Medical Retirement for Disabled Federal Workers: Transfinite Cardinals

It is a concept invented in order to avoid the inherently problematic implications of the “infinite”; yet, it clearly means that it is “not finite”. It is meant to avoid a type of exclusive disjunctive and attempts to equivocate and obfuscate, implying that it somehow goes beyond the finite but refuses to become embroiled in the complexities of the infinite, thereby allowing for a compromise by remaining forever in the limbo of mathematical purgatory.

Such conceptual word-games save us for a time; and, sometimes, time is what is needed. Thus, for universes of pure theoretical constructs, where application has little or no impact upon the reality of life, conceptual language games can be daily engaged and walked away from, without any practical consequences. It is, however, when theory intersects with reality, that qualitative reverberations become felt, as in the application of theoretical physics upon the pragmatic application of nuclear fusion.

Advancing from Thought to Action

For the everyday Federal and Postal Worker, the theoretical existence of Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether one is under FERS or CSRS, is likened to transfinite cardinals: until the intersection between thought and action occurs, it remains safely in the universe of theory, mind, and limbo; but when the reality of a medical condition hits upon the physical universe of the real, and impacts the Federal or Postal employee’s ability/inability to maneuver through the employment sector because of physical limitations or psychiatric obstacles imposed by the medical condition, then one must reach beyond the theoretical and take pragmatic steps of prudent applicability.

Like boilerplate legalese in multi-paginated contractual agreements, theoretical constructs exist for potential applications in the real universe.

Federal Disability Retirement benefits remain in existence for all Federal and Postal employees, and must be accessed by submitting an application to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. It is like the Platonic Ideas of Greek philosophy “out there” in the ethereal universe, but of no consequence but for ivory tower constituents. And like transfinite cardinals, Federal Employee Disability Retirement benefits remain in a parallel universe of theoretical constructs, until that time when a particular Federal or Postal employee accesses the need to ignite the fuse of pragmatic intentions.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

 

Federal Gov. and USPS Disability Retirement: Time Once Lost…

The time we expend ruminating upon future events which fail to occur; or engaging in frivolities beyond needed leisure to restore one’s mind and body; it is when action or inquiry could have answered one’s concerns that such time, once lost, is lost forever.

Some of the effort expended can be justified; certainly, before one can engage in action or inquiry, some time must be used for thoughtful preparation; but to ruminate endlessly in repetitive, circular fashion, is to allow for human frailty to overwhelm that characteristic which should be paramount in our lives:  rationality and the ability to properly reflect, analyze and judge accordingly.

Time has become a commodity of worth beyond mere measurement of the movement of objects; it is limited in scope but demanded far and above the capacity of existent supply.  Technology was meant to ameliorate; but we all know that it has only exponentially robbed us further of this valuable and limited unit.

For Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition impacts one’s personal and professional life, the value of time cannot be emphasized.  Ruminating about one’s condition and the orientation for one’s future will not get one from point A to destination B.

Time is of the essence, and with the bureaucratic headaches and administrative delays compounding the difficulties, both at the agency level as well as with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, delay only creates to magnify the importance of time, timing, and the measuring of timeliness.

Time expended in fruitless efforts, once lost, is lost forever.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Medical Retirement for Federal Workers: The Jump from Thought to Action

There is a wide chasm between thought and action; and, while many can deceive one’s self by remaining mired in the activity of thought, it is the gauge of the objective, physical world which validates the efficacy and resulting consequences of one’s actions, which makes for determination of accomplishment and completion.  The proverbial “dreamer” who never transitions from the creativity of thoughtful contemplation to actualization of ingenious ideas and proposed intellectual discoveries, remains stuck in the netherworld of potentiality, never to move beyond the mysterious quietude of one’s own mind.

For Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition has impacted one’s ability to perform the essential elements of one’s job, remaining forever in thought-mode as opposed to action-orientation, keeps one in the hostile environment of avoiding multiple pitfalls and minefields of delay, procrastination, and potential adversity from one’s supervisors, coworkers and agency heads.

Whether under CSRS or FERS, the Federal or Postal employee with a medical condition which is impacting the ability to continue in the job, should consider the giant step from thought to action, and reflect upon the benefits of a Federal Disability Retirement submission, ultimately to be decided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

The step from thought to action is often exponentially magnified by the earthshaking reverberations of a changed life.  But to fail to act is often the greater of evils, and to remain in the unending turmoil of one’s anguish is never an answer to a problem.  Instead, it is the composite solution which will render the ultimate satisfaction: thoughtful action.  It is where thought and action work in harmony, and for which Man evolved to reach the pinnacle of his Being.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement: The Recognition of Time

Time is a factor in all of our lives; we are conditioned to it; we respond to the constraints, and procrastinate because of its allowance.  Both time and timing may be factors in preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether under FERS or CSRS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

For the Federal or Postal worker who is contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, the fact that it is the “end of the year” should not be the motivating factor, nor that in a week or so it will be the “beginning of a New Year”.  Rather, the issue of time and timing should be governed by the extent and severity of one’s medical condition, and its impact upon one’s inability to perform the essential elements of one’s job.

As recognition and utilization of time is always an indicator of proper planning, so it is with the Federal and Postal Worker who must prepare, formulate and file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement for Federal and USPS Workers: Excuses

Language is the vehicle by which self-justification is established.  Think about it; if we assume that there is a conceptual void in the mind of other animals, that the consciousness of a squirrel, a raccoon, an owl, etc., is devoid of language as we employ it, then how can procrastination or delay occur?  It is precisely language and the tools of conceptual constructs which provide for an “excuse” for response to a stimuli, and allows for human action to be prevented.

The will to act or refrain from acting is often considered the hallmark of higher intelligence; but intelligence itself can be a detrimental quality, allowing for self-destructive actions resulting from a string of illogical but persuasive reasonings.  Where lack of intelligence provides for the immediacy of response to a presented encounter, so the presence of it in elevated forms will allow for justifying delays to such responses, even if it means a magnified danger to one’s own survival.

Excuses and self-justifying declarative sentences allow us to maintain a false sense of security by providing foundations for continuing on a path of self-destruction.  That is precisely why the Federal and Postal employee who suffers from a progressively deteriorating medical condition can maintain a semblance of normalcy despite physical and cognitive indicators to the contrary, sometimes for months, and even for years.  But pain and cognitive dysfunctions have a funny way of reminding the body and mind of danger signals.  Brain synapses communicate the growing danger, and they continue to alert until the time comes when no more linguistic justifications will maintain that false sense of security.

When that time comes, the Federal or Postal worker must consider the option of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether under FERS or CSRS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

There is always time for being excused, and sometimes it is well-justified; then, there are other times when the exhaustion of excuses comes to a crisis point, and one must consider a different path.  That “different” path is the need to have a restorative period of recuperation in order to attend to one’s impending medical condition.  Federal Disability Retirement, under FERS or CSRS, is just that allowance for recuperation, and is a path of difference for many Federal and Postal employees.

There are excusable considerations, which last for a time; but time is a linear movement of bodies, and on the universal scale of progression, there comes a point when both time and excuses run out their course of self-justifying efficacy.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: Case Development

There are times when “waiting for a season” makes sense — as in entering a marriage relationship prior to a long engagement period for purposes of getting to better know the other person.  Or, in a FERS or CSRS Disability Retirement application, waiting as the doctor wants to establish more evidence, send the patient for a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE , or to see what his or her colleague or referral “specialist” has to say before rendering an opinion — these are all valid reasons to wait before formulating and finalizing a Federal Disability Retirement application from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

There are, of course, countervailing reasons which “balance out” such sensible bases for waiting — economic rationale; the need to file in a timely manner if the Statute of Limitations is running and the 1-year mark is quickly approaching; threats by an agency to remove the Federal or Postal employee and leaving him or her with no income, no medical insurance, and little leeway for options other than to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from OPM; but such balancing must be done with an intelligent approach, as timing at the outset in preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, is best accomplished in order to preclude, as much as possible, the delay of time at the “back-end” of a case, by having it summarily denied at the First Stage of the process.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire