FERS Medical Retirement: Reconsideration & OPM’s Hope

Federal Disability Retirement can be a long, arduous, and frustrating administrative process and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management does not help to make it a smooth one.  You will likely get denied at the Initial Stage of the process, and furthermore, the initial Denial Letter from OPM will have you scratching your head in a state of anger and confusion as to its inherent lack of coherence or logic.

That is because it is OPM’s hope that you will simply give up and go away.  However, the mantra which you must always adopt is:  Never give up, and keep persisting, no matter what OPM says in their denial.  If you don’t win at the Reconsideration Stage, then you still have a chance at appealing it to the next stage – before an Administrative Judge at the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.

At both stages of the bureaucratic process, it is a good idea to contact an experienced FERS Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, who can properly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your case, and thus respond accordingly.  For, while persistence and refusing to go away is the first step in beating back OPM’s denials, such persistence must also be followed by a competent understanding and application of the legal criteria to rebut OPM’s attempt to marginalize your Federal Disability Retirement claim under the FERS system.

Contact a FERS Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and don’t succumb to OPM’s hope that you will just give up and go away.

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 Unwritten Last chapter

In one sense, of course, the last chapter has already been written for everyone — for, mortality imposes an identical outcome for all, and no matter the attempts of delay or circumvent that ultimate outcome, by artificial means of making one’s appearance younger than one’s stated age or by cellular-regenerative methods like exercise and good diet, etc., in the end, all such attempts are ultimately futile and we must all succumb to the natural deterioration and decay of our physical existence.

But it is in the “how” of mortality’s inevitability which makes for the uniqueness of that last unwritten chapter for each of us; of how the dusk’s phase of life was lived, the wisdom gained and imparted prior to departure, and what lasting legacy was left for those whose lives have many more chapters left to be written.

Is it with a bang or a whimper?  How many friends and family gather about to say farewell?  What stories and memories hold sway in the final paragraphs?

For many, applying for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is tantamount to writing the last unwritten chapter of one’s life — if only because it always feels like the end of something significant; and indeed, it is an “important next phase” in one’s life — but it need not be the last unwritten chapter, but instead, the first in a series within a new beginning.

FERS Disability Retirement secures one’s financial future so that many more future chapters may be added in the coming years, including beginning a new career, going back to school, or traveling the world over.  Contact a FERS Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider whether the unwritten last chapter in your life might not be the first chapter in a new and exciting novel at the dawn of your life.

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: Nothing New Under the Sun

Nothing is ever new under the sun; it is only from the perspective of the new that “newness” is perceived.  Thus, if you live long enough, you will witness the identical political issues come around, the same problems crop up, and parallel arguments made.

History has an innate cycle; it is merely our memories which fail to recognize the repetition.  Sometimes, of course, the old metaphor of something being dressed up in wolves’ clothing is also appropriate — meaning, merely, that the issue itself is an old one; it has merely changed its appearance in order to make it look new.

From the newborn’s perspective, of course, everything is new, fresh and pure — well, maybe not pure, if you count the dilapidated buildings, bridges and abandoned ballrooms.  To the newly initiated, the term “new” merely means that it has not previously been encountered; no memory of it exists; and the newness is based upon the premise that it has not been experienced until now.

Nevertheless, despite the protestations by the newly initiated that it is “new” to them, the plain fact is that there really is nothing new under the sun.

Why do we use the term, “under the sun”?  Because it describes the parameters of our phenomenological experience — of this universe and this planet.  Even the recent video footage from the drone helicopter showing us the “new” terrain on Mars is not really “new”; it’s been there for centuries.

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, the medical condition itself is clearly something “new”.  Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through OPM will be a new experience.

What you want to do, however, is to consult with a Federal Disability Attorney whose experience and knowledge will show that even that experience is nothing new under the sun; otherwise, you might end up being guided by someone who doesn’t really know what he or she is talking about.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

Federal & Postal Worker Disability Retirement: The Interrupted Cadence

We all have a cadence which we follow; the morning routine; the afternoon lull; the evening monotony of every day actions, repeated each day, day after day.  And so the march of life goes on, with a familiar cadence throughout, rarely uninterrupted, and allowing for sanity to perform the subconscious acts throughout each and every day.  For, if every day were to lack the cadence of the previous day, chaos would prevail and the anarchy of life’s problems would be the only force which would dominate.

We like music which possesses an inherently consistent beat.  Instruments placed together and playing without regard to one another merely produce sounds of shrieking discordance.  “Music”, indeed, is different from mere sounds blaring at the same time, and the cadence of the day is like music to one’s ear: It is pleasant, reliable, and dependable.

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 your career with the Federal Agency or the U.S. Postal Service, the fact that your cadence of life has been interrupted is problematic enough; to be denied by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for a benefit you deserve — a Federal Disability Retirement annuity — adds insult to injury.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and see whether we can restore the interrupted cadence of life by reversing OPM’s denial of a Federal Employee Disability Retirement application.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
OPM Disability Attorney

 

OPM Disability Retirement under FERS: Other Places, Other Times

People study history for various reasons: the interest of other times, the peculiarity of other places — and yet the similarity of people no matter what the historical context.  Other places, other times, reveal to us the pattern of behaviors engaged in across time, cultures, historical contexts and prevailing dogmas which dominated a particular society, civilization or epoch of noted influence.  It gives us a perspective and, often for the good, a sense of knowledge that other places, other times are not too dissimilar from the one we are currently experiencing.

Do we repetitively make the same mistakes as generations past?  Likely.  Are we wont to repeat them in the future?  Yes.  Do we ever learn from our mistakes?  Unlikely.  Human beings, for the most part, do what they want to do, and then scramble to gather the justifying reasons for having done them.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition necessitates preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS, know that in other places and at other times, Federal and Postal employees have successful fought with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and have won their Federal Disability Retirement benefits despite the unfair advantage which OPM holds over you.

Consult with a Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer and know that an experienced Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer has the experience that in many other places, at multiple other times, success has been achieved in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement under FERS: The Trouble Bin

But that life was merely a pleasant dream where we could pick and choose the sequence of events; would the “trouble bin” ever be accessed?  Would our scenes ever depict unhappiness, dismay, concern or of distraught loneliness?  Would we ever open the lid to the Trouble Bin and take out the problems therein?

Or, would we forever keep it closed and live blissfully within the confined pleasures of our sweetest dreams?  Would life become monotonous if there were never any troubles, such that — “just for fun” — we would sneak over to the Trouble Bin and take a peek to see what would happen if, just for a brief moment, we could pinch ourselves awake and be jarred away from the dreamworld of a perfect life?

But that troubles could be placed in a bin and the lid closed until and unless we wanted to access it; that, in and of itself, would be a dream worth having.

Life is full of troubles; the series of troubles are not always in any rational sequence, but often come in clusters where two hands and a sound mind are not quite enough to handle it all; but then, just as we have little control over our own dreams (except in those rare ones where we “know we are dreaming” and can actually dictate the content of the dream), we have less to do with troubles that life introduces on a regular basis.

Some would argue that most, if not all, troubles are of our own making:  The decisions we make; the options we choose; the pathways we go down.  Some troubles, however, that come out of the Trouble Bin are not of our own making or choosing — for example, a medical condition that becomes chronic or debilitating.

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 file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application.

To do so, it may be wise to open the lid of another “bin” that hopefully sits next to the Trouble Bin:  of the “Advice Bin”, by contacting an attorney who specializes in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement Application.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Employee Disability Retirement: The Legacy of Achievement

We all dream of having contributed to society in greater or lesser ways.  Whether individual achievements are enough, where private satisfaction is gained through a restricted circle of those “in the know”, is doubtful; and even of leaving a name behind on a building, a statue or a commemorative stamp — what difference does it ultimately make, the cynic would wonder aloud?

When we pass by a building with a nameplate in one of the bricks or chiseled into the mortar, do we even acknowledge it, let alone recognize who that person was or what contribution he or she had made to the world?  Do we stand and Google the name and ooh-and-ah at the achievements bestowed?  Or of a statute with the proverbial fountain spewing daily freshness of recycled water, of perhaps a general who had once-upon-a-time led a charge and captured or killed a great opposing force — is that what we consider an achievement worthy of a bronze emblem?

And how about the more subtle legacy, of leaving imprints and personality traits, whether positive or negative, in one’s children or grandchildren?  “Oh, he is just like his father!”  “She reminds me of her mother.”  Or of those quiet achievements by challenged individuals daily around the world; we know not what effort it took, but for the person making the effort in the silence of his or her private suffering.

Achievement is a funny animal; it is ultimately a feeling; otherwise, why would we build statues to declare it to the world if we truly believed in the legacy entombed?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition no longer allows the Federal or Postal employee to perform all of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, perhaps the achievements one had hoped for in one’s career are no longer achievable, and thus the “legacy” of achievement is no longer possible.

In that event, the Federal or Postal worker needs to reconsider the values once sought, and to re-prioritize the goals pursued.  Perhaps “health” was not part of the original list, but should be; and that is where an effective preparation of a Federal Disability Retirement application comes into play: One’s career was never the legacy to achieve; it was merely down on the list of priorities to be sought, where one’s health and well-being should have been higher on the list to begin with.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
FERS Disability Lawyer

 

Filing for OPM Disability Retirement: Palatable possibilities

We often hear of that which is “possible”, then immediately pause to consider the probabilities of such declared possibilities.  For, isn’t it possible that there are martians on the far side of the moon, or that we all live in a dream, dreamt by the fragile whisperings of a butterfly, or that everything that we see, hear and experience is just nothing more than pure bosh, and Bertrand Russell was quite right after all, that our rumblings of metaphysical yearnings were merely a result of a stomach virus that needed an antacid to cure?

At what point are possibilities presented no longer palatable, and where are the limits of our imaginations such that reality clashes with fantasy and the medium between the two becomes so stretched that we cannot fathom their practical effects?  Have we come to a point now where supermarket tabloids are just as believable as mainline newspapers that cross the thresholds between truth and opinion?  Is virtual reality just as pleasurable as “real” reality, and does the realness of reality depend merely upon one’s perspective and opinion and how we view things?

Then, of course, there is the reality of a medical condition, and everything comes crashing down into a singular reality: mortality and health tend to bring us “back to the basics”.

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, what possibilities are palatable; whether possibilities presented are meaningful; it all comes down to the pragmatic choices from three: Stay, walk away or file 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.

The real possibilities in life are generally quite simple; it is the luxury of the healthy to entertain the greater expanse of palatable possibilities, but for the Federal or Postal employee who is faced with a chronic and progressively debilitating medical condition, the choices are stark and limited.  It is within those limitations that the palatable possibilities must be carefully chosen, and such course of actions to be chosen should be advised and guided by a consultation with an attorney who specializes in OPM Disability Retirement, lest the palatable possibilities turn out to be an unpalatable probability chosen out of a mistaken belief in the existence of palatable possibilities.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Legal Representation OPM Disability Retirement: A good turn

At what point does a “good” turn transform into a negative?  Can one help so much so that dependency becomes the habit and negates the “goodness” that was once always a part of the deed?  Isn’t “going to work” a “good” thing?  When does it turn bad?  Is there ever a point where the quality of X becomes diluted so much so by the quantitative increase of the primary identifying ingredient of X to where the essence of X becomes negative-X because of too much X within X?  Can there be, in the simplest of terms, too much goodness where goodness itself turns bad because of the overwhelming goodness involved?  Why is it that the following syllogism doesn’t quite work, and where is the fallacy involved?

Water is a necessary component for life
Life requires water in abundance in order to survive
Therefore, the more water, the greater abundance of life

But we all know that consuming too much water can kill a person.  And, isn’t that the complaint that we have in almost all aspects of living — that we come back to Aristotle’s essential wisdom that there is a “mean” or a “middle ground” of moderation where the extremes on either sides — neither too much nor too little — is the balance in the life that one should always strive for.

That is the basic component of happiness reduced to its pure essentials: of the porridge that is neither too hot nor too cold, but “just right”; of leisure time that relaxes but doesn’t rob from sustained periods of productivity; of a nap that satisfies but doesn’t make one groggy; and of entertainment that borders just to the edge of credibility but stays within the boundaries of allowing one to suspend disbelief, such that one can enjoy it without sighing, turning to a loved one and declaring, “That just isn’t believable.”

But where technology comes into our lives, perhaps we have come to a saturation point where we no longer believe that the “next new innovation” is going to save us any more time or enhance the quality of our lives anymore than the last version of our Smart Phone give us the promise of nirvana that we all stand in long lines to attain.  And so the question again turns full circle: When does a “good” turn into a negative?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers whose medical conditions have come to a point where it prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of the Federal or Postal position, the vicious circularity of the circumstances makes it into a paradigm where a good turns into a negative: Coming to work exacerbates the medical condition; the stress of being unable to perform the full essential elements of the Federal or Postal job further increases the stress; the Agency or the Postal facility begins to turn upon the Federal or Postal employee; and the job itself — once one of the many “good” things in life — now becomes a detriment and a negative.

It is then time to consider preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and thus turning that which was once a “good” but had transformed into a negative, back into a good turn.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: Reality and poetry

A woman sits on a park bench surrounded by the concrete giants of looming buildings and antiseptic structures overhanging and overshadowing all but the remnants of nature’s detritus, with the cooing pigeons that bob their heads back and forth as they meander about in the contrast between reality and poetry.

And she has a book in her hands.  It is a book of poetry.  Who the author is; what the verses metaphorically narrate; how the images impact the quiet reader; these are not so important as the oxymoron of life’s misgivings:  A city; the overwhelming coercion of modernity’s dominance and encroachment into nature’s receding and dying reserve; and what we hang on to is a book of poetry that reminds us that beauty is now relegated to printed pages of verses that attempt to remind of beauty now forever lost.

No, let us not romanticize the allegory of a past life never existent, such as Rousseau’s “state of nature” where man in a skimpy loincloth walks about communing with nature’s resolve; instead, the reality that man has lost any connection to his surroundings, and is now lost forever in the virtual world of smartphones, computers, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Texting.

The tactile experiences of our individual encounters with the objective world is now merely the touch of a screen, and feel of glass, metal and plastic, and the pigeons we feed with such joy and excitement from park-benches manufactured with recycled materials so that we can “feel good” about the environment that we have abandoned.  And so we are left with the reality of our lives, and the poetry that we always try and bring into it, if not merely to remind us that there is more to it all than work, weekends and fleeting thoughts of wayward moments.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from an additional reality – of a medical condition that impacts his or her life in significant ways – the third component is not a mere irrelevancy that complicates, but often becomes the focal point of joining both reality and poetry.  Medical conditions have the disturbing element of reminding us of priorities in life.  Reality, as we often experience it, is to merely live, make a living, survive and continue in the repetitive monotony of somehow reaching the proverbial “end” – retirement, nursing home, sickness and death.

Poetry is what allows for the suffering of reality to be manageable and somehow tolerable; it is not just a verse in a book or a line that rhymes, but the enjoyment of moments with loved ones and those times when everything else becomes “worthwhile” because of it.  But then, there is the complication of a medical condition – that which jolts us into wakefulness of a reality that makes it painful and unacceptable.  What is the road forth?

For the Federal employee and U.S. Postal worker who suffers from a medical condition, such that the medical condition now makes even work at the Federal agency or Postal facility intolerable, preparing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application is at least a path to be considered.  It is a long, arduous and difficult road that must wind its way through the U.S. Office or Personnel Management, but the choices are limited, and surely, you never want to abandon the poetry of life, and be left with only the reality of the medical condition?

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire