OPM Disability Retirement: The Frustrating Process

Every administrative and bureaucratic process is a frustrating one, and waiting for an OPM Disability Retirement application to be approved is likely the epitome of frustration.

Thus, it is essential to understand at the outset that filing a Federal Disability Retirement application with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is a long and arduous process that will likely take many years to accomplish, and nothing short of a miracle will expedite the time required.

One’s own efforts in attempting to take shortcuts will have minimal impact upon the ultimate outcome.  Still, an Federal Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law can undoubtedly enhance the chances of an earlier approval.  Even then, however, Federal and Postal workers need to understand that a great deal of the process merely involves waiting.

Filing quickly does not result in OPM rendering a quicker decision.  Often the contrary is true: By preparing an application quickly, it is likely not as strong a case as it could have been and when OPM finally gets around to reviewing it, a likely denial will be issued, further prolonging the waiting period because of needing to go to the next, “Reconsideration” Stage of the process.

And while every bureaucratic process inherently possesses its unique set of frustrations, OPM Disability Retirement has the added feature of contending with a serious medical issue, which tends to magnify the frustrations involved.

Can anything be done about it?  The short answer is, Not Really.  Calls to OPM will often only exasperate the level of frustration, and while “doing something…anything” may temporarily appease the frustration in the short term by making it appear that some progress is being made, almost all such efforts come to naught, and all that remains is to await OPM’s response.

Once received, of course, the entire process can be a further stage of frustration.  For, if an approval is received, there are further battles in getting the annuity payments started, and that doesn’t even touch upon whether the annuity is correctly calculated.  On the other hand, if a denial is issued, the bureaucratic frustration is further extended, especially because of the short timeframe provided in preparing and submitting a response.

Any Federal or Postal employee contemplating preparing, formulating, and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under the FERS system to be submitted to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, must be prepared for a long and frustrating administrative process.

And if you want further insight into this lengthy and frustrating process, you may want to first consult with a Federal Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.

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.

 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Disability Retirement: The Agony of Purgatory

Of course, it is only strictly applicable in Roman Catholic doctrine, as the Protestant set rejects the existence of such a concept.  Whether one accepts such a precept or not, one must be forced to acknowledge the creativity of it.

It is like a fairytale story of a son who loves his parents who are atheists and, upon their death, comes up with the following idea based upon logic: God is good; my parents, despite being non-believers, were essentially good people.  God would not punish good people.  Therefore, there must by logical necessity be a place where good people can have a chance to expiate their “sins”, and that place is deemed “Purgatory”.  It makes sense.

The Agony of Purgatory, of course, is that you are stuck in a middle kingdom. — like quicksand or the fear we all had as children when we went into a department store or a hotel where there was a revolving door — you know, the ones with small, V-shaped sections that you had to quickly squeeze into, and where you feared your older brother or sister would jam it at the precise moment, and you would be stuck while everyone watched you, laughing uproariously at being caught in purgatory.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition where you can no longer perform all of the essential elements of your job, you understand and feel the Agony of Purgatory.  The medical condition has you stuck; your Agency is contemplating letting you go or doing something to get rid of you; and you don’t quite know what to do to expiate those “sins” you have allegedly committed.

Contact an OPM Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and consider getting yourself out of the Agony of Purgatory, whether you believe in Roman Catholic doctrine or not, and begin the process of preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

Federal & Postal Medical Retirement: Stupid Mistakes

Of course, one can argue that all mistakes, by their very definition, are “stupid”; but, of course, that would then make the entire concept differentiating between “mistakes” and “stupid mistakes” disappear, as the distinction between the bifurcated differences becomes one and the same.

It is a difficult concept to define; yet, we know when we or others have made them.  When we make them, we slap our forehead and say, “Duh!”  When another person makes one, we try to put a gentle cover over it — if we care at all for the person; if it was made by a child; when we know that the other person is “sensitive” to criticism, etc. — and try and say things like, “Oh, it’s okay, anyone could have made that mistake”.  On the other hand, when it is made by someone whom we dislike, is arrogant or condescending (or all three), we get the joy of “rubbing it in” and say offhand things like, “Boy, not even stupid ol’ me would have made a mistake like that!”

“Stupid” mistakes are distinct from “common” errors; the former is made without thought, while the latter is often made with thought, but without knowing the inherent consequences contained.

For Federal employees and U.S Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, and where the medical condition may require the Federal or Postal employee to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through OPM, one wants to — if at all possible — avoid not only the “common” mistakes, but the “stupid” ones, as well.  Mistakes happen; we all make them; but the one mistake that cannot be corrected once a Federal Disability Retirement application is filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is the one where “blinders” are placed upon OPM once OPM sees something.

It is thus important to consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, lest the “common” mistake turns out to be a “stupid” mistake that cannot be corrected.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Medical Retirement from OPM: The Fun of It All

Is that the point?  Do we live because there is a balancing of accounts, and so long as the right side of the ledger has enough checkmarks on the “leisure” side of life, where fun, joy, entertainment and self-satisfaction retain more fulfillment than on the left side (i.e., where work, drudgery, misery and repetitive monotony are recognized) — then, it is all “worth it”?

Do we continue on because of the “fun of it all”, or do most of us merely endure life, barely acknowledging the futility of our efforts and the inevitable melancholy of our lives, paused and interrupted only by the temporary suspension by sleep or daydreams?

We whisper our fantasies: “Oh, wouldn’t it be nice if…”.  It is the “Ifs” of life that transport ourselves from the reality of our condition into transferences of fantasies where for a brief moment a virtual reality replaces the starkness of present circumstances.  “If only I had a million dollars” (although, in this day and age, with inflation and the monetary devaluation of purchase power combined with the exponential increase of modern life’s consumer appetites, such a paltry amount barely makes a difference, anymore); “If only I had done X when I was younger”; “If only I had invested in such-and-such stocks”; “If only …”.

Like the overused reference to Sisyphus and the rolling boulder that never ceases, the toil that forever must be embraced and the daily grind that always remains, the fun of it all was always a misshapen goal that was never to be. Obligations in this society are no longer recognized; duties are easily abandoned; there remains only the barrenness of an isolated existence.  Where was “the fun of it all”?

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, it may be time to prepare, formulate and submit an effective Federal Disability Retirement application through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Consult with an Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.  For, even if one’s Federal or Postal career was never sought based upon the illusion that life and a career should be pursued for the “fun of it all”, if the medical condition has stripped away even the illusion one once possessed, then it is time to seek a remedy for a replacement illusion.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal & Postal Disability Retirement: The Presumptuous Act

What would we say about a person who, having bought a lottery ticket, goes out and spends lavishly, quits his job and becomes indebted far beyond his means — all prior to the day when the “winning numbers” are declared?  We would consider that he or she is: Crazy; irresponsible; or, perhaps, has some “insider knowledge” that we are not privy to.

Most acts lack a presumptuous intent; many, merely of thoughtless motivations; and rarely but some, of such egregiously bold-faced assault upon common decency that we disbelieve and attempt to substitute some rationally-based justification to explain away the presumptuousness of such an act.  Would our opinion of such a person — the one who buys a lottery ticket, then quits his or her job and proceeds to spend lavishly while abandoning all “reasonable” displays of conventional wisdom — change if additional facts were to be posited?

How about: The doctor has given him 30 days to live, and when we ask the person about the lottery ticket, the response is: “Oh, I don’t expect to win; it is just a metaphor for my life’s prognosis”.  Would such a response change our opinion; for, no longer is the person “crazy”; perhaps somewhat “irresponsible” in that the debts left behind will still have to be paid by someone; but yes, we would likely lean towards the third option in our thought processes: that the “insider knowledge” was the very private knowledge held close to his or her heart: Mortality suddenly betrays careful living, and abandonment of conventional lifestyles is a natural consequence of having nothing left to lose.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer a similar (but perhaps not quite as devastating a scenario) situation like that of the hypothetical individual noted above, the “presumptuous act” that others may deem so may not be so outlandish as one may first assume.

Filing a Federal Disability Retirement application for the Federal or Postal employee under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset is not quite like the example above, but often, some see it as such; for, to “give up” a well-paying job, a reliable career or a secure position in the Federal System is certainly a drastic situation; and the alternative may not allow for much of a choice: To remain and suffer, and continue to deteriorate until one’s body or emotional state has been so damaged as to suffer through life for the rest of one’s allotted time on earth; to ignore that is indeed the height of presumptuousness — of taking things for granted.

Health should be a priority, and preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is not a presumptuous act; rather, its opposite is what presumes too much — that your health will continue to withstand the deteriorating condition that you have all along experienced for these many years.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement under FERS: Factors to consider

The universe of thoughtful decision-making shrinks exponentially and in direct correlation with the pertinent and relevant information gathered, and it is too often the case that factors not considered are the very ones which lead to a non-decision or, more importantly, to a wrong conclusion.

What factors should be considered when a Federal or Postal employee is going to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset?

Certainly, age can be a factor — for, if OPM engages in a recalculation of a Federal Disability Retirement annuity at age 62, and you are fast approaching that age, the factor of “how long it takes” to get an OPM Disability Retirement approved (about a year, give or take a few months on either side of the equation); whether you get any backpay once it is approved (back to the last day your Agency or the Postal Service has paid you anything); and whether the time you are on Federal Disability Retirement counts towards your total number of years accrued until the recalculation age at 62 (it does) — should all be factors to consider.

Further, even if you are still relatively young, should those same factors be considered?  The short answer is an unequivocal “yes” — and probably many others, besides, including: Do I intend on working at another job in the private sector while on Federal Disability Retirement?  Do I have Service-Connected disabilities that can play a factor [sic] in the factors to be considered?

The universe of factors to consider in preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, are innumerable; and then, there are likely factors that you have not even considered, but which may be prompted by consulting with an attorney who has already considered multiple factors besides, and who may be able to guide you in this complex process called “OPM Disability Retirement”.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Lawyer Representation for OPM Disability Claims: The price paid

That is the question, isn’t it?  In this monetary-based system of thought, we always ask that one, and the follow-up:  What was the price paid, and was it worth it? Are the two questions and issues divisible, or are they inseparably linked like Siamese twins sharing a vital organ?

As to the first, the question can encompass an entanglement of intricate complexities that flow from the second — when, in fact, it is a simple question requiring merely a fundamental answer.  We ask first, What is the price paid?

We begin to hem and haw and hesitate:  Well, it was really beautiful and I’ve always wanted it and it was worth it because it brought back the warmth of childhood memories and….  Once such explanations and justifying delineations occur, you have conflated the second issue into the first; for, the first requires a simple and straightforward answer:  the dollar-amount; a monetarily-objective response; a unit from a designated numerical set, etc.  Thus: “I bought X”.  “How much did you pay for it?”  “It was priced at X-dollars, and I purchased it for Y-amount”.

Then, the inevitable follow-up:  “Was it worth it?”  It is this second question that evokes a conflation with the first; for, such a query is not so simple inasmuch as it involves psychology, emotion, rational and irrational underpinnings, and the subjective encompassment of often-unexplainable attachments.

The worth of a thing may not parallel the price of it; for, what what paid for it can spread throughout a spectrum of differentiating circumstances:  Perhaps one got a bargain; maybe the seller didn’t realize the true market value and vastly underpriced it; or, it may be that a person needed to do a “quick sale” because he needed the cash, and was willing to part with it at a basement-bargain price, etc.

Take the following hypothetical:  At an auction, a painting is bid upon.  It is a rather unassuming piece that depicts a woman, fully clothed, with a slight smile.  It is not an exceptional painting, and is expected to be auctioned off for about a thousand dollars.  The bidding begins, and very quickly, it becomes clear that primarily 2 individuals are vying for the painting — one, a very wealthy individual; the other, a middle-class bloke barely able to meet his monthly debts.  The bidding exceeds the expected price to be gained by the auctioneer, which makes him happy beyond description.

This is the cake that dreams are made of for the auction house that expects very little:  Two or more individuals who are willing to pay a price exceeding the monetary worth of the item.  After a series of back-and-forth bids, the middle-class bloke wins the bid — at $20,000.00.  When later asked about it, he replies: “The painting reminds me of my mother.”  Bankrupt and considered a fool by everyone in the neighborhood, he nevertheless feels for the rest of his life that it “was worth it”.

Now, turn the hypothetical around and let’s say that the wealthy man won the bidding.  When asked about it, he simply stated: “Oh, I was just bored.  I plan on trashing the painting when I get home, but it was exciting to just rob someone else of his desire and pleasure.”  In either case, was the price paid “worth” it?

That is the question that Federal and Postal workers have to answer when determining whether or not to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset — the price of one’s health; whether it is worth continuing in a job or career that persists upon a track to demoralize, deteriorate and destroy one’s health; or, whether a reduced income at the price of being able to focus upon one’s health may be “worth” it.

Preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through OPM itself has a price — of the long wait, the complex administrative process and the stress of waiting; but like the painting being bid upon at the auction house, it is always the balancing of the price paid and the worth of the gain that must be considered when preparing, formulating and filing for OPM Disability Retirement benefits.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Medical Retirement from Federal Government Employment: The Wonder of Functioning

The complexity of the human condition makes one wonder about the capacity, endurance and ability of this animal who has created such a dysfunctional, technologically sophisticated universe.

From genetic predetermination of uncontrollable susceptibility to behavior patterns, diseases and addictive personalities, to environmental factors which condition and influence; what we eat; the wide spectrum of tolerance (or intolerance) to stress; medication regimens which would otherwise knock out an elephant, to modern prosthetic devices which makes the Six Million Dollar Man of the 70s a mere skeleton of technological innovation; and where this post-information age of constant data and stimuli bombardment is a never-ending stream of stresses; through it all, it is a wonder that Man is able to function at all.

But functionality is a paradigm which possesses subtle distinctions despite the concealment of appearances; it is always the irony of life that, after the havoc of a murderous rampage, the little old lady next door always responds to the query of the reporter and says, “And he was such a nice young man…”

The veil of appearances; the brave face we put on; like the Noh Mask which alters expression depending upon the angle, perspective, light and vantage point of the viewer, the inner reality of turmoil in every man passing on a single street, betrays the reality of cosmetic surfaces.  And, too, that is the problem for the Federal employee and the U.S. Postal worker who wants to — nay, needs to — file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset.

Through it all, the “others” have been playing the same “game” of enduring through concealment.  Bizarre behaviors sometimes betray; or, perhaps, it is some rumors of over-drinking; or the unexplained and unexplainable cuts and the bald spot from pulling and scratching; whatever the evidence, they can all be glossed over with a smile and a furtive glance to other and parallel universes.  But for the Federal and Postal worker who truly suffers from a medical condition, such that the medical condition impacts and prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s positional duties, the time has come when wonderment and reality clash in an intergalactic battle of proportionality and justice, where mind, body and spirit can no longer lie to the inner soul of one’s essence.  For, ultimately, it is that “soul” which hurts and suffers.

When we lie to others, it merely allows for the medical condition to fester and progressively deteriorate; when we lie to ourselves, it damages and destroys the inner character of one’s essence.  That is the epic tragedy of reality in a universe concocted with virtual devices, and therein lies the true lie of that which we desire, and it is indeed a wonder that we are able to function at all in that unending maze of cacophonous laughter we deem to be the madness of society.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Medical Retirement from Federal Government Jobs: Canards and Caustic Characters

Life is tough enough without having to deal with unfounded rumors, mongering of fears (the term “fear-mongering” is itself an interesting one, denoting a tradesman or merchant who specializes in the sale of specific goods, and thus implying a commerce of black-marketed ideas connoting instability, undesirable and shady commodities) and encounters with unpleasant invertebrates masking as human beings.

Canards float throughout workplaces like pheromones released and attracting species of a similar ilk, and suddenly the ravages of the herd mentality provoke a carnivorous feast of mauling and prey-stalking.  The “fix” is in, and you know it, and wait for it to come, like the inevitability of a season’s change and the waxing and waning of the crescent moon; only, when it is you as the bulls-eye target of caustic characters, the eternity of time in anticipation of the forthcoming tidal wave and onslaught of adversity seems like the slow travel of a singular teardrop down the dry gullies of a pock-marked surface.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who are in need of 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, that feeling of impending doom is familiar, close, and nevertheless unpleasant.

Agencies of the Federal kind (we speak not of State, County or Local ones, as this author has no knowledge of their characteristics and internal workings, although one may presume that, by stint of metaphor and symbolic comparison, there may be a kinship between and betwixt) and the U.S. Postal Service have a reputation to uphold, and the prevailing one always seems to involve canards and caustic characters, especially when it comes to treatment of fellow Federal and Postal employees with medical conditions, such that the medical conditions begin to prevent the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s positional duties.

When the time comes — and the inevitability of when and how the Federal agency or the U.S. Postal Service will conduct itself is never without a shade of doubt — as to the need for filing for OPM Disability Retirement benefits, hopefully the Federal and Postal employee will leave the scene of the crime and go on with life with an OPM annuity, with mere memories of fading glories, for this canards and caustic characters who are left behind to boil in the meanness of their own making.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire