liteblue.gov
liteblue.gov is a website via which the federal employees of the US government can get all the information that they might be in need of, all in one place
The Postal Service is Unlikely to Give Pension Payments
A new report that has emerged regarding the dismal financial situation of the Postal of the country indicates that the department is “unlikely” to make the complete/required pension and health payments to its retirees in the near future. Apart from this, what’s even more threatening is that the liabilities and the debts that have begun to mount to extraordinary levels could even hamper the existence of the government body in general.
Postal service unlikely to award pension payments:
The report was published this past week by the Government Accountability office and it suggested that the expenses of the postal service have begun to exceed considerably after the fiscal year 2007 and it has now caused the government body to suffer a loss of around 57 billion in the last 8 years.
Lori Rectanus who is the director of physical infrastructure issues at the GAO has said that the USPS is a critical constituent of the country’s communication channel and it was responsible for delivering around 154 billion pieces of mail in the last fiscal year to around 155 million delivery points and has around 620 thousand employees.
The current state of the department is really dismal and there have hardly been any other cases when a government body has found itself reeling for support and suffering from such severe losses. Lori further said that USPS hasn’t got any resources to substantially stay in operation and to cover its expenses and this has put the mission of enabling reliable services to the society at a huge risk.
While there is a crisis in hand, the employees are deserving of the pension and health payments regardless. The government needs to chip in and the postal service needs to be given the resources that they direly need in order to not only stay in operation fully but to also provide their retirees with the benefits that they deserve.
Postal LiteBlue and Open Season
Postal Service employees should visit LiteBlue to download their FEHB (health benefits) guides for this year’s open season. Open season is the annual period when employees can make changes to their health coverage or choose a new plan – this year Open Season begins on November 10th.
Postal Employee guides have been mailed to employees in the past, however, the USPS has determined that making the guides available online through LiteBlue employees will find it easier to evaluate their choices as well as reduce the cost of delivery.
Postal Employees can find the following guides on LiteBlue:
RI70-2 – The 2015 Guide to Benefits for Career United States Postal Service Employees.
RI 70-8PS – The 2015 Guide to Benefits for Certain Temporary (Non-career) United States Postal Service Employees.
FEDVIP BK-1 – The 2015 Guide to the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program.
NCEHP BK1 – The 2015 Guide to USPS Non-career Employee Health Benefits Plan.
LiteBlue also makes available additional Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) and Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) information. Postal Employees can find checklists, fact sheets, FAQs and a health plan comparison tools all through LiteBlue.
If you are unable to log into LiteBlue you can also request paper copies of these guides by calling the Human Resources Shared Services Center at 877-477-3273 (press option 5) or TTY 866-260-7507.
LiteBlue Articles and Related Content
What Postal employees should do on LiteBlue Before Retirement
LiteBlue; Online Access to More Than Just Your USPS Earnings Statement
Other LiteBlue Related Pages
– What Is LiteBlue?
– What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
– eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
– Use LiteBlue to Manage your FEHB
– You can use LiteBlue and PostalEase to manage your Allotments
– Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms Using LiteBlue
Click here to be directed to LiteBlue.
For Federal Employees – Tips To Creating A Retirement Budget
Federal Employees and Retirement Budgets
You don’t have to follow any particular format for creating a budget except to measure income against expenses. The tips below might help you get started.
- Determine a time horizon for tracking your income and expenses.
- Outline all of your sources of income and then total the sources.
- Outline all of your expenses, everything you spend money on. Break down your expenses into variable and fixed income so that you can really see where there is room to make adjustments if needed. Total all of your expenses. Remember “savings” are a fixed expense; therefore you must pay yourself first (PYF).
- Subtract your expenses from your income. If expenses outweigh income, you have some work to do in the ‘adjustments’ arena. If income outweighs expenses, then you should consider paying yourself a little more so that your financial goals might be achieved earlier than planned. Plans are made to be flexible and this is good flexibility.
- Now that you have the tools necessary to develop both a financial plan and a budget, take sometime to compare one to the other and see how they mesh and if any refurbishing needs to be done. Your spending plan should be in harmony with your financial goals. Do this often throughout your life.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
LiteBlue and TSP RELATED ARTICLES
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options
For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP
Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional
Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?
Once Your Federal & Postal Retirement Plan Is In Place
Federal and Postal Retirement Planning
After you put your federal retirement plan in place, the biggest challenge is implemnting it. It takes discipline to stick to your retirement plan. It is not a bad idea to find a person you trust to encourage you to stay the course. Handling money responsibly and respectfully can be a challenge. However, it is a lot easier when you do. When money is involved, you have a choice. Staying on track to meet your financial retirement goals can be achieved by following these tips:
Federal / Postal Retirement Plan Tips
- Write down your goals and place your written reminder where you can see it everyday.
- Tell somebody you trust about your retirement goals and who understands what you are doing. Ask them to check in with you about your progress. Knowing that someone will be inquiring about your progress can be a good source of motivation.
- Review your financial plan regularly so that you can gauge where and when you need to make adjustments. Keep working to stay on track.
Monitor Your Federal / Postal Retirement Plan
After putting your federal retirement plan in place then you must be ready to monitor and modify the plan. This is a very critical step in the financial planning process. Once you have developed a retirement plan, you will need to monitor it closely at regular intervals to stay on track. A financial plan is meant to be a living document that evolves over time with changes in our lives. You will inevitably run into unexpected obstacles and roadblocks, but the strategies you employ to over come those hurdles will help you to stay the course.
Your goals may change and your resources may deviate. You might have to spend money you didn’t expect to spend. Conversely, you may receive money you did not expect to receive. Life is a work in progress and unexpected changes are a part of life. Because of this very dynamic, it is always prudent to closely monitor and review your plan whenever there are major changes in your life.
When you reach a goal, applaud yourself and cross it off your list. Now is the time to revisit your list of goals and query yourself:
- Is it still valuable to achieve my existing goals?
- Are there any new goals to be added to the list?
- Do I need to delete or amend an existing goal?
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
LiteBlue; Online Access to More Than Just Your USPS Earnings Statement
Postal LiteBlue and Open Season
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
Changing Your LiteBlue / PostalEase Password Through ssp.USPS.gov
eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
Royal Post Office vs U.S. Postal Service
Post Offices in the United States are cutting staff through offering voluntary early retirement and other means of attrition. The Post Office is also considering closing many facilities and cutting back on the hours and days facilities are open. For Postal Employees, early retirement was offered to managers and supervisors initially with no monetary incentive to leave the service. The next round of early out offers to supervisors and managers came with a $10,000 monetary incentive.
The Post Office’s 500,000 employees have already been cut by 200,000 with plans to trim another 100,000. There are many changes slated to take place in the Post Office to create efficiency by incorporating technology that will answer the growing needs of customers.
The United Kingdom’s Royal Mail services will open up about 100 facilities on Sunday afternoons. The program will initially start off as a pilot to evaluate its effectiveness. Most of the Royal Post Offices are open six days a week. The Royal Mail service is also anticipating a Sunday delivery for online shoppers. The Royal Post will begin Monday delivery for online purchases made on Saturday and Sunday.
The Service is also experimenting with a number of new ideas to increase efficiency and services to its customers. While U. S. Post Offices are scaling back the United Kingdom is revving up.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Other LiteBlue Related Pages
LiteBlue; Online Access to More Than Just Your USPS Earnings Statement
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
Changing Your LiteBlue / PostalEase Password Through ssp.USPS.gov
eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
LiteBlue Honors Its Own
I want to share something else humane the Post Office did recently. As a matter of fact, it is done annually. The Richmond, Virginia District Office, not far from where I live, honors postal employees who served in the military. They also pay homage to active duty employees and deceased civilian coworkers who recently passed away.
The Richmond District Office has an annual celebration where employees and family members attend. The Richmond office adds bricks to a memorial walkway around the flag pole at the District’s entrance each year to honor members who pass away.
The walkway honors the mail carriers and the important work they do to carry out the mission of the Post Office. They move the mail. I recently found out about a pretty special mail carrier during a ceremony honoring women. The woman’s name was Mary Fields, the first African American female mail carrier. Ms. Fields did not become a mail carrier until age 61. She drove a covered wagon carrying the mail in the old West. During inclement weather she walked. She never missed a day carrying mail. She was respectfully called “Stage Coach Mary” because if the stage coach was there so was Mary and the mail.
The Post Office has a long history of serving the nation. Carrying the mail has not always been easy. Many carriers had to carry rifles and pistols to ward off stage coach robbers. Mary Fields knew how to handle a gun. Fortunately laws have been made to protect Mail Carriers and the mail. There are more than 200 Federal Laws that have been enacted to protect and secure the safety of the U.S. Mail.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
LiteBlue Heroes
I read something recently that made me rethink how important Letter Carriers are. We always think about them delivering the mail just like a habit that will never stop. We absolutely never think about the possibility that the mail will not be delivered. Mail Carriers are a constant in the lives of most Americans. We know our carriers and we depend on them to deliver the mail.
A customer in New York can add something else to her list of what we depend on Mail Carriers for – SAVING HER LIFE. Yes, saving her life. The carrier in Yorktown Heights, NY noticed that his customer had not collected her mail for several days. The carrier knew that was not her usual behavior. He got very concerned and contacted Emergency Responders (ERs). The ERs went to the woman’s home and found she needed medical attention. The woman was transported to the local hospital where she was able to get additional care and as a result, fully recovered.
What a story. The carrier didn’t simply determine that the mail pile-up was not his business but acted in a most humanitarian manner. The Good Samaritan’s name is Robert Womascko. The ERs credited Mr. Womascko for saving the woman’s life. I think Mr. Womascko needs more than a thank you from the ERs and the woman, he needs a hero thank you from the Postal Service and from the Commander-in-Chief. Mr. Womascko did something that was more than humane, he did something that was honorable to the highest degree. Mr. Womascko cared about another human being’s life. He didn’t just look at a condition and walk away. He cared about the life of a woman who could have died had he not thought quickly to get help.
Letter carriers don’t just deliver mail, they save lives. So if you read this post join in a letter writing campaign to the Commander-in-Chief-the President of the United States, the Post Master General and see that something of noteworthiness is done to recognize this Good Samaritan, this Honorable Man.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
LITEBLUE’S July 17th
July 17th is an important day for the Postal Service. July 17th is the last day to submit ideas about what the next generation of Post Office vehicles will look like and how they will need to function. Let’s give the Post Office a big round of applause for including the people in the process who know it best.
Many organizations make decisions in a vacuum and use individuals in the organization who have absolutely no hands-on knowledge about the process. The best folks to tell a baker whether his cake is good is not the baker, but those who eat the cake. The best individuals to give input about Postal Delivery vehicles are the ones who drive them, repair and maintain them. They are by far the very best authority to assist in designing the next generation of mail service delivery trucks.
The Post Office has an aging fleet of vehicles and are by all estimates not getting the efficiency of more modern vehicles. Postal carriers and Vehicle Maintenance personnel have been asked by their supervisors and managers to submit ideas and thoughts about what is needed in the Post Office’s next generation of service vehicles. Postal carriers and Vehicle Maintenance personnel will submit their best suggestions in a number of categories by July 17, 2014.
The Post Office got it right – by including its people in the strategic planning process.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Other LiteBlue Related Pages
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.
Congress, You’ve Got Mail – From The Post Office
I have been doing some research trying to make sense of why the Congress requires the United States Postal Service to pre-fund health benefits for future retirees. The strategy causes the Post Office to struggle to make a profit. According to USPS Chief Financial Officer, Joe Corbett, the Post Office has about $22 billion in assets and a $113 billion in liabilities, including liabilities related to the “pre-funding” law imposed by Congress.
The United States Supreme Court sort of side-tracked the original intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act, preventing many disabled individuals from meeting the definition of “disabled”. The Congress saw the inequity in that move and enacted the ADA Amendment Act of 2008 to rectify a ruling by the court that was not to the benefit of the disabled and abrogated the intent of the original Act.
What about a little role reversal? Now that the Congress has it all confused over the “pre-fund” law, perhaps the Court needs to step in and say that the pre-fund law is unconstitutional and serves as a deterrent to the Post Office’s primary mission to deliver the mail. Perhaps, that means electronically, by stamp, or some other fancy piece of technology, but the Congress is about to bankrupt an organization for reasons the public does not understand. I don’t understand, but I am still researching. I will let you know what I find.
Join in in asking the Congress – What is the purpose of the “pre-fund” law? It is a notion that has outlived its time because it should have never existed if it does not benefit and support the organization and that means the people.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Other LiteBlue & ADA Related Pages
Schedule A – What is Reasonable Accomodation
LiteBlue; Online Access to More Than Just Your USPS Earnings Statement
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
Use LiteBlue to Manage your FEHB
Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms Using LiteBlue
LiteBlue Trims Again
The United States Postal Service is being hammered by the Congress and its stakeholders to do something highly innovative with its Financial Management System. Is it the financial management system that needs fixing or is the Post Office being killed off by technology? As more and more eTechnology takes over every single aspect of our lives, things will change and what we used to know as the “norm” will be outdated and extinct.
The Postal Service offered voluntary early retirement (VERA) last year to about 15,000 employees. They are again offering 3,000 postmasters the opportunity to retire early, this time with an financial incentive of $10,000. Post Offices are cutting back on hours across the country thereby needing fewer workers to cover the one-time around the clock effort. Postmasters and high-level supervisors have until August 18, 2014, to accept the offer. If the offer is accepted, the employee must separate from service by the end of September. The employees who are eligible for retirement can decline the offer and seek reassignment somewhere else in the system.
If the voluntary early retirement does not achieve the numbers intended by the Postal Service, they might move to a Reduction-in-Force by mid-October and separate employees by January 9, 2015. A USPS spokeswoman stated that if the postmasters do not accept the early retirement, take another postal job or resign, they would be laid off. I am drawn by that statement to a lesson from the late poet, Maya Angelou. She said, “When you learn teach and when you get give.”
Before I continue with the post I want to help the USPS spokeswoman restate her statement and I do that with the greatest amount of respect. That is what HR Leaders do, massage statements so they engender respectability. Often when people are under pressure to achieve a goal in a fishbowl, they may speak without their otherwise diplomacy. This is how the statement might have been said, “The Postal Service has been very fortunate to have a significant number of dedicated men and women to carry the mail and the many other duties we gladly accept. The Post Office is not exempt from the economic turbulence the nation has faced and is still facing. We are hoping that our employees who are eligible for retirement will seriously consider taking early retirement so that we will not have to entertain a Reduction-in-Force or a possible layoff. The Post Office is a family and we have always worked together to provide one of the best services to the nation I know. I am confident that our Voluntary Early Retirement efforts will be successful. Thank you.”
The Post Office has reduced the number of employees at facilities across the country significantly via attrition absent of a layoff since initiating the Postal Plan in 2012. I am sure they will continue the effort with much success and diplomacy. The nation appreciates the Postal Service.
P.S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Other LiteBlue Related Pages
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
Use LiteBlue to Manage your FEHB
You can use LiteBlue and PostalEase to manage your Allotments
Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms Using LiteBlue
The Inevitable
Some of our posts have focused on postal employees in general. We have not dedicated any of our posts specifically to those men and women who actually carry the mail through towns, cities, states and rural areas across the United States. These fine men and women are called Letter Carriers.
We call them our post men and women and we know them personally because we have gotten used to seeing them on a regular basis. My carrier’s name is June just like the month and she is as pleasant as a Summer day. We all stop to chat with her just long enough not to interfere with her work and then we move on knowing we will see her tomorrow.
But what happens when an Active Letter Carrier Dies is the name of a pamphlet put out by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). It is a neatly compacted pamphlet filled with information to assist family members through a most trying time.
Individuals who have lost loved ones in service know all too well the pain of having to fill out forms and notify the appropriate personnel of a family member’s death during an absolutely traumatic period in any family’s life. Becoming familiar with the information in the pamphlet will help to lessen the pain of dealing with the death of a loved one.
Planning for the business of the end of our lives is inevitable. Talk to your family members about your end of life plans. Read and become familiar with information made available to you through your employer or member organization. Also make sure the information you are reading is current as laws, policies and regulations change that might impact the way your family members and survivors handle the business of the end of your life.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Other LiteBlue Related Pages
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
Use LiteBlue to Manage your FEHB
You can use LiteBlue and PostalEase to manage your Allotments
Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms Using LiteBlue
LiteBlue and Other Tools For Planning
The question of having enough money to live in retirement always looms over our heads. Is over-planning equivalent to under-planning? I am not sure if the degree of planning is what is at issue. Rather, it is the act of planning period that should come into play.
The Postal Service, along with LiteBlue, provides many tools to its workforce to begin the process of moving into retirement with confidence. The Postal Service has structured a National Retirement Counseling System (NRCS) that enables all employees eligible for retirement to receive in-depth training on retirement benefits, how they work in retirement and what to expect. NRCS wants every employee to receive all the information necessary to make the best decisions possible to turn the years they have worked into a satisfying retirement future.
The NRCS allows persons eligible for retirement to ask all the questions necessary to assist them in the process of transitioning from work to retirement. Twice a year an annuity estimate is mailed to the homes of those persons currently eligible for retirement. The computer-generated estimate allows postal workers to assess and evaluate their financial picture and to make changes where needed in their plans for retirement.
Most organizations begin to counsel employees within a fews years years of retirement. These employees are able to get annuity estimates that will assist them in the planning process. Organizations tend to concentrate on retirement during this period because the likelihood of things changing significantly in the work profile of these employees is fairly remote. Generally, in calculating an annuity estimate, the high-three average salary is key. Therefore, if you are about to retire in 3 – 5 years, your salary may not change significantly.
Remember these are only your annuity estimates and what your numbers will really look like depend solely on when you submit your application for retirement and the actual process begins.
Start planning early so that when the actual time comes, both you and your spouse will have more than a basic understanding of how your benefits work in retirement.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Other LiteBlue Related Pages
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
Use LiteBlue to Manage your FEHB
You can use LiteBlue and PostalEase to manage your Allotments
Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms Using LiteBlue
Postal Employee – STAPLES® Survey
Postal Employee – YOUR OPINION MATTERS
The USPS has opened over 50 ‘Test’ USPS locations inside of STAPLES® locations throughout the Country. Your opinion about this event matters – Our results will be published and we will be forwarding our findings to the USPS for review and consideration.
www.PSRetirement.com is conducting a Survey of USPS employees.
PSRetirement.com, through the ‘Postal Employee – STAPLES®‘ survey is requesting feedback from Postal employees about the USPS’s decision to open USPS locations in over 50 ‘test market’ STAPLES® stores.
If you were selected to participate in this survey please do so –
If you have NOT received your survey and would like to participate please request your survey by submitting your email address in the comment section below – we will promptly send one to you.
Your opinion matters – Make it count.
* To say ‘Thank You’ for the time you spend filling out the survey PSRetirement.com is offering survey participants a Retirement Benefit Analysis free of charge.
Postal and LiteBlue Related Pages
What Is LiteBlue?
PostalEase / LiteBlue
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
Use LiteBlue to Manage your FEHB
You can use LiteBlue and PostalEase to manage your Allotments
Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms Using LiteBlue
Changing Your LiteBlue / PostalEase Password
Changing Your PostalEase Password
By now, you will almost certainly have received your new LiteBlue / PostalEase password and have thought about visiting ssp.usps.gov to make the change (ssp www.usps.gov).
The letter you have received contains a temporary password in the upper right hand corner of the letter. You may have to search for the password as it is not clearly identified, but it is there if you look.
To effect the change, you will need to visit https://ssp.usps.gov/ssp-web/login.xhtml. As you go to the website you will need to enter your LiteBlue (employee) ID and the temporary LiteBlue password.
Once you are logged in, you will need to set up and then save your new LiteBlue password. Please remember, however, that LiteBlue / PostalEase will be accepting your new (ssp www.usps.gov) passwords after April 28th, 2014.
Other LiteBlue Related Pages
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
Use LiteBlue to Manage your FEHB
You can use LiteBlue and PostalEase to manage your Allotments
Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms Using LiteBlue
Contact us for more information
*Using this form will add you to the Psretirement newsletter.
LiteBlue program: Log On
Log On to the LiteBlue Program
What I find fascinating about the LiteBlue program is that it is not only an easy and fast way of communicating and staying connected for Postal employees but for family member as well. Sometimes what is offered to an employee as part of the benefits package can be thoroughly confusing and the LiteBlue program certainly helps the postal employee gain some clarity. So many questions and sometimes what you are looking for simply escapes your consciousness. You turn the next page and find what you thought should be right before your eyes is not there.
It might even be that you didn’t really understand what LiteBlue category the item fell under that you were looking for in the first place. LiteBlue takes all the worry away and makes it simple and easy for Postal employees to find the information they are seeking. Through LiteBlue, the information is right at their fingertips.
If you are looking to see how your money is working for you and your family and you need to know more about what is available, the LiteBlue program has a category called MY MONEY. You will be able to access programs and see how they fit into your planning process for career development and retirement planning. Using LiteBlue.usps.gov you can gain access to programs such as:
Money Management
• Commuter Program
• OPM Voluntary Contributions
• Credit Union
• Combined Federal Campaign
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Retirement Plan
Payroll
• Allotments/Payroll
• Federal W4
• eTravel Net to Bank
• Savings Bonds
Employee Resources where postal employees can help each other
• Employee Assistance Program
• Postal Employee Relief Fund
We are going to discuss other advantages LiteBlue has to offer to Postal Workers in additional posts on Log On To LiteBlue or the Self-Service Portal (ssp www.usps.gov).
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Log On To LiteBlue – Continued 1
Log On To LiteBlue – Continued 2
Related LiteBlue Articles
How To Bid Assignments / Routes On LiteBlue
What Postal employees need to do on LiteBlue before retirement
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
Changing Your LiteBlue / PostalEase Password Through ssp.USPS.gov
eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
Use LiteBlue to Manage your FEHB
You can use LiteBlue and PostalEase to manage your Allotments
Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms Using LiteBlue
USPS LiteBlue: Access to More Than Just Your Earnings Statement
ePAYROLL is another www.LiteBlue.usps.gov feature available to you through USPS LiteBlue ‘MY HR.’
“Employee apps” such as “My HR” have been available for several years now through LiteBlue — your HR website on USPS LiteBlue. Among your self-service Employee apps is ePayroll, which is available to nearly all USPS employees (rural delivery employees are not included) who wish to use direct deposit.
The USPS LiteBlue ePayroll app is available to USPS employees 24 hours a day giving you immediate access to your earning statements. Employees can review their earning statements for up to 40 consecutive previous pay periods. (Don’t forget that your USPS LiteBlue access is removed once you separate from service).
Take the STAPLES® Survey – let your voice be heard.
Earnings statements on LiteBlue ePayroll is available the employee once new records are processed. The LiteBlue ePayroll statements provide more detail than traditional printed statements on processed allotments, benefit deductions, withholdings and leave balances. In addition LiteBlue ePayroll also provides the user with online guides so employees can better understand their earnings statements and all of the information contained within them.
“Go Green” with ePayroll
Employees who wish can also store their records electronically on their computers without the need to print out the statements themselves.
How to Access ePayroll (you have 3 ways):
· Go to www.LiteBlue.usps.gov
o Select the Employee Apps ‘carousel’ at the center of the home page.
· On LiteBlue;
o Select the My HR tab and then the “Find Employee Apps” section.
· On LiteBlue;
o Select the employee apps button near the bottom of the ‘My HR’ pages.
What can you do on LiteBlue?
Payroll:
Allotment and Net-to-Bank selections
e-Travel net-to-bank options
Make changes to your Federal W-4
Add, cancel or change your Savings Bond options
View up to 15 years of earnings W-2
Benefits:
Use PostalEase
Change your FEHB options
Enroll, change or cancel your Thrift Savings Plan contributions
You can only change, enroll or cancel your Thrift Savings Plan through LiteBlue. To make Thrift Savings Plan fund transfers, request a Thrift Savings Plan Loan or withdrawal and also view periodic Thrift Savings Plan statements please access your TSP.gov account directly.
Add, change or cancel your Thrift Savings Plan Catch-up contributions
Enroll in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
Request an Annual Leave Exchange
NOTE: These selections are typically made during Open Season – You should verify the dates for Open Season.
USPS employees will need their Employee ID and USPS PIN number in order to access LiteBlue. For further information on how to use LiteBlue click HERE.
Other LiteBlue Related Pages
What Is LiteBlue?
PostalEase / LiteBlue
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
Use LiteBlue to Manage your FEHB
You can use LiteBlue and PostalEase to manage your Allotments
Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms Using LiteBlue
LiteBlue: How To Use USPS LiteBlue
On LiteBlue.usps.gov, enter “I Am A Craft Employee”
How to use LiteBlue
To use LiteBlue and view your information, visit the website (LiteBlue.usps.gov). You will find the site by clicking HERE. The site is maintained by the USPS as part of the United States Postal Service employee service extranet.
You will need to fill in the required fields on the login screen (see below for visual instructions). You will also need several forms of identification in order to access USPS.
What You Will Need to access your account;
Your USPS employee ID number.
You can find your USPS Employee ID Number on any one of your earnings statements if you do not already know it.
Your USPS PIN number, which was given to you for access to PostalEASE.
Stay up to date on your USPS career development;
By navigating the menus on USPS site you will be able to stay up to date on your career and access other important information.
You can find information about your;
USPS Service performance,
Your Postal Employee benefits package and
USPS revenue.
Leave feedback on USPS.
If you have suggestions or need additional information, select the feedback option.
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What Postal employees need to do before retirement
What Postal Employees Should Do Before Retirement
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eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications
You can use PostalEase to manage your Allotments
Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms
The information on this page and website, including links, images, and references are made available to you for information purposes only. Public Sector Retirement, LLC (PSRetirement.com) is NOT affiliated with the USPS or any other Government Agency. PSRetirement.com makes these links available but does not guarantee the information or administer these unrelated sites. PSRetirement.com also cannot access your private employee or retirement information and we cannot reset your PIN numbers or provide you with Tax information. Please review the Terms of Use for clarification and please contact Shared Services or your Post Master for further information.
Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney
Living Will and the Power of Attorney
A Living Will is an advanced directive giving doctors and hospitals expressed instructions regarding how you want your health care treatment handled. In the event of incapacitation or an irreversible coma and you are unable to articulate your desires, a Durable Power of Attorney can act on your behalf, while you are still alive, ensuring your wishes are carried out. These types of documents are an incredibly important part of your financial plan. The Living Will is generally focused on whether or not an individual wishes to have his or her life sustained by life support systems. Hospitals and physicians are more and more supportive of patients having a ‘living will.’
Whether to sustain life or not by artificial means is such a personal and highly emotional encounter that doctors and hospitals are not eager to bare that responsibility or to have to make such a crucial decision. It is very important that we put plans in place when our capacity to do so is fully intact not leaving painstakingly difficult decisions to be sorted out between family members and loved ones.
For clarity, let’s distinguish between the roles of ‘Power of Attorney’ and ‘Durable Power of Attorney’. Power of Attorney is a fairly well-known concept which is generally invoked for carrying out financial matters when the principal cannot be present. However, when the principal dies the power of attorney also terminates.
Durable Power of Attorney may be a more useful tool when dealing with the elderly and the informed. It allows individuals who can no longer conduct their own financial affairs and affairs otherwise, to continue doing so through the Durable Power of Attorney arrangement. There are no hearings or court proceedings to appoint someone Durable Power of Attorney. It is a simple matter of signing a legal document.
Once again, doing your homework is the key ingredient to success. If you are considering moving in this direction in your planning process, be as certain as humanly possible, that you choose someone you can trust who will always have your best interest at heart.
You may also find it necessary to have both a Medical and Financial Durable Power of Attorney. The Medical Durable Power of Attorney would only be able to handle and speak for your medical treatment and care; while the Financial Durable Power of Attorney would only be able to handle your financial concerns and matters.
In planning your estate, one of the best approaches is to talk to your family about what you plan to do. Open communication with family members and those involved in your life’s achievements concerning how you want to divide your assets is part of implementing an action plan that will help you retire in comfort and security.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
For information on your retirement plan and your investments – check your TSP.gov Account regularly.
For postal employees – your PostalEase LiteBlue account is your portal to much more than just your earnings statement
LiteBlue: What Postal employees should do on LiteBlue Before Retirement
What Postal employees should do on
LiteBlue.usps.gov
Before Retirement and Separation
Your information that is currently available on LiteBlue will be gone after your separation. Once you leave service LiteBlue will no longer be available to you, so be sure to download the following list from LiteBlue so you can maintain your own records.
Before You Retire Access LiteBlue and Retain the Following Records
- Your entire eOPF,
- earnings statements in ePayroll,
- W-2s in PostalEASE and
- anything else you may want in the future
Periodically, postal employees will face challenges with OPM after retirement and will need these documents. All of this can be found through your LiteBlue Account and should be downloaded and saved before your retirement.
To download your entire eOPF;
- Click on “Access Personnel Folder Now!” and
- Choose “Print Entire eOPF.”
- On the LiteBlue account, (Once the .PDF is generated you will be able to find it in a small box at the lower left corner of your LiteBlue screen. You will want to save the .PDF to your computer and possibly save a printed copy for your records.
If eligible for an incentive payment;
Download PS Form 3077
- Give your employing office the address where you want your incentive payment to be sent.
- The incentive agreement stipulates that eligible employees will complete PS Form 3077, Request to Forward Salary Check, and submit it to their employing office.
- In the absence of a PS Form 3077, incentive payments will be mailed to the location where you last worked.
o Download the PS Form 3077 Here
Update your address through LiteBlue. In the event you have difficulty with your LiteBlue account access, as some have, this would be another reason to submit PS Form 3077.
Other LiteBlue Related Pages
