Postal and Federal Disability Retirement: When It All Becomes Worthwhile

Aristotle’s admonishment of determining too early the virtue and reputation of an individual, can be analogously likened to the state of emotional turmoil we find ourselves in, at any given moment of one’s life.  Happiness is indeed a fleeting state of one’s being; and the history of civilization is one fraught with trembling and fear, with interludes of joyous celebration.

For the Federal and Postal employee contemplating preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, the administrative process of the actual filing itself, and the patient waiting for months-on-seemingly-unending-months, is merely a continuation of the trials which the Federal and Postal Worker has had to endure within the context of a history of such trials.

We tend to view life’s events in a vacuum, as picture-perfect albums of lives lived in tandem with our selective memories.  And for evolutionary purposes, perhaps that is the only way we could survive; for, to constantly be reminded of the trials would be to relive the morbid traumas of our lives.

The Federal and Postal employee who has come to a point in his or her life such that filing for Federal Disability Retirement is the only viable option left, must then endure the further trial of waiting upon the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to render its decision.

In the end, when an approval is received, the sigh of relief reverberates to tell of the happiness felt in that moment of jubilation; but silent is the suffering which preceded that fleeting snowflake of time as joy floats soundlessly for a frozen frame of time.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: Post Disability Retirement Issues

Often, there is a collective sigh of relief once a Federal Disability Retirement application is approved, such that the newly designated and identified Federal Disability Retiree or “annuitant” forgets that, just as it was important to be scrupulously vigilant in attempting to obtain Federal Disability Retirement benefits, so it is just as essential to remain attentive in maintaining and retaining the benefit itself.

Thus, the Federal Disability Retirement annuitant should presumptively expect to be selected in the future to answer a Medical Questionnaire.  Such presumption of receipt will enable the former Federal or Postal Worker to keep the necessary focus, and thus the benefit.  It will often come every 2 years or so, if at all, and will request an update of the status of the medical condition, the prognosis, and whether the annuitant has recovered sufficiently to return to one’s former job, or any similar job that the Federal Disability Retirement annuitant worked at previously.

It is therefore important to continue to foster, maintain or establish anew the doctor-patient relationship, such that if and when a Medical Questionnaire is received, the entire process does not become an unforeseen emergency.  Preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits required a significant investment of one’s energy, time, savings, and attention; vigilance in continuing to retain such a benefit deserves no less.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Medical Retirement for Federal Workers: The Ecstasy of Approval

Winning, of course, cures all ills; it is the pinnacle of a goal-oriented aim of any endeavor — to prevail, to obtain the intended effect, to accomplish the very goal which one has set out to do, etc.  In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, the goal is to obtain an approval from OPM.

An approval, however, has many consequences, and often in very short order — separation from Federal service; a sudden cut in pay (if one has continued to work during the administrative process; of course, the opposite may be true if one has been on LWOP or has already been separated from Federal Service); a drastic change in daily routine, etc.

Thus, part of the process during the patient time of waiting (I will restate the syllogistic quip which I have repeatedly invoked:  Patience is a virtue; Federal and Postal employees who file for Federal Disability Retirement must be the most patient of individuals; ergo, Federal and Postal employees are the most virtuous of people) is for the Federal and Postal employee (or ex-employee, as the case may be) to prepare for the eventuality of the achieved goal, both physically (perhaps a move is contemplated because of the reduced circumstances?) and psychologically (the sudden alteration in work, economic changes, etc.).  The ecstatic response of Federal and Postal employees in being informed of an approval from the Office of Personnel Management is indeed gratifying; but it is the days, weeks and months that follow, which tests the preparatory mindset of the Federal or Postal Employee.

In psychology, there is that special Gestalt experience; but it is often the period that follows which constitutes the more important phase of psychological awakening.  Similarly, while the “win” in a Federal Disability Retirement application is indeed the intended goal, one must always remember that there is an afterlife to live, and how one prepares for that, is all the more important.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: Approvals & Disapprovals

The Office of Personnel Management seems to have recently issued a volume of decisions on Federal Disability Retirement applications on Federal and Postal employees under FERS & CSRS.

From the calls received from non-clients, and from clients, one sometimes wonders whether or not some sort of “quota-system” isn’t being imposed at the top levels.  Yet, statistically, the percentage of disapprovals v. approvals is not noticeably different than before; it is difficult to determine in any given period of time whether or not there is a higher rate of denials/disapprovals than approvals, in comparison to other periods.

What matters is not the general rate of approvals or disapprovals; rather, each individual case must be taken on its own merit, and responded to with the Office of Personnel Management (or, if the denial is at the Reconsideration Stage, then an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board) in a timely fashion, and in a tailored, appropriate manner.

Each case is indeed “different”.  One cannot compare one case with “war stories” about how X filed his or her application and got it approved “within a week”.  Such rumors can never be verified, and even if it could be verified, there are always individual and unique circumstances which must be taken into account.

Comparisons between different time periods, as well as between two or more independent cases, are never helpful; instead, the focus must be to take the uniqueness of any given case, and decide on the best course of action in order to obtain the one and only outcome which is acceptable for any given OPM Disability Retirement case under FERS or CSRS:  an ultimate approval.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: The Frustration of Dealing with OPM

The Office of Personnel Management is a large bureaucracy which handles thousands of cases, including disability retirement applications. Lately, more and more frustrating post-approval issues are appearing, including: sudden interim payments without any prior notice of approval of a claim (not a bad thing to happen, certainly, in comparison to a denial); non-receipt of a letter from OPM, whether approving it or denying it; no communication from OPM after an approval, for months on end; and other problems ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Unfortunately, once a disability retirement application has been approved, there is very little that an attorney can do, anymore than the client can do. Persistence is the key; courtesy is the keyhole; finding the right, competent person at the Office of Personnel Management, and being courteous and persistent, often opens the door. Remember that there is a wide chasm of qualitative difference between “rudeness” and “persistence”; the former will never get you anywhere; the latter can be accomplished with courtesy, and get you very far. When contacting someone at the Office of Personnel Management, keep three (3) things in mind: (1) Be courteous (2) get the name and telephone number of the individual you are speaking with, and (3) try to obtain a specific date on which you will call that person back, and be clear as to what action it is that you want taken, and why. Persistence, courtesy, and further persistence.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire