FERS Disability Pension: The Flickering Flame

It is a metaphor for that which is about to be extinguished; a last hope, a dying ember; where the shadows are about to engulf the remaining dusk and dawn of the visible world.  The flickering flame usually means that the source of energy undergirding the remnant of light is diminishing; or, perhaps the wind that blows, the movement of the current, they are stronger than the futile gasp of the energy yet resisting, but about to go, and once gone, the enveloping darkness to ensue is the fear which keeps it flickering aflame.

Human beings are like that.  We go on and on, sometimes beyond the endurance reserved, and like the flickering flame, we push on and try and survive to the very last plume of curling smoke.  We complain not for fear of showing our weaknesses; we put on a smile, a stern, unforgiving frown, and endure the pain and suffering at the cost of our own health.

It is, indeed, the flickering flame which is the metaphor for human misery, for human life, for the life of modernity.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition where the medical condition no longer allows the Federal or Postal worker to continue in his or her career of choice, the flickering flame can stand as the metaphor of two paths: First, that it represents the state of health of the Federal or Postal employee but, second and more importantly, that it stands for the benefit of OPM Disability Retirement — precisely because it is the last gasp, the light still shining, in order to have an early retirement annuity to secure your financial future and to focus upon your health, first and foremost.

Contact a FERS Retirement Lawyer who specializes in FERS Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and let the flickering flame allow for the light to shine at the end of a long and dark tunnel.

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: The Black & White Film

What is it about the old films which retain their attractiveness?  Certainly, Hitchcock made optimal use of the genre — of shadows and dark corners; of shades and gray areas, contrasting good and evil.  And things didn’t stand out as much.  It reflected a time of greater modesty where individuals didn’t stand out — for, everyone and everything being grey and indistinguishable from one another, it rejected the colorful phenomena of individualism.

“High Noon” reflected that sense of modesty; for, while the star and main character prevailed in the end, Gary Cooper was an unassuming individual without great physical presence nor any outward characteristics which manifested anything extraordinary; however, his inner character is what was in full display.  As a film in Black & White, only the character within began to reveal itself as the film progressed — of stubborn integrity; of a sense of duty; of an obligation both to himself and to a greater sense of justice.

By contrast, if a remake of the film were ever to be attempted, this would be included in “High Noon — the Remake”: A muscular main character, with ripped shirt displaying cuts and abrasions; a couple (at least) of “bed scenes”; probably a look back at the main character’s childhood to provide some psychological trauma to engender sympathy; and in the end, the rationale for staying was because the town was willing to pay him a cash bonus — not because of any sense of duty or obligation.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who suffer from a medical condition and need to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under the FERS retirement system, “High Noon” is the metaphor for the state that you currently find yourself in:  Of having to face down your agency; of holding your Agency off until you have had the chance to prepare, formulate and file for your Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

And it would indeed be nice if it were still a film in Black & White, where no one notices that you can’t do all of the essential elements of your job, anymore, because you remain indistinguishable from everyone else.  But, alas we are now in the world of color, and because of that, you may want to contact a Federal Attorney who specializes in FERS Disability Retirement Law, where the Black & White Film is no longer available except in those special editions of the Criterion Collection.

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 Law: When Once We…

How does one finish the sentence?  Are we at that point in life when reminiscing about our past status has become an obsessional point of daily reflection?   Does it say something about ourselves when we engage in such thought processes?

Our past accomplishments; what we were once able to do; the reflection upon our present circumstances — of what we cannot do, are unable to accomplish, of who we once were in comparison to what we represent today.

The list of comparative analysis is endless.  Whether from aging or from suffering from a debilitating medical condition, when once we were able to multi-task, to laugh off stresses and pressures, of being able to handle multiple hats and change our positions daily from one role to the next, etc.  When once we were able to do, to accomplish, to reach — so many things, goals, projects, etc., and now….

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who lament the comparison between what you once were and what you are today, the goal is not to merely slog through and survive, but to get to a place where you can redeem the life you once had.

Contact a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider whether or not preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal or Postal Disability Retirement application might not be the best next move in order to regain that semblance of a life when once we were able to do and be so much more than the debilitated Federal or Postal employee we are today.

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: Masking the Inadequacies

Perhaps it is because everyone else is so busy with their own lives that they hardly notice; and as we pass each other by, you can tell by the perfunctory, “How’s it going?” followed by the quick exit with nary a pause to listen to an answer.

Masking inadequacies can barely require even a minimum effort; no one cares — though we do not like to acknowledge this — and even fewer would blink an eye if their lack of empathy were pointed out.  But at some point, perhaps it would become too evident, and suddenly it’s as if there was an “enemy’s list” that someone scrawled your name onto.

Is Nixon still around?  With swiftness of deliberation, you are suddenly failing to produce, you are quickly placed on a “Performance Improvement Plan” and, there you go: A Proposal to Remove and a Decision to Remove.  Of course, it wasn’t because you hadn’t adequately masked your inadequacies because of your medical conditions; rather, someone decided to target you.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents you from performing one or more of the essential elements of your Federal or Postal job, it is rarely a matter of masking the inadequacies — for, that is quite simple — but rather, that you may become the target of someone’s ire.

Contact an disability attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement, and begin the process of effectively preparing, formulating and filing for Federal or Postal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.

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 for Federal Employees: Life’s Shrapnel

It is a fearful weapon of war — meant to maim, at the very least, and if it kills by damaging enough of a human body, such as the carotid artery or other major vessel, then so much the better.  Whether from a bomb or other explosive device, it represents a terrible indictment of war’s tragedy: It does not discriminate; it treats women and children in the same way as official combatants; it cares not as to the consequences, and its success is measured both by the least of injuries as well as by the gravest of results.

Life’s shrapnel is a metaphor of war’s shrapnel.  For, like the blast which hurls a shrapnel manufactured for war’s purposes, life’s shrapnel is a sudden, surprising and indiscriminate piece of “something” which suddenly maims, injures, puts on hold one’s future or somehow pauses it; and a medical condition can be seen as just that — one of life’s shrapnel.

For a medical condition suddenly changes the entire perspective of a person’s life — of how one can do or not do certain activities, anymore; of whether one can continue in a career, anymore.

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, contact a lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider whether or not one of life’s shrapnels — the medical condition which suddenly has altered the course of your decisions — might not require the effective preparation and filing of a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

FERS Medical Retirement: Time to Enjoy, or Recover?

Time is of such great consequence, these days.  Each morning, there is a list of innumerable things “to do”, should be done, can and need to be done, and yet the multiple factors which impede accomplishment and full satisfaction are always there: Time; energy; stamina; the need for sleep; the next day.  Perfectionists have it the worst; the carefree person, the easiest; the uncaring, even better; and most of us remain stuck, somewhere in the middle.

For a true perfectionist, the exhausting effort to accomplish every and all things results in an unending effort to please everyone and to often get nowhere; for the uncaring or the carefree person, life is a series of hits and misses, of focusing upon self-satisfying endeavors; and for the rest of us, a balance between enjoyment, guilt, and the need to recover.  Weekends often become mere delays for the inevitable; a respite, a pause, a break to try and catch up on sleep, rest — recovery.  Enjoyment is a relative term.

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 essential question is: Is life a time to enjoy, or to recover?

If of the latter, it might be time to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.  Can it ever be for the former, exclusively?  No, because life is too busy and one’s “to-do list” is always an endless one.  But when recovery becomes the mainstay of one’s life, you need to consult with a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability retirement law.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: The House that Happiness Built

Later in life, we tend to get into the “preservation mode” — of trying to hold onto the house that happiness built.  We don’t want to move despite the fact that steep stairs and multiple floors are never conducive to old age.  Youth was full of dreams and hope; happiness was the dream of building, of starting a family (or so it once was) and doing things for the future.  No problem could be foreseen that could not be overcome, for the future was bright, hope sprang eternally and the sunrise each morning was something to behold.  But that life could remain in such an optimistic mode of living.  Divorce, tragedy, death, illness, loss of career — such pablum is often unthinkable, until it becomes a reality.

For Federal employees or U.S. Postal workers who have had a setback because of an illness or a medical condition, filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS is a way of preserving the house that happiness built.  Sometimes, a medical condition begins to prevent the Federal or Postal worker from performing the essential elements of his or her job, and thus must file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits. When that time comes, FERS Disability Retirement is a benefit that is meant to help those who may be able to remain productive in some other capacity, but not in the particular type of job that he or she works in.

Consult with an OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law for further details, and don’t let the problems of life threaten the house that happiness built.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Postal & Federal Employee Disability Retirement: The shape of reality

Does it really have a shape?  Yes, yes, of course it is a “dimensional” world where there is depth, height, width, volume, and all sorts of “stuff” in between — and “form” differentiates and distinguishes between various “beings” such that there is not a “oneness” of Being; but beyond that, does “reality’ have a shape, and is it different for each of us?

Of course, the natural follow-up question concerns whether we can ourselves “shape” reality — used as transitive verb and not as a noun — as opposed to encountering reality “as it is” and merely accepting its trueness of Being.  Is Kant correct in that the categories of the human psyche form the perceptual reality that surrounds us and, if so, is it different for each of us?  Do the mentally ill merely have a different “shape of reality” as opposed to “normal” individuals with healthy psyches?

How is reality shaped — does our eyesight make a difference?  Do the blind have a different shape of reality because they must depend more upon tactile experiences which determines their space within a darkness of extension and volume?  If we could smell colors and see scents, would the shape of reality be altered?  Does language modify the reality we perceive, and in modernity, has Facebook, Twitter and Instagram radically transformed the very essence of reality’s shape?  And does a medical condition modify one’s shape of reality, as well?

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 shape of reality must include various encounters with alternative universes that may previously have been unthought of — as such shapes of reality that may include the preparation, formulation and filing of an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

It is, indeed, a different shape of reality: One must think about a life and career apart from the Federal or Postal sector; and while such shapes may change, such realities must be adapted to, and the one constant in life is the essence of who you are, what you have become, and the idea that you can still shape reality into the realness based upon the shape that you are in today.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Legal Representation on Federal Disability Retirement Claims: False notions

We all possess them; some, more than others; most, of a harmless variety where — so long as they are kept private and unannounced like an illegitimate child kept from the knowledge of one’s spouse, friends and family — no consequences ensue from the mere “having” of them.  False notions can take many forms, and on the spectrum of held beliefs, so long as one never “acts” upon them or otherwise expresses them in polite society, they remain the eccentric uncle that visits periodically but for short stays, and always tries to remain unobtrusive.

Say a person believes that the earth is flat — yes, there are many such people, to the extent that there are contingents of “flat earth societies” cropping up everywhere — but moreover, not only that the earth is flat, but you also believe that martians live on the far side of the moon, that every book published in the world over is written by Shakespeare, and that there is truly a wizard of Oz that controls the mechanism of the universe.  What harm is there in believing any of those?

Perhaps some are false notions; perhaps others are not.  So long as they do not intersect with conversations in the public domain, or do not interfere in the daily activities of living one’s life, is there any harm to possessing, maintaining, retaining and ascribing to false notions?

Take it a step further, however, and insert the following hypothetical: At a “get together” with coworkers and other departmental or other office personnel, a conversation begins with a group of gathered men and women, and someone begins talking about a new book that has just been reviewed by the New York Times Book Review Section, and one of the individuals pipes in that it, too, was written by Shakespeare.

The first person says, “No, no, it was written by so-and-so”, but the second individual persists and insists, and an argument starts: “No, it was written by Shakespeare.”  “You’re crazy.”  “No, you don’t know a thing!”  “And you probably believe that the earth is flat.”  And on and on.  Now, the next day, everyone is back at work — has anything changed?

Holding on to the false notions has not disrupted the flow of productivity, and the fact that one’s false notions were inserted unnecessarily into the daily discourse of other’s beliefs and understanding of an individual, has not disrupted the objective universe of those who gained further knowledge of another’s belief system.  False notions, then, so long as they remain private, or even when inserted into the public domain but without objective interference, may remain unobtrusive.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers, however, who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition is beginning to prevent the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, a false notion can indeed have some deleterious consequences.

If you, as a Federal or Postal employee, possess a false notion of pride, or of loyalty to the Agency or the Postal Service at the expense of your health, and thus delay preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether as a FERS, CSRS or CSRS-Offset employee, the impact of further delay or procrastination can impact your health.

False notions are fine to foolhardily have fun with, but when it intersects with your health, it is time to prepare, formulate and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed with OPM.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire 
OPM Disability Retirement Attorney