Federal Employee Medical Retirement: The Calendric Term

The marking of a calendric year, and its end, is traditionally recognized by an enthusiastic celebration embracing drinking, noise and a quantity of hugging and kissing.  Whether the year contains anything to celebrate is irrelevant (some would say that all years, like puppies and aged whiskey, are inherently precious); and some years are magnified by shaping events which deserve greater recognition and celebration than other years, but it seems to matter not to the participatory celebrants.

For the Federal and Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition impacts one’s ability to perform the essential elements of one’s job, the day before the end of a calendric year differs little from the day after and the beginning of a new calendric year.

The pain and medical condition fails to recognize the distinction between the before and after.  It is perhaps well that we celebrate when health, time and opportunity allows; for, our time within the confines of a given lifespan is short enough, and every day can therefore be viewed as a moment to celebrate.

For the Federal or Postal Worker who must contemplate filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, however, the time is often dictated by events beyond one’s control, and must be seen not in the light of sequential days on a calendar, but rather, in light of today and what tomorrow might bring, regardless of the month or year.

Calendric bifurcations of time, seasons and years are meant for the sequential thought process; for others who suffer, each day is measured by what the next day will bring.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Gov. and USPS Disability Retirement: The Morning After

The next day always comes; regardless of the anticipatory delay in accepting the harsh reality of the coming days and months after the celebratory pause allowed through an event, a holiday or the respite of a weekend, the morning after always follows, and the reality of facing the inevitability of that which was and is, delayed perhaps for a moment and a glorious interlude, a certainty of subsequent coming.

So the treadmill begins again; the daily grind must be faced; the trauma experienced the day before must now be encountered anew the day after.

Holidays are great periods of quietude and temporary suspensions of reality, but when the presents are all opened and the guests have all left, the reality of facing one’s daily life must be refreshingly embraced.  For Federal and Postal workers who experience a medical condition, such that the medical condition impacts the ability to perform all of the essential elements of one’s job, consideration needs to be given for Disability Retirement — which provides a longer respite and the needed period of recuperative relief in order to attend to one’s medical conditions.

Delay for a period works for that period; procrastination in order to celebrate an event or a holiday is often a necessary interlude; but in the end, the Federal or Postal worker who must file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether under FERS or CSRS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, must make some serious decisions and consider the impending consequences, beginning on the day after, and sometimes even the morning after.

For the Federal or Postal Worker who faces a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents one from performing the essential elements of one’s job, it is always the morning after which is the critical period.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Medical Disability Retirement: Negation within an Insular Universe

Real ghosts exist in the minds of those who remember.  It is the negation within a man’s mind; the presence of someone or some entity which is retained in memory, which is negated in the objective, physical world, but whose image continues to haunt us precisely because of the ability to remember, which allows us to perceive ghosts in a universe which otherwise fails to recognize them.

When the last Civil War veteran died, the ghosts of that event disappeared.  When the final WWII veteran departs in peace, the screams at Normandy will have quieted.  For the rest of us in the physical universe, it is only the momentary manifestation through a tear drop making its way down the subtle canals of aging creases on a person’s face, which allows for us to make contact within that insular world of memories.

For the Federal or Postal Worker who suffers from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents him or her from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, it is often a hidden pain deliberately concealed; or a psychiatric condition which manifests itself in emotional immobility; but it is merely through performance and other indicia by which we gauge whether something is amiss or not.

Whether one’s coworkers or supervisors believe in the ghosts haunting the Federal or Postal Worker is besides the point; taking care of one’s medical condition is and should be foremost, and filing for FERS Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is a step which often must be taken in order to pursue a rehabilitative path for one’s future.

The negation which one experiences — of that which no longer is — because of one’s medical condition, is real enough; concealing it will only further harm and haunt, and preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits is often the first positive step in expunging the ghosts which haunt one’s life.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Medical Disability Retirement: Tying Together the Loose Strands

When a medical condition impacts a Federal or Postal employee, whether under FERS or CSRS, and prevents him or her from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, the process of preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management begins.  

One may conceptually distinguish between a “formal” beginning of the process, as opposed to an informal or “real-time” beginning; but in any event, from a retrospective vantage point, it is clear that the “beginning” occurred at that point when the coalescence of medical-to-job impact manifested itself and it became obvious that the Federal or Postal employee could no longer continue in the same fashion as before.  

During this initial part of the process, when the Federal or Postal employee is simply struggling to survive — by going to medical appointments; attempting to continue to work; trying to ignore the reality of the medical condition by striving to perform all of the essential elements of one’s job as before; attempting to maintain the same balance of work-to-personal life, etc. — there is rarely a coordination of efforts, and the disparate strands of life’s compartments never come together in any comprehensible manner.  

But at the “formal” point of preparing and formulating a Federal Disability Retirement application, it is important to engage in the “tying” together of the disparate strands of life — if only to package a cogent and coherent presentation of one’s Federal Disability Retirement application to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.  

Life may be a series of messes; a successful Federal Disability Retirement application, however, should be a serious compilation of proof, evidence, argumentation and logical structure.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

FERS & CSRS Medical Disability Retirement: The Leisure of a Painless Life

For Federal and Postal employees suffering from a chronic medical condition which impacts one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, the times of “leisure” have little or no meaning.

Leisure implies the ability to enjoy a world apart from the everyday world of work and worry; it is a short respite from the treadmill of life, obligations and duties, which we all have.  The “Holidays” are also such a period; a time to set aside in order to attend to those meaningful compartments of personal relationships, family ties, and friendships once formed, lessened over time, and fractured through life’s daily struggles.

For the Federal or Postal employee who suffers from a medical condition, whether physical, psychiatric, emotional — or a combination of a compendium of all three — “leisure” is a foreign concept precisely because the escape into a surreal world of pausing the anxieties of the universe cannot ever be achieved.  Such a point in life indicates the necessity of considering Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, precisely because the escape-hatch is a human need.

The deterioration and progressive pounding of a medical condition which impacts the Federal or Postal employee’s ability to perform all of the essential elements of one’s job, is a red-light indicator.  Listen to it; as leisure is a world of solace, so the medical condition is a voice which shouts for a change.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Medical Retirement Benefits for US Government Employees: The Holidays

The “holidays” — or any respite from the daily treadmill of the repetitive reality of daily living — brings about realizations and gestalt moments of insight, precisely because such moments provide for opportunities of thoughtful reflection.

The modern approach of engaging in conversations and discussion for purposes of “value clarifications” became necessary when a tension occurred within society; where new ideas began to question and challenge the old; when habitual engagements of societal values, ethics and mores began to be undermined by revolutionary approaches, technological advances, and unrestrained actions by youthful movements of protestations and revolts.  Similarly, when time and opportunity allows for reflection and contemplation, certain realizations begin to surface.

For Federal and Postal employees who have been suffering from various medical conditions, whether chronic physical pain which limits movement, flexion and unsustainable capabilities of endurance; or psychiatric conditions which impact focus, concentration, and the ability to engage in cognitive-intensive work; the time of the “holidays” can be a challenge, where it provides for an opportunity to take some time off to rest those tired bones; but also a time of reflection to recognize and realize that one cannot remain on the same treadmill forever.

Federal Disability Retirement is an option which needs to be considered, precisely because it is not an “opting out of life”.  Rather, it is a means of downsizing, recognizing that one’s medical condition is preventing one from performing the essential elements of one’s job, and to seek a change of venue for the future.

The “holidays” are indeed a time for reflection; but reflection, if allowed without subsequent action, is an impotent moment of self-realization.  Be a rebel; grab the opportunity if presented.  That is what the holidays are ultimately for — to reflect and change course.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Disability Retirement: “And the Holidays Are For…”

And the holidays are for (in sequential order):  Celebration of an event; time away from one’s daily routine in order to revitalize one’s health, both mental and physical; enjoyment in the company of one’s family, friends, neighbors, etc.; time to pursue other interests and diversionary delights; and secondary reasons which are just as valid as the primary ones, with the order of priority interchangeably reflecting the time, age and life-phase of each individual.

The one factor which almost always invalidates the previous statement, however, is a medical condition which is chronic, severe, progressively debilitating, and one which prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job.

In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, that is one of the focal points of consideration for the Federal or Postal Employee — for, if a “day off” is merely another day to recuperate from the toil and degenerative crumbling of one’s health, where daily work is a struggle just to appear, and home is not where the warm hearth occupies the quietude of one’s life, but rather a place merely to pause in a linear continuum of a treadmill, where dread and anxiety are not conceptual constructs but daily realities; then, a “holiday” will not do.

It is time to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from OPM.  The old adage that life is too short to toil in a constancy of dread and despair is not just a pithy saying by French existentialists; it is a truism which must be confronted and constructively applied in one’s daily life.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Worker Disability Retirement: Contemplative Action

Contemplation for the sake of “in and of itself” can be activity without purpose or end, and can lead to inertia; for the living of modern life inherently has demands of actions — of “making” a living, of “producing” results, and “accomplishing” set goals and purposeful ends.  But contemplation for the sake of an end is in and of itself a useful activity.  

Part of the “preparation” of the oft-used phrase (used repeatedly in these blogs), “In preparing, formulating and filing…” is the very act of contemplation — of formulating a plan of action for the securing of one’s future.  For, the Federal or Postal employee who is considering filing, as some future event, a Federal Disability Retirement application either under FERS or CSRS, with the Office of Personnel Management, must contemplate the emotional, financial, and future impact of such an action, and there is indeed much to contemplate in the very pre-preparatory stage of the administrative action.  

Can one endure the long wait of the administrative process?  Does one have a supportive medical community to provide the documentary support necessary to be successful?  Will one’s family, friends, etc., understand and empathize?  What will be the reaction of those who will be informed — family, coworkers, supervisors, doctors, etc.?  

I often state that the “Holidays” should not be a time to iron out differences within the family, but instead should be a time of “coming together” and enjoying the time and life away from the daily comedies of the modern life style; that such “ironing out” should be done during those other periods of the year.  But such respites as the “Holidays” can and should be used to contemplate and formulate a plan of action for the future; and in the quietude of Thanksgiving and Christmas, it may be time to huddle around a contemplative time of gathering, in order to secure a brighter future.  

Remember, preparation is the key to success, and wise and good counsel should always be a part of that preparation.  In dealing with the Office of Personnel Management in preparing to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, it is often a good idea to have a contemplative phase, and to rely upon good advice and counsel.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Early Retirement for Disabled Federal Workers: Generalized Anxiety Disorder

It may seem antithetical to talk about the psychiatric condition of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in filing for Federal Disability Retirements benefits under CSRS or FERS, especially during the Holidays — but, in fact, the analogy with the high stress which many Federal and Postal workers feel because of Christmas, New Years & other holidays is especially relevant.  

Let me elaborate.  Such a time period as “The Holidays” in fact often brings greater stresses in a person’s life — for it is precisely a time when one is “supposed” to feel joyous, when in fact an individual’s internal, personal turmoil may contradict the outward appearance which one manifests.  Such a combination — of the high level of stress one is experiencing, at a particular time (the Holidays), may be considered a “situational” psychiatric condition, because (hopefully) it will subside once the time-period passes.

This is a good way to understand what distinguishes between a “situational disability” (which is disallowed in Federal Disability Retirement applications under either FERS or CSRS) and “non-situational disabilities” (which are viable medical conditions pervading all aspects of one’s life, regardless of time or situation).  

The Office of Personnel Management will often attempt to characterize the psychiatric condition of Generalize Anxiety Disorder as one of merely “situational occurrence” — i.e., of being particularized and categorized as occurring only within the confines of a particular department, a particular workplace situation, or a period of time when a specific supervisor or coworker is present (sort of like occurring during the Holidays).  But Generalized Anxiety Disorder, properly diagnosed by a treating physician, is rarely, if ever, situational, and in fact is a serious psychiatric condition which qualifies for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS.  

Do not let the Office of Personnel Management fool you; Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a viable psychiatric medical condition, especially if it pervades all aspects of your life, and it prevents you from performing one or more of the essential elements of your job as a Federal or Postal employee under either CSRS or FERS.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Medical Retirement for Federal Workers: Thanksgiving

In representing Federal and Postal employees for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, one encounters multiple medical conditions, from the very severe and debilitating, to manageable but chronic conditions which impact one’s ability to perform the essential elements of one’s job.  

Such review of medical conditions and recognition of what many Federal and Postal employees must undergo, is often a humbling experience; for, while a lawyer’s job is to focus upon the legal aspects of a case, and to bifurcate one’s personal “feelings” as distinct from the legal issues, the antiseptic medical facts, and the ability to provide an objective, analytical view of all of the facts and circumstances — such conceptual bifurcation has its limits.  

Daily, Federal and Postal employees who suffer from various medical conditions must make difficult choices about their future, their career, and their work & personal obligations.  It is well to pause during this Thanksgiving to reflect upon the blessings that we have, as opposed to conditions which have resulted in the loss or reduction of that which we do not have.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire