OPM Medical Retirement under FERS: Planning Long Term

Augustine’s view of Time is essentially based upon the projection of our thoughts into the past; our current encounter with the present; and our anticipation of what will occur in the future.  Without a human involvement in thought spanning across the spectrum of past, present and future, Time merely exists in the presence of the current moment.

Human beings are not the only species who utilize time and apply it for planning long-term.  Other species plan for the coming winter; some engage in long flights to warmer conditions, and not necessarily for just a short stint in Florida.  For planning “long-term”, however, the human species tends to engage in such sport more than others.

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, it may often appear that “long-term planning” is an act of futility, given the nature of an illness, medical condition or other form of disability.

However, filing for Federal Disability Retirement under FERS is actually an excellent plan for the future — long term.  For, not only does it provide for a monthly annuity to live on; it actually is “building” your future long-term retirement by counting the time you are on Federal Disability Retirement in the total number of years being accrued, so that when your Federal Disability Retirement benefits are recalculated at age 62, the “total number of accrued years” takes into account not just the time you had as an active Federal employee, but also the years you have been on Federal Disability Retirement as an annuitant.

Thus, you are building up your retirement while you are on Federal Disability Retirement.  Now, that is planning for long-term.

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 Claims: The Question First Appeared

In the theory of evolution of Man, when did it first supposedly occur?  Certainly, other species engage in query — for, isn’t suspicion and cautionary approach a form of a question?

When a trap is set and a squirrel approaches the contraption cautiously, isn’t the suspicious caution a form of a question?  What is it?  Is it safe?  Why does it have food inside of it?  Or the mouse which manages to eat the cheese without triggering the killer-mechanism — is it just by chance that it steps lightly around the trap?

Are such actions precursors of non-verbal queries before the actualization of a question mark?  And in modernity, when we walk about our lives but fail to ask the questions needed — is it significant when the question first appears, or has the question been around unasked but manifested by the actions we have been taking?

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 question first appeared in a non-verbal form when you began to have difficulties performing one or more of the essential elements of your job, post-appearance or indication of a medical condition.

The question first appeared long ago; and, now, the question mark itself is beginning to multiply, albeit in a more pronounced, verbalized form: Will I be able to continue like this?  Have others noticed my deficiencies?  How much longer before my performance is no longer acceptable?

All such questions are relevant, but the most pressing one out of the many of the questions first appearing should be: Should I contact an OPM Disability Lawyer about Federal Disability Retirement?  For, that question has likely been around for some time, but the question first appeared when you realized that your medical condition was and remains incommensurable with the positional duties of your Federal or Postal position.

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.

 

Legal Representation for Federal Disability Claims: In a Mirrorless World

Would it be placed in a science fiction genre, or perhaps a horror story?  Or perhaps shot with a grainy-grey film in a pre-modern totalitarian regime?  Would it even be possible, today?

Perhaps in an isolated country like North Korea, such a mandate would be possible — of a mirrorless world where the “self” cannot be recognized.  Of course, there would still be the possibility of a reflection in a pool of water, or a glass door, a reflective surface, etc., which allows for one to view that “somebody” who is distinctively a different self from “others”.

When does a child — a toddler — begin to identify a distinctive entity unique and separate from others?  Does it occur only after a certain accumulation of experiences involving encounters with the objective world?  Does a person without a memory of past experiences ever identify one’s “self” from others?

In a mirrorless world, would we all be selfless automatons who work cooperatively as a singular unit?

For the Federal or Postal employee who sees him/herself in the mirror and finds a “self” different from the one who first entered the Federal workforce, is that image of the individual who now must change a career, consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, etc., any different now with a medical condition than that person who was once healthy?

That “self-image” and how we view ourselves is important: Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is not the end of that “self” who was once productive, vibrant, interesting and full of energy; rather, it is merely positive change for the future in a mirrorless world which fails to reflect a future still bright and promising.

Contact an OPM Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and forget about the mirrorless world which fails to take into consideration the reflective totality of who you are.

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 Employees Retirement System (FERS) Disability Retirement: What We Don’t Know

Age brings us closer to realizing the truth of Socrate’s refrain: That I really don’t know anything or, more to the point, much of anything.

Youth allows for brashness of arrogance; in middle age, perhaps some slight hesitancy; of getting older, one realizes the extent of or lack, and the vast knowledge which we will never be able to understand.  Most people “wing it” — in other words, act “as if” they have some knowledge, that they possess an “expertise” or some secret to an apparent success attained.

Social Media, Facebook, Instagram — these, of course, mask and hide the inadequacies behind the facade of competency.  Few people nowadays admit to an imperfection, a lack of, an ignorance for, etc.  Thus do we no longer have the Socratic Method where questions are peppered in order to reveal the disguised ignorance which most people walk about with.

But let’s be clear: What we don’t know can, in fact, hurt us, and to fail to acknowledge one’s lack of knowledge can have dire consequences.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service employees who intend on filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS, you should take the time to read the case-law which has developed and evolved over many decades, in order to at least understand the underlying issues which can complicate a Federal Disability Retirement application.

Or, contact a Federal lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and let him inform you of what you don’t know.

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: Daily Concerns

Most of us are so focused upon our daily concerns that we have no time for the intermediate and long-term issues which are also important in maintaining a balanced and productive life.

We are so busy with living life — of just getting through the day, whether it is to make a living, performing our duties, fulfilling our obligations, or attending to the needs which require our full energies just for the period of time before our eyes; that, by the time the day ends, we are so exhausted that we have no time for anything else.

Technology was supposed to be the saving grace — of allowing for greater efficiency, thereby resulting in leisure time and greater focus upon creative pursuits.  Email; Smart Phones; the ability to work remotely; all of these were promises to enhance and enrich the life of modern man.  It turns out, however, that such technology merely forced upon us a greater quantity of daily concerns in a more intense, abbreviated manner.

We now have more things to do, but with greater immediacy, such that the daily concerns have squeezed out time-blocks of quietude and down-times.  Then, when a crisis hits — like a medical condition resulting in an inability to continue in one’s career — it merely becomes one more daily concern which replaces time needed to consider intermediate or long-term goals.

Contact a Federal Lawyer who specializes in Federal or Postal Disability Retirement Law if you are a Federal or Postal employee under FERS needing to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.  For, the daily concerns of attending to your medical conditions should never squeeze out the time needed to secure Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.

Leave the law to the expert who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and leave the daily concerns of your medical conditions to the doctors who are treating you.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
Federal Disability Attorney

 

Federal Disability Retirement Benefits: Toxic Associations

At some point, the “distancing” begins.  First, a subtle move — not saying “hello”; not answering a phone call; avoiding the places where the usual meetings once took place.

Then, perhaps the prefatory denials: “We weren’t really friends” (an adverb to enhance the denial, but a form of grammatical insertion which is more telling when used than not applied at all); “Oh, I didn’t know him hardly at all”.  And then the final nail to the coffin: “Who?  The name is not familiar.”  Well…how about these photographs which show that you were with him/her multiple times?

Toxic associations can range from the blatant to the subtle; but once the toxicity becomes apparent, the rats begin to abandon ship in droves.

Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition are often treated as such associations — “toxic” to the extent that they are looked upon as plague-filled individuals who are no longer a member of the “team”.  When those allegedly toxic associations begin to be felt — of coworkers ignoring you; of supervisors looking at you with suspicion, etc., it is time to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

Your medical conditions are often viewed as contagious — not in terms of transmitting diseases, but in terms of no longer being useful to the Agency or the Postal service.

Contact a Federal Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement benefits and begin to disassociate yourself from the toxic associations — theirs, not yours — and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

Federal & Postal worker OPM Disability Retirement: The Untold History

We live in historic times.  We are witnessing it.  We are constantly told that.  We sense it.  We somehow “feel” it.  Whether we believe ourselves to be “political” people, we are nonetheless drawn into politics by the mere fact of our existence within a society which involves political decisions, political input, political opinions and political circumstances.

History forces us to engage in politics; history-in-the-making demands our choosing of sides; and history as currently lived requires our attention.  But what about my own personal circumstances, you ponder — who takes note of that?  Why are the untold histories of countless thousands not important, irrelevant, and unnoticed?

That is the frustration of all: Of the untold history, the silent majority (unconnected to the popular movement of the late 60s and early 70s); the footnotes in historical compendiums which no one ever reads.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition which will require filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the untold history is the one which should be taken care of as a priority, despite the public history which so dominates the consciousness of the public.

Contact a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of initiating the untold history of your private life.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: The Expression of Man

Work is the expression of Man; whether as an explosion of creativity or a grimace from overdoing it, it is an extension of that which is inherent and natural.  Whether in building or deconstructing; of newness or of a renovation; perhaps as part-time or beyond a full-time schedule; the expression of men and women is to work.

We often make up sub-categories of it — of a “career” as opposed to a “job”; a “professional” or an amateur; of a “white collar” position in contradistinction to a “blue collar” worker; but in the generic aggregate, it is all “work”.  Look all around us; the product of work, of Man — men, women, old and young — engaging in the building of a society in bits and pieces, expressing themselves by manner of an activity that takes various forms, multiple hands and countless ideas.  To cease to work is tantamount to stopping that which is the natural expression of Man.

That is why, when a medical condition begins to prevent and impact a person’s ability and capacity to perform all of the essential elements his or her Federal or Postal job, it may be time to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.

Consult with an OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of extending the natural expression of Man — by allowing for such creativity and expression to present itself in another vocation outside of the Federal government.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Medical Benefits: Avoiding Bumps and Potholes

Can one tell the difference between the two?  Perhaps if you concentrate upon the jarring experience — of the sudden rise and fall, however short in the millisecond of time when the bump is encountered where the vehicle is lifted up and suddenly jolted with a sudden crash, as distinct from the unanticipated crunch of a pothole and the jarring rise when the tire groans and the shock absorbers tremble at the strain of calamity; and then the sigh of relief that the vehicle survived the impact.

Potholes go down and up; bumps go up and down; and in the split second when either are encountered, the difference felt is minuscule and essentially irrelevant, inasmuch as the concern is not as to the “type” of calamity encountered, but the consequences of that encounter.  And that is true of most difficulties involved — our interest lies not upon the initiating sequelae, but upon the problem itself, in order to attend to correcting, fixing, resolving, etc.  In other words, whether a bump or a pothole, we have to make sure that the damage done is repaired.

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 “repair” is in the application for Federal Disability Retirement, and the “pothole” or “bump” is in the manner in which the Federal Disability Retirement application is prepared.

Whether at the initial stage of preparing and formulating one’s case, or at the denial/reconsideration or the MSPB stage, it is important to avoid the bumps and potholes by consulting with a lawyer who specializes in FERS Disability Retirement Law.

Call and consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law today, if only to avoid the bumps and potholes of a complex bureaucratic morass through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement: The infinite we seek

What is it about the things which defy limit; endless and vast beyond our capacity to comprehend, and yet we cling to concepts that cannot possibly be embraced precisely because the finite cannot delimit the infinite; for, to do so is a contradiction in terms?  Does language capture the infinite?  By knowing its definition, is there anything beyond being able to cite the description of the concept?  Why is it that some concepts are denied comprehension even though we can, by rote memory or simply by looking it up on our Smartphone and regurgitating that which someone else has written, describe and delineate?

Say, for instance, a lay person asks a Cardiac Specialist what is involved in a heart transplant, and Doctor X explains to Information-Seeker-Y the process of how the body is opened up, the various veins, ventricles, etc., snipped here and severed there, and what the dangers are, the risks posed, etc.  At the end of the explanation, we somehow feel satisfied that we have been informed of a procedure which we have never experienced, likely never witnessed and certainly will never undertake — yet, we believe we “understand’ the process.

Similarly, can a blind man who can explain the complete process involved in flying a plane say that he “understands” it fully?  And what is the fine print involved in “fully” as opposed to “partially”?  Yet, if we give the definition of “the infinite” as involving X, Y and Z, and “fully” delineate and explain the conceptual apparatus that makes up our understanding of it, nevertheless, in the end we are allowed to say, “But no one really understands what the infinite is, because we are finite beings.”

That is partially the brilliance of Anselm’s Ontological argument — of defining the infinite as “That than which nothing greater can be thought of” — a jumble of confusing words which seemingly bifurcates the finite from the infinite, but juxtaposes them in an aggregation which makes it seem like it makes sense.  In the end, it is best to know one’s own limitations and, by doing that, at least we can possess the knowledge that humility leads to greater wisdom through finite means of grasping the infinite.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who recognize the enormity of the process of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, it is best to understand that the “infinite” — as defined as that which is limitless, endless and beyond measurability — can be applied to a bureaucratic process that involves multiple layers of incomprehensible complexities.

The infinite is a conundrum; the Federal process of preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits is analogous to the infinite.  As such, it is wise to seek the counsel and advise of someone who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law — of a being who is that than which nothing legally can be thought of (i.e., an attorney who exclusively handles only Federal Disability Retirement cases).

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire