Federal Disability Retirement & the Economy

I have been asked, via multiple emails, of my opinion concerning the right time to file for disability retirement, given the state of the current economy. I am not an economist; I am an attorney who specializes in obtaining disability retirement benefits for Federal and Postal employees under FERS & CSRS. With that prefatory caution, let me state that I am an optimist, and always see the glass as “half full” as opposed to “half empty”.

First, if a Federal or Postal employee can no longer perform the essential elements of one’s job, then it is probably time to file for disability retirement. Second, while disability retirement does not pay a great amount of money, it is a base annuity which allows one to go out and start a “second career”, and make up to 80% of what a person’s former position presently pays, on top of the disability annuity. Further, because disability retirement allows one to retain one’s health insurance benefits, such an individual can be an attractive candidate to a private employer, because of the lack of need to insure the person in the course of his/her the second career. Third, in a tough economy, part-time employment is often more available, and so it is often a good economy for individuals who have a base annuity to rely upon, and who are looking for supplemental income.

In any event, one should always look at disability retirement benefits as an opportunity to preserve one’s deteriorating health, and move on to pursue other avenues of opportunities.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Disability Retirement: Actions from Federal Government Agencies 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

Federal disability retirement: The sensitivity of each case

Every Federal and Postal employee has a unique historical background, especially with respect to his or her medical condition; how the medical condition was incurred; how the medical condition progressed, deteriorated, and degenerated one’s physical abilities, until that person came to a point where he or she could no longer perform the essential elements of one’s job. Each person has a unique story to tell, and indeed, some of the historical background is applicable.

The job of an attorney, however, is to focus the potential disability retirement applicant; extrapolate the relevant medical history; refashion the story that is being told; re-tell the story of the medical condition and the impact upon the essential elements of the person’s job — in other words, to be the voice of the disabled applicant, such that the story told is presented effectively to the Office of Personnel Management. Thus, when I am interviewing a potential client, I may sometimes seem to interject myself, or attempt to curtail the person’s narrative. It is not because I am rude or uncaring; it is because it is my job as an attorney to obtain the relevant facts and circumstances, in order to assist the individual.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire