LITEBLUE, Shared Services and You

Who can you trust to get your retirement documentation right?  Recently that question was posed to Postal Workers about their retirement.  The Postal Service uses HR Shared Services as their pre-retirement, all things human resources information and advice arm.  Upon retirement the go-to-gurus will be the Office of Personnel Management?

The question posed is one of those rare life-line questions.  OPM handles the business of all Federal employees when they are active and inactive (retirement).  The mere premise is mind boggling and sometimes things get mixed up and you might have to wait longer than you’d like to get your benefits or at least your correct benefits.  In a past article, we talked about getting your house in order, taking care of the things necessary to make your transition to retirement smooth and complete.

The question posed simply reiterates and underscores the need to do just that.  It is recommended that Postal Employees download a copy of their eOPF (Electronic Official Personnel Folder).   You can print out the information or save it to your computer.  Once you separate from the Post Office you will no longer have access to your information on LiteBlue.  Pay a visit to the LiteBlue website and follow the download and print instructions so that you will have all the information that is in your folder at your fingertips when you need it.

Downloading your folder and setting it aside is not enough.  Prior to OPFs becoming electronic, they were paper.  Hopefully your agency passed on your paper folder to you.  Further, over the years you might have kept copies of your information in your at-home file.  Always as a rule of thumb, keep your end of the year W-2s.  Each time you choose or switch health insurance carriers, keep a copy of your records.  Make certain that the service computation date (SCD) shown in your folder matches what you have.  Most of us remember the exact date when we started to work.  Agencies, even OPM, make mistakes or are subject to an oversight.

Take care of your business.  Be in charge of the business of your life because no one cares about your business as much as you do.   Many Postal Workers will be eligible for incentive payments.  Make sure you submit PS Form 3077 to your employing agency so where you want your incentive payment mailed will be on record.  If you are attempting to use any electronic means to transmit information to HR Shared Services or your employing office and the mechanics are not responding, pick up the telephone and notify the appropriate entity right away.

Stay in charge of your business now so that you can relax, enjoy and retire well.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.