FERS Disability Retirement from OPM: The Fish Story

Over the years, Uncle Ben’s famous catch of the marlin in a skiff off the coast of Maine became suspiciously similar to Hemingway’s famous novel, The Old Man and the Sea.

There were some details which remained somewhat believable — like, the fact that he actually caught something.  But of others, the exaggerated embellishments — of some “unknown sea monster, likely a Great White Shark or a Killer Whale” which gobbled up most of the catch by the time he arrived on shore, the skiff barely seaworthy by that time; of how the townspeople had to “fight off” the sea monster and hit it with various implements; and of the photograph taken — but somehow lost — of the skeletal remains of the large fish caught and lost.

Alcohol on nights gathered seemed to exponentially embellish the story of Uncle Ben and the Sea, when as twilight tended to quiet the lips of nodding heads, it would begin with, “Did I ever tell you about the Big One that almost got away?”  Everyone, of course, had heard the story 10x over and more, but it was more told by tradition than a query for interest or information.

It was like the Hasidic challenge as told by Chaim Potok in The Chosen — where a new and inaccurate twist would be inserted in the narrative, and someone would say, “But Uncle Ben, you never told us about that, before!”  There would be a pause, and everyone would laugh uproariously, knowing that the Fish Story had added to it anther saga that was to ever develop as the years ensued.

That was, in the end, the beauty of The Fish Story — for, the house of words was built upon a memory, with no evidence needed to back it up.  In most other aspects of life, however, that is not the case.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who need to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under the FERS retirement system, facts and evidence matter.  The preparation of an effective application for Federal or Postal Disability Retirement, to be submitted to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, cannot be like the Fish Story — even if it is well-told like Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea.  Instead, it must be meticulously prepared and detail-oriented.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider whether or not you want to rely upon an experienced Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer, or on Uncle Ben’s rendition of The Fish Story.

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 Retirement: Icelandic Horses

It is a delightful little book; weaving mythology, magic and majesty of a time now gone.  Just over 100 pages, set in a time when nature was never divorced from man’s place within it, the title says it all: All the Horses of Iceland.

How the horses came to that land; the unlikely hero who traveled afar to foreign lands and found himself amongst mysterious languages; the dangers encountered; of territories plundered and wars fought; and of the beauty of that unique animal — the horse.

Magicians still possessed the power to heal; the world had not yet been overrun or dominated by the technological leviathan of fated despair; and the universe yet contained the mysteries of unknown spiritual forces, where a man could cross over from the world of harsh realities to the dreamworld of the invisible — like the white horse who was visible only to Eyvind, and to no one else.

Every now and again, one comes across that special little book which grabs you and where you cannot put it down until you have devoured the last and final sentence; and then you realize that it is past midnight, tomorrow is another work day, but you feel no sense of tiredness; only delight, and satisfaction at having had the honor to visit a world of pure fantasy and ecstatic storytelling.

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 is: What does this little book about horses in Iceland have to do with Federal Disability Retirement?

Well — nothing.  But at least, if you were to contact a FERS Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, hired him, endured the retirement process, then obtained an approval from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, then at least you might have the time to read that delightful little book entitled, All the Horses of Iceland, by Sarah Tolmie.

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.

 

OPM Disability Medical Retirement: Uniqueness Beneath

The “memory legacy” we leave behind — of who we were; how people remember us; of how they speak of the person once known as the “I” who inhabited this world; of the remnants left — is often of great concern to people.

Logically, does it even make sense to be concerned about it?  We will be gone; those who survive will remember us for a time, but they, too, will perish, and the remaining memories will fade like all such pasts have faded throughout history, and the cemeteries long forgotten or the ashes strewn over hills, valleys, rivers and oceans will be merely the collective dust of untold stories.

Yet, for whatever reason, we still want to be remembered — of the uniqueness which was the “I” beneath.  “Remember Harry?  Yes, Harry what’s-his-name…”.  “And Sarah-whatever, who used to read that French newspaper with her cup of coffee…”.

Yet, society throughout never recognizes the uniqueness beneath, but merely the last imprint of a categorized archetype.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition no longer allows you to continue in your Federal or Postal career, contact an OPM Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.

If you are hanging around thinking that your Federal Agency or the Postal Facility is going to keep you on because of the recognition of the uniqueness beneath, you may want to rethink that.  In the end, they will treat you merely as another cog in the wheel.  For a true expression of the uniqueness beneath, go out on Federal Disability Retirement and begin a new career path where you can make up to 80% of what your former position currently pays.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
Lawyer specializing exclusively in FERS Disability Retirement Law

 

OPM Disability Retirement for Federal & Postal Workers: Worlds Apart

It is a phrase which is oft-used to describe the distance still to be traversed when negotiations break down; but more generally, it reveals the differences between people, ideas, countries and cultures.  There are, indeed, many different worlds — of countries; societies; of the internal “world” by which we live — our thoughts, cares, conceptual lives and pondering narratives.

So long as the inner world by which we operate is consistent with the “objective” reality of the Kantian “noumenal” universe, we are deemed sane and left alone.  It is when the distance between the objective world and our own world of thoughts becomes too disjointed, overly separated and — worlds apart — that we are deemed insane or otherwise disconnected from reality.  The key is to maintain a semblance of worlds knit closely together, lest becoming worlds apart leads to falling apart.

That is what filing for Federal/Postal Disability Retirement is all about — of keeping one’s universe from becoming worlds apart, or from falling apart.  Medical conditions separate one’s private world of pain, suffering, depression, anxiety, etc., from the “world” of one’s Federal or Postal job. Federal Disability Retirement is that bridge between Federal or Postal employment and termination from that world because of a medical condition.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, lest your application for Federal Disability Retirement is denied and remains worlds apart from a successful Federal Disability Retirement filing.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Early Retirement for Disabled Federal Workers: Becoming a Stereotype

Perhaps it is an unfair characterization, or an image which is arcane and archaic — and yet endures as a residue from the old days, like smoking cigarettes and leaving nicotine stains on one’s inner side of fingers.  We hate stereotypes.  They linger; they remain as images we try and counter and overcome; and when it becomes a truism, we fight to try and prove its opposite.

Medical conditions prevail upon a stereotype like a winter’s storm or the devastation of a hurricane upon a coastal town.  Our image of ourselves is quite different: vibrant; still much contribution to give; still full of life, hope and happiness.  Yet, others begin to see you as the doddering old man or woman who can no longer contribute to the mission of the Federal Agency or the Postal Service.  That is how Federal agencies and Postal facilities view you.  Let them.

Consult with an OPM Medical Retirement Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of moving on to another career, another phase in life, another stage — and quit worrying about becoming a stereotype; for, in the end, it is the one who sees the world in images of stereotypes who are the stereotypical dunces who fail to ever grow beyond.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire
OPM Disability Retirement Attorney

 

Federal Employee Disability Pension: Avoiding the Rabbit Hole

The figurative “rabbit hole” originates from the famous Carroll classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  As applied, it refers to the labyrinthine distractions which we pursue in acts of futility — of irrelevancies and asides that detract from the importance of a focused and purposeful endeavor.

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, avoiding the proverbial “rabbit hole” is important both in terms of focus, as well as relevancy of application.

Avoid the obvious rabbit holes — Federal Disability Retirement is not the time to complain incessantly about how badly you have been treated by your agency; it is not the moment for revenge; it is not the forum for blasting your supervisor and how mean he or she has been, etc.  The focus is the rabbit, and not the rabbit hole.

Contact a FERS Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and make sure that your application for Federal Disability Retirement benefits leads to an approval — meaning, the prize of the rabbit, and not the empty rabbit hole.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement: Stress and the Harassment Factor

Stress is a reality which has become a normal aspect of everyday living.  The more stress we feel, the greater interpretation of outside actions as harassment; and thus does the vicious cycle begin.  Life is stressful enough.  When another ingredient is added — like a medical condition that weakens one’s body and mind — the tolerance for stress becomes reduced and the capacity to keep things in its proper perspective becomes impossible to manage.  Stress always seems to come in bunches, doesn’t it?

When you are dealing with a medical condition, everything and everyone you interact with becomes a stressful encounter.  For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents you from performing one or more of the essential elements of your job, the stress of dealing with the medical condition itself is more than enough.

Add to it, your agency or the postal facility will inevitably begin to pressure you to return to work, to file this or that request, to follow their “procedures”, etc.  Whether such actions are objectively considered “harassment” or not is beside the point; you, as the Federal or Postal employee, are dealing with enough factors without having to deal with the harassment factor.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of reducing your stress levels by initiating a Federal Disability Retirement application with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Disability Retirement: Advice

The great thing about it is that everyone can give it and no one needs to accept it, let alone act upon it.

Old people think that they have much of it to dispense; young people think that the old people are full of it but don’t understand the world of today; and all the while, those in the middle generally remain silent until it’s too late, anyway, and walk about shaking their heads in disbelief, thinking that if only X had listened.  Parents try and give it in fear of mistakes being repeated from their own past histories; and bosses think with self-importance that the wisdom they disseminate is what brought them to their vaunted status to begin with.

Advice is there to be given; whether people take it is quite another matter.  Now, with modern technology and the Internet, there is more than a fair share — both good and bad.  The trick is to discern between the two extremes.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the time to seek and take advice on matters central to Federal OPM Disability Retirement Law — of the process and procedure; of the substantive criteria which has to be met; of the gathering of all evidence necessary — is better sought as early as possible in the process.

Not all advice is equal.

Consult with an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of seeking and applying advice which is crucial in obtain your Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: The Meaning of Incompatibility

We hear the word often — used in conjunction with “irreconcilable differences” (in a divorce proceeding), or perhaps in an electrical engineering context where voltages and circuitry are “incompatible” with this or that mainframe, or some similar language game involving technical issues which don’t work well together.

It is a peculiar word; stated in a certain way or tone of voice, it is a declaration of finality, as in, “Nope!  These two [blanks] are incompatible!”  And ascribed to human beings?  How about: “Jane and Joe were married for 20 years.  They have separated and are going to get a divorce because they are no longer compatible”.  Does the phrase, “no longer compatible” mean the same thing as being “incompatible”?  Can two people, like two components of some mechanical processes, become “incompatible” when previously they were not?  Are people like widgets where parts can be irreplaceable in one instance, but are no longer so in the next?

It is, as well, a legal term.  In the field of Federal Disability Retirement Law, incompatibility is the “fourth” criteria that can be met if the first three (deficiency in performance, conduct or attendance) cannot be satisfied in a Federal Disability Retirement case.  Some medical conditions cannot so easily be described in terms of a 1-to-1 ratio between a medical condition and an essential element of one’s Federal or Postal job that cannot be met.

In their aggregate and totality, the compendium of medical conditions may have come to a critical juncture where they are no longer compatible (i.e., incompatible) with continuation or retention in the Federal Service, and that is when filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through OPM becomes a necessary function of one’s future goals and plans.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire