OPM Disability Retirement: Denials

Denials received from the Office of Personnel Management are particularly difficult news to digest. It is not so much that the denial itself obviously represents “bad news” (that is difficult enough), but for the disability retirement applicant, it casts a long and foreboding shadow upon one’s financial and economic future. For, obviously, the income from the disability annuity is being relied upon; the applicant filed for Federal disability retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS based upon the assumption that it would be approved, and the future calculation of economic and financial stability was based upon the obvious assumption of an approval. Long-term plans are made based upon the assumption of approval. Further, it doesn’t help that the basis for the denial, as propounded by the Office of Personnel Management, is often confusing, self-contradictory, and without a rational basis. It is often as if the OPM representative just threw in a few names, referred to some doctor’s reports, and essentially denied it with a selective, almost pre-determined view towards denying the claim. This is unfortunate, because the Office of Personnel Management is under a mandate to make its decision based upon a careful and thorough review of the applicant’s supporting documention. However, when the denial is received, one must fight against the initial feelings of defeat and dismay; work is yet to be done, and a view towards the future must always be kept at the forefront. A time to give up is not now; it is time to fight onward, and to move forward.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Disability Retirement: Actions from the Federal Government or the Postal Service

I often receive telephone calls from Federal and Postal employees worried about what their Supervisor will write in the SF 3112B (Supervisor’s Statement) — the lies, half-truths, and vindictive statements that some Supervisors will, for whatever reason, attempt to have that “last parting shot”. Such acts by supervisors are, for the most part, and fortunately, the exception, and not the rule; but each time it happens, it is despicable to the exponential degree — especially in light of the context of attempting to harm a Federal or Postal employee who has a serious medical disability, and needs the financial security offered by disability retirement.

As a general rule, the best approach to take is to follow the rule of thumb of the wise man: Do not worry about those things over which you have no control; focus upon those things over which you do have control. Remember that this is a medical disability retirment — with the emphasis upon the term “medical”. Having said that, a disability retirement application must first and foremost focus upon obtaining the most excellent medical report. If this is accomplished, then in 99% of the cases, it will nullify and make irrelevant anything which the Supervisor puts down on the Supervisor’s Statement. This is the best and wisest approach to take; do not waste your time, emotional energy, or any further part of your life worrying about a Supervisor who lacks the fundamental compassion to be honest and truthful about an individual who has shown years of loyalty to the Federal Service. He/she is not worth it.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire