OPM Disability Retirement: Snow (and More Snow)

By all accounts, the amount of snow which has hit the D.C. & surrounding metropolitan area constitutes a record amount. With 25 – 30 inches already on the ground and stretching the resources of state and local governments, there is another winter weather warning, of another 10-plus inches of snow. The Federal Government has shut down today (Monday); that means that the Office of Personnel Management, Disability Retirement Section, has been shut down. While the white blanket is certainty a picture of beauty to behold, those who have Federal Disability Retirement applications awaiting a decision, and those who will be shortly filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS will have further delays because of the shut-down of the Federal government.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: All Things Equal

Of course, in life, all things are NOT equal. Some cases get approved within a couple of weeks; others, seemingly for months sit on an OPM Representative’s desk, with not even a glance or a reason for the extensive delay. As night approaches, and this area gleams with the white of snow, a virtual dreamland of snow piled feet upon feet; whether Washington, D.C. will even open this week, or enter the week with the “liberal leave” policy; and, yes, of course there is tele-commuting, but the effectiveness of that is also based upon people ultimately coming in for files, additional information, etc. This week, all things are not equal; Washington, D.C. is frozen in time, in weather, and in a beauty of sheer whiteness; in the quietude of nightfall, only the dreams of children and the shrills and shrieks of sleds and snowballs matter; for those who have Federal Disability Retirement applications waiting to be approved by the Office of Personnel Management, patience must still remain a virtue to be sought after.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: OPM, Washington, D.C. & Snow

The three constitute a bad mixture: Washington, D.C. shuts down with barely an inch of snow, and the mere forecast of snow sends everyone to delirious panic; here, we have a forecast of 10 – 20 inches of snow, and panic has turned to pandemonium, and there is a calm quietude of resignation: the Office of Personnel Management, located in Washington, D.C., in a city with a forecast of a major snowstorm — result? A certainty of shutdown, a backlog of work, and further delays. For my clients (and those who are not my clients) who are awaiting the Office of Personnel Management to make a decision on a pending Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS, further patience is needed. The combination of the three: OPM, Washington, D.C., and snow, simply do not mix. All I can do is watch the fluffy white stuff come down upon a deepening nightfall, and hope that spring will come early. Sigh.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire