of misinformation will remain intact and full of life.

It is important before one initiates or engages in any process of life, however, to distinguish between information which is useful; that which is accurate; and that which is superfluous and perhaps misleading. The statement which begins with, “Someone told me that…” or “I heard that X is…” removes the responsibility of the information by ascribing it to a third party unknown.  But such ascription is ultimately irrelevant, precisely because the information itself, and the need to determine its accuracy, significance or harm, is what is at issue.

In preparing, formulating, and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, it is indeed important to ascertain the accuracy of information — as to the required timeframes for administrative filings; for the substance of the information to be submitted; the required and necessary forms which must be completed; how each stage is to be responded to, etc.  Whatever the source of the information, it is ultimately the essence of the information itself which is important, and the source of such information is secondary.

Remember — as Federal Disability Retirement under FERS or CSRS, both for Federal and Postal employees, is an administrative process initiated out of necessity — it is important to satisfy that need by going to a source from which that spring of satisfaction originated.  For, it is in the origin that one meets the essence of a thing.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Medical Disability Retirement: Sources and Information

George Orwell’s classic work, 1984, depicts a society in which the gradual, systematic reduction of words, and therefore the availability of the use of words, is deliberately restricted and expunged from the universe of vocabulary.  Such reduction is performed through the issuance of the official dictionary, which comprises the totality of acceptability of language in his fictionalized society.

As words and the compendium of words comprise conceptual thought; as conceptual thought form to create ideas in a universe of human consciousness; and as rebellion is acted upon through the prefatory coordination of thought, so the stamping out of rebellious-driven words is the first step towards total control of man.

Orwell’s approach is interesting, but not the only way in which to control the populace.  The inverse approach is also as effective, if not more so: inundation of information can also paralyze a population from effective action.  In the real society of our age, the vast expanse of information has become the problem, not the lack thereof.

In preparing, formulating, and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, it is important to distinguish between information which is third or fourth hand (as in, “I was told that…” or, “A friend of mine said…”), and information which is accurate and of a reliable nature.  Further, each case is different and unique, and stories about what X did, or the fact that Y was told that a Federal or Postal Worker got Z, should ultimately be discounted.

Vast information in and of itself is worthless unless it is guided by truth, objectivity, and relevance.  Be aware of the unfettered information “out there”, for the source of information is just as important as the accuracy of such information.  In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, the Federal and Postal employee must always be cautious of the source of any and all information.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Disability Retirement for Federal Workers: Reliability of Information

In this information age (or, as the linear sequence of “ages” go, some have already identified it as the “post-information age”), the necessity of distinguishing between information, relevant information, and reliably relevant information is an important capacity to embrace.

In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under CSRS or FERS, it is important to be able to identify the distinguishing factors between the three.  The problem is that the three categories are often encapsulated in concentric circles of information, such that they are indistinguishable.

A fourth category which often muddies the waters is the insertion of motives.  How often does it happen where one makes contact with an agency, and the person on the other end seems pleasant, sounds competent, and joyfully informs you that it is “being worked on” and will be completed within the next day or so?  Weeks go by, and when a follow-up call is initiated, one is told by a less enthusiastic voice, and one which may be unpleasant and unhelpful, that No, the file hasn’t even been received, and we don’t know who you spoke to, but what that “other” person said is not true.  The “motive” of the “other” person was likely merely to get rid of the caller.  The fact that the voice was pleasant and competent-seeming turned out to be an undermining factor as to the reliability of the information.

This is an age when anyone can be anyone else; where a declaration on a website or on a social network page can constitute the substance of a person’s identity, without the person have accomplished anything “real“.  The problem with such radical bifurcation between “information”, “relevant information”, and “reliably relevant information”, however, is that there are real-world consequences for those who seek out and utilize such information.

In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether under FERS or CSRS, it is important to make such a tripartite distinction, and to proceed to prepare a case based upon a reliable information source, a relevant basis of information, and information which can bring about an effective end.  This takes discernment — a commodity which is greatly lacking these days.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement for Federal and USPS Workers: SSDI & FERS

It happens quite often.  In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Federal and Postal employee must file for Social Security Disability benefits (under FERS; CSRS is exempted because there is no Social Security component under the law).

While many Human Resources offices, as well as the H.R. Shared Services office in Greensboro, N.C. for the Postal Service, will assert to the Federal and Postal employee that they must “wait” until they get a decision from the Social Security Administration, the truth is that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management only needs to see a receipt showing that SSDI was filed, and this can be easily obtained online by simply completing their questionnaire, submitting it, then printing out a receipt.  Moreover, OPM only needs the receipt showing that one has filed, at the time of an approval.

By being misinformed and ill-advised, what often happens is a delay in the entire process — either that the H.R. office of an agency, or for the U.S. Postal Service, delays processing their part of the Federal Disability Retirement application, or the Federal or Postal employee is left with the misinformation and impression that he or she cannot file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits until the Social Security Administration has made a decision.

Then, of course, there are those who believe (wrongly) that they must receive a “final” decision from SSDI — meaning that after the initial denial is issued, and they have appealed the decision, they must await the results of the appeal.  This can take many months, if not years, and by that time, there is the danger that the Statute of Limitations has come and gone for filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

Information is normally a neutral conglomeration of facts and issues, but can be a positive thing; misinformation, by inverse logical definition, would then be a negative thing.  More than that, reliance upon misinformation can lead to real-world consequences — ones which are irreversible.  As such, one must check and double-check the source of information, in order to ensure that reliance results in reliability.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire