Federal OPM Disability Retirement: The Mistakes People Make

The greatest mistake of all is to “assume” X or to “presume” Y; and this is not uncommon, precisely because the wording of the Standard Forms as presented on SF 3112A (Applicant’s Statement of Disability), which is the central basis upon which a Federal/Postal Disability Retirement application is formulated (both for CSRS as well as for FERS employees), makes it appear as if obtaining an approval from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is merely a pro forma activity.

And, indeed, many have informed the undersigned attorney that Human Resources’ personnel at various agencies will understate the scrutiny which OPM will apply in reviewing and evaluating a Federal or Postal Medical Retirement application.

The main problem with H.R. Personnel dismissing the arduous and meticulously scrutinizing administrative process as applied by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is that such underestimation is barely acknowledged when a denial is received from OPM on a Federal Disability Retirement case.  All of a sudden, the Human Resources personnel put up their hands and state, “It’s not our responsibility”, when all along they had been insisting as to the ease of the process.

No, it is true — it is not the ultimate responsibility of the Agency or its Human Resources Department.  Yes, it is also true that any application for a CSRS or FERS Disability Retirement is the responsibility of the individual applicant.

As such, because responsibility falls squarely (why, by the way, is it “squarely“, as opposed to “triangularly” or “circularly”?) upon the Federal or Postal Worker, it behooves one to take the entire process seriously, and to invest the proper time, attention, and expenses needed, to do it right “the first time”.

Sincerely,

McGill Disability Retirement Legal Services

 

FERS Disability Retirement: Facing the Day

It is quite obviously a different approach than “Seizing the Day” (Carpe Diem) — that popular pablum of motivational declarative which one encounters every now and gain.  Youth and health often frame one’s outlook; and for those with ongoing health issues, merely facing the day requires tremendous willpower and energy.

Then, when the issue is presented for Federal and Postal employees concerning the decision and need to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under FERS, and the long, bureaucratic complexities involved, and the high likelihood that it will require fighting with OPM in order to get approved, it is all well and good to seize the day when you are not confronted with serious health issues, but when you are, it is merely facing the day which is the real challenge.

When all you feel like doing is crawling back into bed and assuming a fetal position until sleep comforts the mind (while the body reacts to the pain by magnifying the fatigue but failing to allow for any restorative sleep), facing the day must be assumed by sheer will and strength of reserve.

If legal assistance is needed in the process of preparing an effective Federal OPM Disability Retirement application under FERS, you should contact a Federal Lawyer who specializes exclusively on FERS Disability Retirement Law.  That is how the Federal or Postal employee may face OPM and transition from facing the day to seizing the day.

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 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.

 

FERS Early Medical Retirement: Integrity

What is it?  One definition states: A. The adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty, and B. The state of being whole, entire, or undiminished.  Yes, the first one is what one expects; it is the second definition, however, which is the more relevant, and perhaps needs to be fleshed out.  For, isn’t that the true basis for the meaning of the word?

That there is a “wholeness” between the words one speaks and the actions one takes.

Take the following hypothetical: A former president (who will remain unidentified) who was almost kicked out of office for an indiscretion committed in the oval office (yes, yes, it is hard to guess who that might be, these days — but here is another hint: There were, in the salacious context of the entire affair [sic], multiple “Speakers of the House” who took the post, then subsequently resigned because they, too, were outed in retaliation by the White House) goes around the country lecturing at high schools and colleges on the following subject: “The importance of Fidelity in a marriage.”

Would you go to such a lecture?  Would you allow your son or daughter to listen to the ex-president?  Why, or why not?  Does it matter who the speaker is?  Why does it matter?  Isn’t the truth of what he says, true — regardless of who delivers the lecture?  Would it make a difference if someone else gave the lecture — say, some old geezer who has been married to his wife for 75 years?  If so, why?

Perhaps because the penumbras of integrity still haunt our society, where words and actions still require “wholeness”.

Certainly, that is the case (allegedly) in a Federal Disability Retirement case, where your Statement of Disability (SF 3112A) should match the Physician’s Statement (SF 3112C), where the coordination and connection results in a “wholeness” which will then turn into an approval from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, when a Federal or Postal Disability Retirement application is put together in the effective manner in which it should — based upon the concept of integrity.

Contact a Federal Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and make sure that the entire packet is prepared, formulated and filed with the concept of “integrity” — “wholeness” — in mind.

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 Medical Retirement: The Divide Between Self and Reality

Despair often comes when the chasm between consciousness of self (as opposed to self-consciousness) and the reality which, upon even a moment’s pause, one realizes — goes beyond the divide of acceptability.

That is why the whole endeavor of “self-esteem” — which generally began sometime in the second and third generations after WWII’s fighting men came home and married and started families — was a delicate and consequential conundrum.  Yes, kids needed to have a positive self-esteem; however, the question was, how best to instill it?  Was self-esteem the substance for the thing itself, or was it a byproduct of one’s accomplishments?

Modern educators opted for the former; and that is why, today, Americans are first in self-esteem but last in knowledge.  For, when the divide between self and reality grows too expansive, the consequence is that we come to realize that we are empty shells, fabricators, and imposters within a world of reality.

Of course, we all fashion narratives which either leave out some negative history, or add to it in the best light possible.  The truth of a person described to others is mostly a hodgepodge of make-believe, and it is only when the unexpected visit from the cousin or other sibling refutes the historical narrative of fairytales told when that divide between self and reality comes to the fore.

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, the divide between self and reality is told thus: “My medical conditions are not that serious; I can just quietly ignore it and continue on.”  But then, the day comes when the divide between the narrative told and the reality foretold grows too expansive.

That is the time to contact a FERS Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin to initiate the process of preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal or Postal Disability Retirement application under the FERS system, which will hopefully close that chasm of the growing divide between self and reality.

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 Medical Retirement: Between the Particular and the Universal

There is always a distance between the particular and the universal.  In syllogistic logic, a universal can never be derived from a major and minor premise proposing particulars.

You cannot argue that because Harry down the street wears blue pants, and Joseph next door wears green pants, that therefore the whole world wears either green or blue pants.  You can, however, argue that Since all men are mortal, and Socrates is a man, that therefore Socrates is mortal — deriving a universal from a Major Premise which is universal, a minor premise which is particular, and ending with a conclusion which is universal.

Effective conversations often go that route — between “kitchen-table talk” and more generalized conversations which avoid the particulars, lest such personalized conversations lead to acrimonious, seemingly-confrontational and unpleasant exchanges.  Talks with your kids have to thread the fine line between accusatory admonitions and seemingly harmless, more generalized analogies.  That’s why the Bible cautions one not to provoke one’s children; for, overly particularized conversations become too uncomfortably provocative.

There is thus the twilight between the particular and the universal, and for Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who want to prepare an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be submitted to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, a fine line and a delicate balance must be implicated between the chasm separating the particular and the universal.

What is identified as the Twilight between the two must be cautiously maneuvered through.  Too much information in the particular can defeat a Federal Medical Retirement case.  Overly emphasizing the universal — the statutes and the laws governing every Federal Disability Retirement case — without the backdrop of the particulars of one’s medical conditions, can likewise defeat a Federal or Postal Service Disability Retirement claim.  That delicate balance must be achieved — of the Twilight Between the Particular and the Universal.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and thread the delicate line within the Twilight between the Particular and the Universal.

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: The Hope Next Door

Hope is the basis of life prolonged; it is why people buy lottery tickets, go to sleep soundly with an expectation that tomorrow will be different; and that, like the old quiz-shows of choosing “Door Number One, Door Number Two, or Door Number Three…” — we retain a hope that life will present us with the good luck, tomorrow or the next day, to choose the right “door” for our lives.

Few of us are smart enough to think in terms of Bertrand’s Box Paradox — presented as a veridical paradox in elementary probability theory.  We are rarely as rational as to embrace life in such a calculating, methodical or mathematical manner.  Instead, most of us blunder through where hope = ongoing existence, even if in reality we know that situations and events don’t often change no matter how hard we try.

Society as a whole — of governments and the Age of Therapy — perpetuates the concept of “the Hope Next Door”.  Politicians running for the Senate, House or state positions make promises all the time, knowing that he or she will merely be one representative within a cauldron of many, and will never be able to pass any legislation because there will never be a consensus enough to do so.

But words have a powerful effect in engendering the hope next door; somehow, we tend to be gullible no matter how many times we get duped.  Thus, the famous quote normally attributed to the greatest showman on earth, P.T. Barnum, that there is “a sucker born every minute”.  Why such gullibility?  Because, without hope, existence itself would be too bleak to go on; and thus do politicians, used-car salesmen and con artists sell not promises, but hope.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition and need to file for Federal Disability benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Hope Next Door may well be to obtain an approval for a Federal Disability Retirement annuity, so that you can focus upon regaining your health.

Contact a FERS Disability Retirement Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and look for the Hope Next Door that is real, and not merely as a chimera sold as snake oil or words of eloquence.

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 Law: The Finish Line

What is there, at that end which you strived so hard to reach?  We often confuse the end-goals and mix up the purposes engaged.  What is the purpose of the finish line?  Is it merely to reach and cross it?  Does a runner engage in the activity merely to cross the finish line, or is there a greater purpose beyond the mere crossing?

Certainly, for an alien from another planet — or even to a child where explanations have not yet been sufficiently comprehensible because of a lack of context and he or she is merely an accidental spectator not yet attuned to the “ways of the world” — watching men and women strain and struggle to reach a white line and collapse upon crossing it, is a specter of strangeness and peculiarity.

Was it for the health benefits of jogging and running?  Was it to win a prize — a ribbon, a trophy, some cash?  Or was it merely for the fun of competition — to train, to discipline, to achieve?  And what of metaphorical finish lines?

The “race of life”, the “marathon to achieve”, etc. — you know, the motivational constructs which allegedly compel us to greater heights of competitive highs.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who retain an image of a “finish line” — of reaching those magical numbers which declare to everyone, “I have made it!” — it may be that other factors intercede, interrupt and prevent you from achieving that goal of being able to cross that proverbial “finish line”.

What would be the point if, upon reaching the finish line, you collapse and die?  Or, end up in a wheelchair, debilitated and unable to enjoy those “golden years”?

People often mix up and confuse the purpose for the goal with the crossing of the finish line itself: Reaching the finish line is not the same as answering the “why” of getting there.  If your health is deteriorating and you are only destroying yourself in the very effort to reach that finish line, it is time to consider preparing, formulating and filing an effective OPM Disability Retirement application under FERS.

And yes, while being on Federal Disability Retirement, those years you are on it count towards your total number of years of Federal Service when it is recalculated at age 62, so that you are essentially building up your retirement systems while being on Federal Disability Retirement.

Contact a FERS Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider what the options are so that you don’t confuse and conflate reaching the finish line for the greater purpose of why and how you want to get there.

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: Knowledge & Application

We tend to separate the two, and have generally been taught that the former — even without the latter — is a “good” thing.  Our grade school teachers certainly repetitively pounded it into our thick skulls; and higher academia relies upon the belief that knowledge, “in and of itself”, is a valuable thing.  Application — or utility — is of the “business” world, and for academicians, somewhat sullies the purity of knowledge.

Perhaps it began with Plato — on the other hand, doesn’t all of Western Civilization begin with Plato (and by fiat, Socrates)?  Knowledge of the Forms; the metaphor of the famous “Cave”; the conceptual ideal of the purity of ideas; the Socratic method of questioning for the sake of attaining wisdom — all of it, without the worth based upon application or utility.

The first poor fellow who discovered a vein of gold — certainly, the beauty of the glitter must have astounded, but even with that “knowledge” of beauty, did he understand the future application of value in the commodity markets?  And of those oddball individuals who love to collect bits of information — of knowledge — without any practical application — we have all met them; of people who suddenly spout statistical data just to show off their knowledge, etc.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who, because of a medical condition, need to prepare, formulate and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, be fully aware that both knowledge (of the laws pertaining to Federal Disability Retirement) and application (of the persuasive authority of statutes, regulations and case-law) are needed to win a Federal Disability Retirement fight against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Knowledge is good; knowledge and application, in the “real” world, are better.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of not only knowing about the complex laws governing Federal Disability Retirement, but moreover, to have the powerful asset of applying that knowledge where it really counts — in the application itself.

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 Legal Assistance: The Letdown After

It is a positive thing to have goals; to set aside things, days, events, etc. to look forward to; to change up the monotony of daily living exercises and take a day off, go to visit a friend; but then the event, day, set-aside, etc., passes, and there is the letdown after.

Perhaps it is natural, or not; maybe it is to be expected.  In either case, whether natural or meta-natural, the severity of the emotional letdown often reflects the gap between expectation and reality.  For, isn’t that one of the foundational “keys” to happiness or discontent?

If our expectations are X and the reality which we encounter is also X, we are “happy”.  If, on the other hand, our expectations are X but the reality we experience is Y, then the “gap” between our expectations and the reality we must face will result in an emotion of discontent.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who look forward to the Holidays, the weekend, the next respite — the letdown after is palpable.  Why?  Because any future stopgap measures fail to attend to the foundational problems which create the gap between expectations and reality — one’s medical condition.

Consider filing for and applying for Federal Disability Retirement, a benefit which is there to solve the problem of an incompatibility between your medical conditions and the positional duties you must perform in your Federal or Postal job.  It is, in the end, the only solution for the letdown after.

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.