Last Updated on January 20, 2023
In preparing, formulating and filing a FERS Disability Retirement application from the Office of Personnel Management, it is important in the beginning stages of the process to have a clear, charted course in creating the nexus between one’s health or medical conditions and the type of positional duties required by the Federal or Postal job which one is slotted in.
Lack of clarity leads to meandering; meandering results in the potential danger of entering into territories which can have a negative and detrimental impact; such resulting negative endings at any stage of the process only extends the time by forcing the applicant to appeal the case to the next stage, and having to correct and explain the mis-steps which resulted from the original lack of clarity and focus. Thus, a single mistake at the beginning of the process can have a compounding effect upon the entire application process, and that is why it is important to start off with clarity, focus, and a purposeful plan.
In the study of Philosophy, the subject of Metaphysics almost always encompasses the concept of “teleology” — the idea that there is a purposeful end based upon various logical arguments, such as cause-and-effect, the argument from design, etc. In analogous form, it is important to have a teleological approach to preparing, formulating and filing to qualify for a Federal or Postal Disability Retirement annuity from the Office of Personnel Management.
As with the design argument in metaphysics, there are certain “guideposts” which are important to use — i.e., what the doctors state in their reports; the parameters of one’s position description; the type of job which one has (sedentary or out in the field), etc. Within those boundaries, one should remain. Wandering in thought leads to areas of unintended harm. Stay within the boundaries of the questions posed, and one has a safer haven away from trespassing into areas uncharted, unknown, and undesired.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
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