FERS Disability: sf 3112 disability application package help

Federal & Postal Disability Retirement: The Stress Test

September 20, 2019

It is meant to determine the vulnerability of structural foundations, or to gauge whether, under certain extreme circumstances, it will withstand catastrophic levels of pressure for safety and soundness. Distress triggers the ultimate test; and whether a breaking point can be established is always a fear — of how low or high, and of what tolerance the test itself will reveal. Objects, composite elements meant to reinforce; and most of all, people […]

Disability Retirement under FERS: Adopting an Adaptive Plan

June 19, 2019

Most of us barely have one; and when we do, we quickly forget about it and move on, satisfied that —by the mere declaration of having one — we need not implement it or follow it rigorously beyond the mere possession of it. The old Soviet Union (do we remember what the abbreviation, “U.S.S.R.” stood for?) had 5 and 10 year plans, and when the stated goals were not met, they simply cooked the books and declared that they were well ahead of the declared plans, and so the satellite nations under the rubric […]

FERS Medical Retirement from the OPM: The person who wasn’t

April 25, 2019

It sounds somewhat like a Hitchcock film — or, is that too archaic a reference these days? Is Hitchcock a film director whom nobody knows, anymore — another person who wasn’t? Or, more precisely, “Isn’t” but was? Is that the greatest fear of most people — the negation that erases, and why immortality and the existence of an afterlife is so important? […]

Federal Disability Retirement: The infinite we seek

April 11, 2019

What is it about the things which defy limit; endless and vast beyond our capacity to comprehend, and yet we cling to concepts that cannot possibly be embraced precisely because the finite cannot delimit the infinite; for, to do so is a contradiction in terms? Does language capture the infinite? By knowing its definition, is there anything beyond being able to cite the description of the concept? […]

OPM Disability Retirement: When we were very young

April 6, 2019

It triggers an image, does it not? Of teddy bears and honey buckets; of an innocent time before the concerns of adulthood? It is not until the 38th poem in the original book that Pooh is introduced to us; and how pervasive he remains in the consciousness of childhood’s delights. It evokes memories even where there are none, of a time awash in innocence, […]

FERS Disability Retirement: Beyond the weekend respite

March 9, 2019

It is always something to look forward to: Whether the regular rhythm of the 2-day, the “extra” delight of the 3-day, and the deliciously unexpected 4-day weekend when the time of rest is doubled and by the end of it, you’d almost forgotten about the frenzy of your day-to-day work schedule. Do we “make up” for sleep? Those so-called experts who claim that loss of sleep, once lost, can never be redeemed, clearly don’t know what they’re talking about. […]

Filing for Federal Disability Retirement: Damaged goods

February 7, 2019

Perhaps it is of a fine porcelain statue; or a painting that depicts perfection in a pastoral panorama presenting a private purview of picturesque purity (sorry for the alliteration that cannot be resisted); or a first edition book that is without blemish; or a host of other “goods” that one values, admires, cherishes — and is purchased with anticipation of contentment. […]

FERS Disability Retirement: Trains that have already left

February 2, 2019

What do we say about a person who is told that his train has already left the station, and that another will not take him to his destination until the day after, yet insists upon remaining on the platform hoping that, somehow, another will arrive, perhaps in the next hour or so? Is it stubbornness? Or, perhaps a denying of reality? Or a refusal to admit to one’s mistake in arriving too late? […]

FERS Disability Retirement: The subtlety of first light

January 5, 2019

Have you ever stood outside when first light breaks upon the darkened grounds? How you struggle to see as your feet stretch forward with trepidation, unsure because of the shadows that befall, and with squinting eyes and a deepened sense of sleepiness, you struggle with the dawn of pre-dawn solemnity; and then, with such creeping imperceptibility, […]

Federal Employee Disability Information: Lip Service to Losses

December 17, 2018

It is admitted under the cover of gaining, and never standing alone as a mark of proud achievement. To lose is to be forgotten; and while we give lip service in various ways — as in, “Oh, we learned so many valuable lessons from our losses”, or “Behind every success story is a failure of tenfold that allowed the person to learn and grow”, or ever the clincher: “It’s not whether you win or lose, it is how you play the game” […]