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 […] Read More …
owcp dol
CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: The (non) Problem of Causality & Causation
In a Worker’s Comp (DOL/OWCP/FECA) case, causation and causality often loom as significant issues, and doctors often have to walk a difficult line in making unequivocal statements […] Read More …
OPM Disability Retirement: Discretionary Judgments
There are many things in the long process of getting a Federal Disability Retirement application approved, which are purely “discretionary”, based upon one’s experience, sense of a case […] Read More …
Federal Disability Retirement: Developing a Case
In most cases, the normal process of disability retirement for the First Stage of the process is anywhere from 6 – 8 months; some fall towards the 6-month range; some take longer […] Read More …
OPM Disability Retirement: The Freedom of Retirement
In this tough economy, many people are rightly concerned that, upon an approval for Federal Disability Retirement under FERS or CSRS, that it will be difficult to “make up” the income with […] Read More …
CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: The OWCP Paradigm
One may choose OWCP benefits because, financially, it pays more (75% non-taxed for an individual with dependents; 66 2/3% for a single individual) than a Federal Disability Retirement annuity. It is a pragmatic paradigm to rely upon for the […] Read More …
OPM Disability Retirement: Paradigms for the Future
In attempting to decide to file for Federal Disability Retirement Benefits, it is often the case that Social Security disability benefits must be considered (not just “considered”, obviously, for FERS employees, because it is a […] Read More …
CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Agency Interaction
Federal Agencies often act like little fiefdoms. This is not necessarily a negative thing; each agency is an independent entity, and each has a province of responsibilities which it must carry out and execute according to the statutory mandate provided […] Read More …
CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Interaction with OWCP/DOL
I receive calls periodically as to whether it is of greater advantage to remain on Worker’s Comp (Department of Labor, Office of Workers Compensation Program — “OWCP”) as opposed to going out on OPM Disability Retirement. My answer remains the same: OWCP is not […] Read More …
FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: The Proper Paradigm
Whether we like to admit it or not, we all operate, in all segments of our lives, from a certain “paradigm” (reference Thomas Kuhn, Structures of Scientific Revolutions) or “world-view”. When it comes to Federal Disability Retirements, the majority of Federal and Postal workers who comes to me have a pre-formed, generally negative attitude about Read More …