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March 28, 2024

Federal Employee Retirement and Benefits News

Tag: usps

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The Postal Service is Unlikely to Give Pension Payments

usps postal serviceA 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.

Third Quarter Losses and a Fuzzy Future

Third Quarter Losses and a Fuzzy Future 

lossesLosses and a It is no secret that the United States Postal Service has seen better financial days, and not much seems to be improving. Recently, the United States Postal Service reported a third quarter loss of $586 million. That’s right half a billion dollars lost in a time frame of three months, but good news, this is massive improvement to the reported losses one year ago –  $1.50 billion less.

“On a more positive note, despite a controllable loss reported for the quarter, our year-to-date controllable income is $1.2 billion,” stated Sarah Ninivaggi, USPS public relations representative. “This is basically a measure of business performance that the Postal Service controls – after the costs of legislative mandates have been backed out. We continue to see double-digit increases in package volume, which is a testament to the how we are meeting growing demand. Additionally, we are seeing improved productivity in many areas of our operations.”

While many are not jumping up and down at the “savings,” the newest loss pales in comparison to the multi-billion dollar deficit the entity currently operates under.

But how did USPS get into such a precarious situation? A few huge missteps in their past are still haunting the bottom line of USPS today.

A huge blow to the Postal Service’s financial statement was oversight from 1972-2003. The United States Postal Service paid an astonishing $103 billion more than it should have into Civil Service Retirement System for its retirees.  The same deficit ballooned with the same laissez faire accounting techniques from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in 1983 when the new Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) was introduced; adding another $36 billion to the overpayment.

Fast forward to 2007 when Congress mandated health benefits become pre-funded for retirees and instantaneously USPS has another $54 billion bill they cannot afford to pay right away. Bringing USPS deficit to the grand total of $200 billion.

Bringing us back to present day, and a changing market, it seem that the Postal Service is hanging off of a cliff that doesn’t have a rock bottom. The most recent reports indicate that first-class and standard mail usage is down another 2.3 percent this past quarter – a total decrease of 738 million pieces of mail of mail for the quarter.

“Unfortunately, first-class mail in particular, volumes are steadily declining.” stated Ninivaggi. “Those are more profitable services and higher-margin products. So when those decline it has a negative impact.”

The Postal Service also experienced an increase of $256 million in controllable expenses due to compensation costs and contractual salary escalations.

However, it isn’t all bad news coming out of USPS. Shipping and packaging revenue increased by 10.6 percent for the third quarter despite the drop in usage; this was aided by raised shipping costs. This makes the USPS’s controllable profit trend now in its third year.

“This three-year trend in operating profitability makes it clear the need to strengthen – not degrade – the now-profitable networks,” stated Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers. “We hope to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, the administration and the postmaster general to build on the progress achieved in the last Congress, within the mailing industry and among major stakeholders on consensus postal reform that promotes a strong and vibrant Postal Service.”

Under the reign of newest postmaster general Megan Brennan, USPS is aggressively trying to new tactics to stay relevant with Postal Services’ competitors. Trying such ventures as making Amazon deliveries on Sundays and holidays. Other ventures include expanding same-day deliveries, and performing test drives of grocery delivery services in select areas. Ms. Brennan is hoping to overturn an ancient Prohibition-era ban that prohibits the shipment of alcohol through the Postal Service.

In a USPS press release, Brennan stated, “the continued growth of our shipping and packaging services is a direct result of the Postal Service’s continued efforts to offer consumers more choices, excellent value and reliable service in a growing and competitive marketplace. We are investing in our network and continually enhancing our services to best compete for America’s shipping and packaging delivery business.”

Most notably, the postmaster general is calling for a modification to the mandate that forces USPS to prepay its retiree health benefits for 75 years and its worker compensation fund.

“We’re just reinforcing the need for comprehensive legislation to help restore us to a place of financial stability,” Ninivaggi said. “That would include things like adjusting the pre-funding mandate, integrating Medicare and providing us with some more flexibility for expanding products and services.”

Presently, the House and the Senate have a Bill waiting for approval to make changes to the USPS system. The Bill lays out changes to return the United States Postal Service back to its original ideology from 236 years ago; connect our growing nation through written communication at a reasonable price with reliable service, especially in rural areas.

 

Rollback Savings at the USPS?

Reducing USPS Stamp Prices

financialIn the midst of the United States Postal Service (usps.gov) making drastic changes to become profitable again, there will be a tiny step backwards come next spring. Stamp prices jumped three cents to 49¢ in January 2014 as an emergency step to cope with the Great Recession. However, the hike in stamp costs from 46¢ to 49¢ was only a temporary resolution. From the beginning the emergency price increase was to help stabilize USPS’ shaky finances and allow the Postal Service to raise $4 billion in additional revenue before USPS would need to lower stamp costs back down.

After a recent clarification from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and postal regulators, it has been declared that USPS is still entitled to collect another $1.1 billion before they are forced to roll the price of a stamp back. Based on an analysis from Save the Post Office, it is estimated that the 49¢ stamp will remain on sale until sometime in April 2016.

The Postal Service requested the emergency rate in 2013, citing the effects of the recession on its business to justify a 4.3 percent increase. Due to a law passed in 2006, the United States Postal Service can only raise its prices by the rate of inflation except under extraordinary circumstances.

While the proposed price increase was highly controversial, USPS stood its ground and argued the recession constituted extraordinary circumstances, and its overseeing body, the Postal Regulatory Commission agreed, but with stipulations. Originally, the Postal Regulatory Commission set a cap on the amount of money USPS could bring in as a result of the higher prices and the mailing agency was set to hit that ceiling this August, but USPS argued the need for the stipulation in court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit mostly sided with the original ruling from the Postal Regulatory Commission and also struck down the notion that the emergency rates should become permanent. Instead, the court said, the aftereffects of the recession have become “the new normal,” and the Postal Service needs to make adjustments to become prosperous in that new reality.

However, the court also ruled, that the PRC had haphazardly decided USPS could only count one year of revenue from a customer lost due to the recession; this determined the cap for how much money the Postal Service would be able to collect from the emergency rates. The court ruled the Commission would need to implement a more evidence-based approach and sent the provision back to the Postal Regulatory Commission to determine the actual effects of a lost customer.  An example of the modification, would be if a postal customer lost his job and cancelled his cable television subscription, USPS would lose the business of the cable company mailing his bill for as long as he went without his subscription; prior the PRC’s ruling only allowed for the Postal Service to receive 12 months of lost revenue.

In the new ruling, the Postal Service’s proposed methodology for counting mail volume losses was accepted. Utilizing the new methodology, the USPS is allowed to collect about 40 percent more pieces of mail with the elevated prices. Thus, granting the Postal Service the ability to collect another $1.1 billion and keep the higher stamp prices for about another eight months.

The emergency price boost to the stamp was the largest price increase in 11 years; 4.3 percent was in addition to the normal 1.7 percent increase to help combat inflation. But even with the ruling, the new lower price of the stamp has not been announced, but is estimated to go down about 4 percent, or 2¢. The Postal Service will have to give 45 days’ notice to alert customers when it plans to restore it prices back to their lower rate.

 

“The recent decision does not fully restore the Postal Service for the significant mail volume and revenue losses associated with the great recession,” said Darlene Casey, a postal spokeswoman. Postal officials have continuously stated that if the inflated prices were not made permanent the agency would most likely end up back in the red. This sentiment was reiterated following the ruling. The PRC decision “clearly demonstrates there are significant pricing constraints in the postal law that impact the long-term financial health of the Postal Service, and reinforces the need for legislative reform of the Postal Service business model,” Casey said.

With USPS already making huge changes trying to adjust and stay operational in the “new normal,” there is no telling what the setback will do to the USPS’ bottom line. Dealing with the millions of dollars of lost from lowering stamp prices back down could have the potential to shatter USPS’ already shaky finances.

However, many are optimistic that the ruling will send the Postal Services down a productive path.  “We believe that ending the exigent chapter will be good not only for customers of the USPS, but it also will enable the Postal Service to retain more of those customers and to focus on more long term strategic issues,” said Stephen Kearney, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers. “We urge the Postal Service to use the PRC order as a positive turning point for its future.”

 

USPS Related Articles

 

USPS Life Insurance For Postal Employees Through FEGLI

LiteBlue Trims Again

LITEBLUE, Shared Services and You

LiteBlue Heroes

Postal Workers Protest – “The U.S. Mail is Not for Sale”

USPS Life Insurance For Postal Employees Through FEGLI

Initially published on CompareFEGLI.com

FEGLI

 USPS Life Insurance For Postal Employees Through FEGLI

USPS life insurance for Service employees is provided through the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program.

The USPS will pay 100 percent of the cost of your Basic life insurance cover, and you pay 100 percent of the cost of optional insurance components.

Basic life insurance through FEGLI is equal to your salary rounded up to the next even thousand, plus two thousand dollars. Unless you explicitly waive it, new Postal Service employees automatically get signed up for Basic FEGLI life insurance cover without having to go through a physical or face any other eligibility issues.

 FEGLI Options For USPS Employees & LiteBlue

FEGLI options include FEGLI Option A, Option B and Option C. FEGLI Option A – Standard provides additional coverage of $10,000. FEGLI Option B allows Postal Service employees to add coverage equaling up to five units or multiples of your annual rate of basic pay.

READ More…..

USPS Has Fallen On Hard Times – Can LiteBlue Save It

USPS Has Fallen On Hard Times – Can LiteBlue Save It

 

The United States Postal Service is one of the largest semi-independent federal agencies in the United States, only being partially supported by tax dollars. However, just like every other staple agency in the country USPS has fallen onto difficult times, and are implementing plenty of changes and contemplating more dramatic changes for the near future.

USPSLiteBlue and the Retire website:

Let’s start with the positive, USPS employees are now able to use LiteBlue and “eRetire.” The new streamlined service allows employees to navigate their way through different retirement plans available through LiteBlue from the comfort of their home.  Using LiteBlue, the electronic process is applicable for employees who are within five years of retirement eligibility, and employees who are eligible for retirement immediately.

The simple LiteBlue / eRetire process allows full-time USPS employees login to the LiteBlue site and decide their retirement path step by step on the easy-to-use LiteBlue webpage. Full-time employees who meet the required eligibility specification can receive Federal Annuity estimates. Part-time employees and postal inspectors must still do manual inputs and contact the Human Resources Services Center to receive their annuity estimates in the mail.

USPS employees that are presently eligible for retirement, or at least within six months of retirement can perform the following tasks. Request, view and print their own annuity estimation based on employee retirement effect times and dates within 180 days. Additionally, employees within 180 days of retiring can order, print and download the Retirement Application Package.  Prospective retirees can either perform this task on the LiteBlue webpage, or request the application package to be delivered to their home within seven to ten business days.

Furthermore, LiteBlue offers the opportunities transitioning employees to attend counseling sessions. Group sessions are also available for employees to exchange information; group sessions are available to employees who will enter into retirement within 90 days. The LiteBlue webpage displays all appointments dates, times and locations available for employees to choose from.

 

LiteBlue – Change is on the Horizon:

After a decade of consecutive years of operating underneath a mounting deficit in excess of $47 billion, the United States Postal Service is proposing some monumental changes that will greatly impact its 536,000 employees. The Postal Service is seeking congressional approval for dramatic cutback and changes to its current system. The USPS is proposing to implement its own and much cheaper health benefits program, administer its own retirement system and significantly reduce its workforce by 120,000 employees. In addition, USPS is also seeking the flexibility to adjust the mail delivery schedule; meaning that Saturday deliveries would be a thing of the past. Curbside and central pick up locations are also on the docket to become standard versus current door-to-door delivery.

But how did the Postal Service get to this point? There are a couple of key elements that have led USPS to the point it is at now. First, is USPS is legally tied to Congress. Since 2006, USPS has been required to prefund $5.5 billion for future retirees. Initially, the payment was not an issue because the Postal Service was strong and the recession had not hit. Secondly, the volume of mail which USPS services has dropped more than 20% with modern-day technology, and companies like FedEx and UPS gaining momentum.

Keeping the Postal Service’s economic hurdles in mind, there are plenty of potential sources for revenue are being tossed around the discussion board. Re-implementing the Postal Savings Program, allowing lower-class families who don’t utilize a private bank to cash their checks at much less inflated rate. The Postal Service is also considering offering email and/or internet service at a comparable rate to competitors. Other ideas include ending restrictions on shipment of wine and beer, sales of fishing and hunting licenses and notary services.

In addition, the White House has mandated that the $5.5 billion healthcare payments for 2015 and 2016 are deferred until 2017 and USPS being reimbursed $1.5 billion in over over-costs to the Office of Personal Management.

The proposed changes are a second-round of “fat trimming,” to the entity. Previously, the Postal Service has reduced its employee base by 212,000 and was able to bring operational costs down by $12 billion. In addition to the cutbacks, the Postal Service also raised the price of the stamp .03¢ in January of 2014 to offset the devastating blow of the recession. The new plan, proposed by President Obama for the 2016 fiscal budget is projected to save $36 billion over the next 11 years.

While all of the proposed changes make economic sense, the union adamantly opposes all suggested changes to policy and workforce, stating that it will violate contractual obligations and harm collective bargaining. But with the U.S. Postal Service seeing a $569 million revenue increase for the 2014 fiscal year, it shows that innovative ideas will make a difference in an acute situation. In the meantime, the Postal Service will await an answer from Congress to see if the proposed changes will come to fruition

 

Other LiteBlue Related Links

Changing Your LiteBlue / PostalEase Password through ssp.USPS.Gov

LiteBlue; Online Access to More Than Just Your USPS Earnings Statement

Everything About LiteBlue (liteblue.usps.gov)

Royal Post Office vs U.S. Postal Service

Royal Post Office vs U.S. Postal ServicePost 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

What Is LiteBlue?

LiteBlue; Online Access to More Than Just Your USPS Earnings Statement

PostalEase / LiteBlue

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

honors postal employeesI 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

letter writing campaign
letter writing campaign

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

Post OfficeJuly 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

OPMWho 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.

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