Robert R. McGill Law Blog

If your weekends are spent for the purpose of recuperating just so that you can have the energy, strength, mental acuity, and sustained focus and attention to go back to work on Monday, then it is an indicator that you may need to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS; if, after each day of work, you are so profoundly fatigued that you end up spending each evening just resting, unable to have any significant recreational enjoyment or time for relaxation, time... Read More

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 another job, even though a person under Federal Disability Retirement can earn up to 80% of what one's former Federal or Postal position currently pays.  Yes, it can be tough; yes, the economy is a concern; but recessions ultimately come to an end, and while a job to make up the severe... Read More

Beyond asking questions of one's self (financial; employment; future; whether one will last until regular retirement, etc.), it is also important to take a two-step process in preparing for a disability retirement application:  First, to do your own, independent research (in this day and age, internet research is the obvious first step), and Second, to contact an attorney.  By the time you contact an attorney concerning disability retirement issues, you should already have an... Read More

Often, a person who is contemplating filing for OPM Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS doesn't know the "right question" to ask in order to make a proper decision.  Because a medical condition often leaves a person with daily and profound fatigue (both physical and cognitive)... Read More

The old adage, "Walk in your fellow man's shoes for a mile" is a saying which is meant essentially to teach a child (and many adults) to have a different perspective than one's own, self-centered universe.  In practicing federal disability retirement law, it is a good idea to attempt to obtain a perspective from the multitude of differing "shoes"... Read More

Similar benefits, at the State, Local, Private levels, and at the Federal level, each contain differing legal criteria for eligibility. Thus, for instance, Social Security Disability benefits require one set of standards of eligibility; private disability insurance policies require <... Read More

As a federal disability attorney who represents Federal and Postal employees to "obtain" Federal Employees Disability Retirement benefits, it is important to make distinctions within the process of securing the Federal benefit... Read More

Too often, I receive calls from Federal and Postal employees (or rather, formerly thereof) who have waited until the very last conceivable moment to file for Federal or Postal Service Disability Retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS. ... Read More

Often, when a client receives the finalized disability retirement packet, I receive a response that goes something like:  "I didn't realize I was so bad off, until I read through the prepared packet." ... Read More

Filing for Federal or Postal Service Disability Retirement benefits is a personal matter.  It is personal precisely because it is considered as an admission of a disability; it goes to the... Read More