FERS Medical Retirement from OPM: Tomorrow and Beyond

It is the, “…and Beyond” which is of greater concern to most; for, the greater majority of us can handle the tomorrow-part because of its inherent specificity in project-required duties listed.

We are all trained to be competent in “checking off the list” of things to do:  This report to be filed; that memorandum to be drafted; the garbage to be taken out; the dishwasher to be unloaded, etc.  What happens after tomorrow — which became today just a few hours ago, and then of tomorrow which already comes with it a specific list of things to do — is that “beyond” which cannot be fathomed in the mental milieu which encompasses the residue of the day’s compacted detritus.

That is why most of us are unprepared for retirement; whether left unplanned, always in the category of that “beyond”, or “just because” — the fact is that human beings are so engrossed in the today and just beyond — of “tomorrow”  — that it is simply too much to consider the “and beyond” beyond just the beyond of tomorrow.

And thus, when a medical condition begins to become a chronic issue, a progressive deterioration that may last more than the “just beyond” of tomorrow and becomes an issue of “and beyond” — it begins to become a devastating forecast of the rift which may have to be.  “To be” — itself a concept of complexity, involving existence, quality of life, of what the future holds; all of these must somehow be contended with.

For  Federal Gov. employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition have become more than the problem of tomorrow, but constitute the “and Beyond”, contact a FERS Lawyer who specializes in Federal Medical Retirement Law in order to initiate the paperwork needed to take care of things in the “and Beyond” category.

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 Medical Disability Claims: The Stifled Cough

When at first recognized — or of becoming conscious of it — the “it” is merely a tickle, a slight discomfort, an irritant or an annoyance.  If you are able to ignore it or dismiss it from one’s mind, it is no longer a problem.

It is only when you begin to try and stifle it, to worry about it, to do all of those “surreptitious” internal things — of a mostly-silent, subtle clearing of the throat; of making a clucking sound at the back of your mouth; of trying to swallow the small amount of saliva you can muster and gather, etc. — then, suddenly, the stifled cough starts to become a problem.

It always happens when you are supposed to be quiet— perhaps in a movie theatre, a church service, a classroom, a lecture, etc.  The stifled cough is the cough which won’t go away, and comes back with a vengeance the more you attempt to stifle it; the ever more, when you try and do everything to make it go away.

It is, moreover, a metaphor of life and living in modernity — of the increasing problems which exponentially overwhelm us, and though we try and stifle by ignoring, doing all of the internal and external gymnastics and gyrations in order to stifle, to hide, to make unnoticeable, to cover and to conceal — that which cannot be stifled, in the end, is a medical condition.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer form a medical condition which can no longer be stifled — though you have done a good job of it over these many, many years — there may come a time when you have to simply and openly “do the act”: Cough loudly; file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.

Contact a Federal Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of un-stifling the cough, and begin to prepare, formulate and file an effective FERS Medical Retirement claim through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

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 Worker Disability Retirement: The Oblivious Life

We see them every so often: They are either angels or fools, or foolish angels, or maybe even angelic fools.  Unaware of the complexities of life which beset the rest of us, they blunder through everything, oblivious of the dangers lurking or the consequences attached.  Maybe they never “learn” or “grow up”, and somehow we keep protecting them from the harms surrounding, as best we can, in order to preserve their innocence, or foolhardy ignorance.

For the rest of us, however, to live the oblivious life is to invite disaster and watch as evil men and women take advantage of the weaknesses of others.

One aspect of life which reaches across every spectrum, whether one of oblivious aplomb or deliberate intent, is a medical condition which becomes chronic and debilitating.  When one begins to suffer from such a medical condition, the oblivious life can no longer be — for, the medical condition itself must by necessity awaken the person and make him or her understand the cruelty of our vulnerabilities.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who must file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS because of an ongoing and relentless, unforgiving medical condition, the oblivious life can no longer continue — for, you are now contending not only with your medical condition, but with the hindrance of your agency, the bureaucratic morass of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and a host of issues which must be overcome in order to prepare, formulate and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application to secure your future.

Contact a Federal Disability Attorney who specializes in OPM Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of avoiding the dire consequences awaiting the oblivious life.

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 on Federal Disability Retirement Claims: Proof

What constitutes it, and how do we learn of its sufficiency or relevance?

Take the following scenario: A group of boys are gathered together along with Billy, the “town bully”.  A discussion of sorts ensues — who is the toughest kid in town?  Some of the boys offer that “Dave” from across town is the meanest and toughest — a black belt in Hapkido, a state wrestling champion and a middle line backer for the high school football team.  Some others counter that Dave was once beaten up by Joe back in February, and doesn’t that “prove” that Joe is the toughest?

Then Billy suddenly stands up and everyone else becomes quiet.  He starts slowly and deliberatively pounding his right fist into the open palm of his left hand, and juts his prominent chin out in an intimidating manner, and says, “Okay!  Enough of this talk!  How ‘bout me?  Which of you weaklings says that I’m not the toughest guy in town?”

There are multiple sounds of gulps and fearful drops of sweat begin to trickle down the backs of each, and one of the other kids — a skinny little weasel with thick, black-rimmed glasses, suddenly shouts, “That’s proof enough for me!”  Following was a loud and unequivocal consensus of unanimous agreement.

In such a scenario, two things occurred: One — Billy “proved” that he was the toughest kid in town, and Two — all of the other kids took the lesson to heart that the proof of a physical presence and the threat presented was “sufficient” proof, as well as relevant as all get-go.

Thus are all of the components necessary to establishing verification of a propositional truth established: the town bully’s declarative utterance, backed by the force of a metaphorical persuasion (for one would argue that no overt coerciveness was used, but merely an innocent act of pounding one’s fist into the open palm of one’s other hand, and if asked whether Billy “threatened” anyone into declaring him as the toughest kid in town, he would and could innocently declare that there is “no proof” of any such accusation established or verified), and further reinforced by the scientific consensus of his peers and fellow students.

Proof was offered, considered, and accepted in full by a persuasive methodology of a succinct and effective form.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who are considering filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, the systematic and methodological “proof” which must be gathered and presented to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in establishing the Federal or Postal employee’s eligibility and entitlement to Federal Disability Retirement benefits must, of course, be somewhat more sophisticated than the rudimentary — but effective — amassing of proof portrayed by Billy the Town Bully.

Of course, some of the characteristics may still be relevant — of what constitutes “effective” proof; of what works as “persuasive” proof; of what is comprised of proof itself.  But the difference is that, while proof that leads to an approval from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management should last for the lifetime of the Federal or Postal employee, “proof” for the kids who agreed that Billy was the toughest guy in town lasted only so long as the threat presented kept everyone convinced.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Attorney Representation for OPM Disability Claims: Mountain climbing

Whether for the exhilaration of the activity or the sheer confrontation of the challenge looming, it is a sport that captures the imagination of the fitness-enthusiast, the romantic and the eccentric loner alike.  It is the sport that engages the competitive spirit not against another’s ability or the coordinated capacity of large teams having practiced together, but against the inert heights of peaks and impervious rock faces that show no emotion as to one’s success or failure.

Mountain climbing has many phases and stages, both of skill and type; of a walk along a trail; a hike up an incline; or for the serious contender, the challenge against the fear of height and failure.  Is the challenge against one’s own fear?  Is the thrill that of attaining that climber’s high where energy is suddenly released and the conquering senses are suddenly embraced by the thrill of nature’s impassive will?

There are mountains to climb, and some of us do it in the physical sense, while the rest of us contend with the metaphorical mountains that need to be climbed each and every day.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, where the medical condition itself is the mountain to climb, it will often become necessary to go on to the “next level” of the climb itself, by preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, to be submitted through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset.

For some, mountain climbing is an actual physical activity; for the rest of us, it is a metaphorical application that reflects the strenuous life challenges beyond ordinary encounters of daily living.

For Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition where the medical condition itself prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, it becomes more than a metaphor — it is, instead, the obstacle that prevents, no less than the peak that abuts before the first step is taken for the mountain climbing enthusiast.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
FERS Disability Lawyer

 

Federal Disability Retirement: Steps, previous and next

What happens in taking the next steps often depends upon how one has already approached the previous one, as steps form a sequence of elevating or descending cadence of activities, whereas a misstep constitutes a breach of that unbroken continuity of actions.

There is the “before” and the “after”, where each step in the travels and progression depends upon the latter, contingent upon the former, and together form the sequence of activities that comprise the conceptual singularity described as “walking”, “running”, “coordinated movement” and “advancing”, as well as a host of multiple other verbs and grammatical descriptions of various sorts.

Not every step in a formulated sequence must by necessity be consistently adhered to; for, sometimes there may be a skipping over the intended sequence, or one may by deliberated adaptation to changing circumstances disregard one, jump ahead by a series of 2 or more, or perhaps even make a misstep and recover by furiously advancing in order to make up for lost time or energy.

One may “get away” with doing that when referring to the simple act of walking or running; if, however, one is speaking about engaging a legal process, like preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, it may be important to take the mandated sequence of steps, ensuring that the previous and the next one complies with all rules, statutes, regulations and legal precedents in order to comply with all bureaucratic requirements.

Thus, for the Federal employee and U.S. Postal worker who needs to file a Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed with OPM, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, the key to a successful outcome in pursuing a Federal Disability Retirement annuity is to follow precisely and accurately the steps, previous and next.

Yes, walking is something we all learned to do from infancy forward; running came naturally as a young lad needing to release the pent-up energy of youth; and progressive advancement became the paradigm to follow as adulthood inevitably came onto the horizon of our lives; but when it comes to preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, it is the steps taken, previous and next, which can determine an approval or a denial in the complex administrative process called “Federal Disability Retirement”.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Medical Retirement Legal Representation: The price of status quo

Everything has a price, whether in terms of monetized payments or through labor, effort, worry and loss of peaceful interludes.  What expansive periods of our lives do we engage and assign to “wasted” time that must be discarded, forgotten and left beside?  What is the price we pay to maintain the status quo, even though we know that such clinging to a lack of change is merely extending the wastefulness of our own making?

Change is something that most of us resist.  Yes, we hear of, read about, or otherwise are told about “venture capitalists” or gamblers who throw the dice on everything — their future, their stability, their own sense of worth, whether net or paid for in dreams lost; of how you cannot know success until you first experience the bitter taste of failure, and how the most successful of men and women in the world failed miserable many times over until that moment of victory and triumph.

The ordinary human being, however, is either unwilling to, or otherwise unmotivated in any path towards self-destruction, or the potential for such disastrous outcomes whether real, dreamed, imagined or feared.  The fact is that there is always a price to pay whether or not one acts affirmatively, or doesn’t act at all.

The former places the burden of identifiable responsibility squarely upon the proverbial shoulders of the acting agent; the latter — of “sitting tight”, not doing anything, and remaining the perennial benchwarmer who merely watches and observes as the world passes by — can always defer any personal responsibility and counter that it was “circumstances beyond my control” or that “fate had its rueful day”, or other such indifferences of neutrality.

The reality, however, is that the price of status quo is often just as expensive as that of affirmatively acting; we just fail to see it by conveniently engaging in language games that avoid such recognition of such consequences resulting from inaction.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, may be the best alternative to paying the continuing price of status quo.  What cost?

Well — the enduring of the medical condition; the constant harassment at work; the increasing pressure of disciplinary procedures; and much more, besides.  That is the price of status quo.  And of affirmatively moving forward with a Federal Disability Retirement application?  It, too, must pay a steep price — of engaging a complex administrative and legal process; of facing the chance of a denial from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management; of entering into a surreal universe of bureaucratic morass.

But everything has a price to pay — whether of status quo or of affirmative movement; it is up to the Federal or Postal employee as to whether the end-product is worth that price.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire
OPM Medical Disability Retirement Attorney

 

Disability Retirement for Federal Employees: Minor pleasures

At what point does the transference occur?  Minor pleasures are those interludes in life that make for everything to become, and remain, worthwhile; sometimes, because of various tumults in our lives, the designation of “minor” becomes altered, and becomes “major” – like the dream fulfilled of that kid who toiled in the minor leagues for so many years and finally got his big break by being called up to the majors.

Is such an indication of a metamorphosis a harbinger of something else?  If the minor pleasures of life – coffee with a piece of chocolate; reading a favorite book; a swim in the ocean; an early morning walk (or run) with the dog; or even a weekend, afternoon nap – are suddenly taken away, what (major) consequences would accrue?  Does subtraction of it, or negation of the enjoyment, determine the substantive input and extent of the designation?

If it is missed to the point where it makes you miserable, does it indicate that it was never “minor” to begin with, but of major proportions all along, but you just didn’t realize it?

How about its opposite – a “minor irritant” – does that possess a meaning encompassing a parallel but corollary effect?  What if your “significant other” engaged daily in a habit that irritated you, but in a minor way – you know, those things that, when you were dating (or, to show your age, applying the anachronistic terminology of “courting”) or just hanging out together until you both decided to make the arrangement permanent, it all seemed “cute” and attractive, but now is a bothersome dig, but not enough to engage a war over – like blowing one’s nose loudly in public, or picking one’s toenails and leaving the remains on the bathroom floor; or leaving a door unlocked, etc.

At what point does a “minor” irritant become a major one?  When you get into a fight and you point out the laundry list of such irritants?

But take it in another sense – all of a sudden, that significant other dies or departs, and you realize that all of those irritants are suddenly missed, and you actually wish that you were tormented by them, because they amount to minor pleasures that awaken the dull sensibilities of life’s monotony.

Medical conditions can be like that – like a minor irritant that becomes a major complaint.  Or, the absence thereof can be the minor pleasure, where you remember that once, not so long ago, you were fit and healthy, and just the mere fact of a medical condition’s absence is a minor pleasure in life.

For Federal and Postal employees 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 is, What is the point of life’s minor pleasures?  Is it to make everything else tolerable, or to be enjoyed regardless?

Filing a Federal Disability Retirement application is often not just a necessity, but a path towards regaining a sense of balance – of asserting those minor pleasures in life that have been erased and eradicated because of the constant harassment at work and the hostility that kills all joy.

Preparing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be submitted to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is just the first step in the long road towards getting an approval from OPM. But it is a worthwhile step, especially if the goal of life itself is to enjoy those minor pleasures of living – like attending to one’s health as a priority in order to once again relish those minor pleasures.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement: Of the politics of human discontent

Long ago, it was figured out; by men and women smarter than the general population, the ingredients of democracy and seizing of power became fixed in a formula of compromise; in politics, discontent is the source of unrest, and change is the power switch that turns the electorate around.

Rousseau over-romanticized that mythological “State of Nature“, but accurately recognized the human tendency towards the need to accumulate the leisurely graces of societal accouterments.  “Keeping up with the Joneses” was a nice, pithy way of putting it; the sardonic undertone has outlived its meaning, and today, economic survival has overwhelmed most of us.  The fact that the greater gods in back rooms of whispered consciences have recognized the need for portraying the hope of stability in exchange for demagoguery and cultish following, has even the power players wishing for a time of yesterday before a week hence.

Ultimately, human discontent has to do with the spectrum of a chasm between expectation and reality; when that pose of separation divides too far, an abandonment of common sense, historical lessons, and an approach of rational foresight becomes the blaring trumpet of the vaunted white knight.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition no longer allows for continuation in the Federal or Postal position because it intersects with the ability and capacity to perform one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal positional duties, the interceding reality of the politics of discontent come to the fore.

Left in the quandary of false choices, the chasm between “what the law says” and how the power structure at the Federal Agency or the U.S. Postal Service reacts to the news of the medical condition, is tantamount to the poverty of expectations in the face of reality.  The Federal bureaucracy can pay lip service to the touted declarations of fairness, efficiency and good government, but people will always be people — a tautology which everyone knows the meaning of, especially if you are a Federal or Postal employee.

Fortunately, the law also allows for the benefit of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal employee or U.S. Postal worker is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset.  And of the politics of human discontent?  Leave that for the next generation of brave souls who may enter into the realm of Rousseau’s elevated sense of the Social Contract as the foundation of society’s misgivings; but just remember that the French Revolution resulted in the beheadings of many, and a change for none.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire