Not affiliated with The United States Office of Personnel Management or any government agency

March 29, 2024

Federal Employee Retirement and Benefits News

Tag: www.liteblue

www.liteblue

Once Your Federal & Postal Retirement Plan Is In Place

Federal and Postal Retirement Planning

Federal and Postal Retirement PlanningAfter 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 Related Pages

What Is LiteBlue?

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

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.

Congress, You’ve Got Mail – From The Post Office

Got Maill 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

PostalEase / LiteBlue

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

LiteBlue Trims AgainThe 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 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 and Other Tools For Planning

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 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 and Counseling

Affiliation with LiteBlueMany federal workers don’t have the benefit of including their family members in counseling sessions about retirement.  Retirement impacts both the federal worker and the spouse of the federal or postal worker.  In Affiliation with LiteBlue – Local Postal Service personnel offices used to provide counseling services for active letter carriers.

Although individual counseling services are no longer provided in local postal service personnel offices for active letter carriers, the Human Resources Shared Services Center provides Group and Individual counseling sessions in many offices.  Spouses and postal workers are invited to attend both individual and group retirement sessions.

These sessions are important for worker and spouse because together the understanding of all the intricacies involved in retirement may be better realized.  There are many aspects of the retirement benefit that directly impact the spouse or family members of the postal workers.  Being involved and learning about the benefits offered to postal employees and how they work in retirement is critical.

Involving your spouse in information and counseling sessions is one of the most important steps you can take towards getting ready to retire in comfort and security.

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

 

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

Postal Employee – STAPLES® Survey

Postal

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

Receiving Your BEDB and Survivor Annuity Payment

Receiving your BEDB Payment

BEDBMany individuals who came of age when a lot of the automation we take for granted today was not in existence, have some reservations about BEDB direct deposit and taking care of their financial affairs online.  The Department of Treasury through which federal benefits are paid requires all federal benefits be made by electronic means.

Believe it or not, there are still some individuals who do not have bank accounts; they simply choose to handle their business otherwise where they find the most comfort and security.    The government recognizes this concern and for individuals who do not have bank accounts, payments can be made through a Direct Express Debit Card.  The BEDB annuity payment is automatically deposited to the card on the date you would otherwise receive your annuity payment and is immediately available for your use.

There are some benefits you cannot receive by direct deposit or the express debit card and they are the Basic Employee Death Benefit and the survivor annuity payment if your permanent address where you would ordinarily receive payments is outside of the United States in countries where the automated programs are not available.

You must notify the Office of Personnel Management as to how you wish to receive your BEDB payments by completing Section 1 of SF 3104 – Application for Death Benefits.  You can also send the Direct Deposit sign-up form (SF 1199A) to OPM’s Retirement Operations Branch – Boyers, Pennsylvania – P. O. Box 440 – 16017-0440.   You and your bank must complete the form.  You can also fax the information to OPM.  Visit the OPM website for a current fax number.

Open communication is the path to a future you are prepared to meet.

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

 

The deceased may have had additional life insurance through FEGLI.

Postal employee families are encourages to visit LiteBlue for information

 

BEDB: Basic Employee Death Benefit

Basic Employee Death Benefit (BEDB)

BEDBFederal employees’ spouses may be entitled to a Basic Employee Death Benefit (BEDB) upon the death of the employee if the following conditions are met:

• You were married to the deceased employee for at least nine months.  If the death occurred as a result of an accident, then the 9 month requirement does not apply.
• You were the parent of a child born out of the marriage even if the child was born after the death of the employee or retiree.  You are also entitled if the child was born out of wedlock and you and the deceased federal employee later married.

Under these provisions as the spouse you may be eligible for the BEDB that is equal to 50% of the employee’s final salary or the employee’s average salary if it is higher than the final salary plus $15,000.
The $15,000 is increased by the Civil Service Retirement System’s cost-of-living adjustments.

The same benefit may be paid to a former spouse in whole or partially if there is a court order on file at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) qualifying the ex-spouse to receive the benefit.  The former spouse must have been married to the deceased federal employee for at least nine months and did not remarry prior to reaching age 55.

It is important to know the facts so that important aspects of your federal retirement benefits and provisions can become part of your planning process to retire well.  If there are details about your benefits that you need more clarity on, visit your human resources office if you are an active federal employee.  If you are retired use your CSA number to contact the Office of Personnel Management so that you will know everything needed to live and retire in comfort and security.

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

You May also wish to look into Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) benefits

For more information on benefits of CSRS employees click HERE

For more information on benefit of FERS employees click HERE

Information for Postal employees will be found at www.LiteBlue.usps.gov

 

Enrollment for Medicare – Part B

Enrollment for Medicare Part B is based on numerous factors.

EnrollmentYou have the option to delay enrollment in Medicare Part B. One instance would be if you did not take Medicare Part B at the point of eligibility, for instance, because you or your spouse were still working and covered under an employee sponsored group health plan.

The Medicare enrollment period generally runs annually from January 1 – March 31.  Coverage begins on July 1 of the year of enrollment. Remember you may have to pay a premium surcharge for late enrollment unless you are covered by a group health plan like the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHB) based on current enrollment when you are first able to receive Medicare.

If you are disabled, your coverage can be as a result of your own or a family member’s current employment.

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

Medicare and FEHB can be confusing.  You may wish to continue your reading here.

For Postal Employees access your LiteBlue account here

Qualifying for Medicare

Qualifying for Medicare requires more than just reaching Age 65

Qualifying for MedicareAge 65 does not automatically qualify you to receive Medicare.  Age 65 is one of the eligibility criteria, but does not automatically qualify you to receive the benefit. Qualifying for Medicare is not as simple as many people believe. You must not only meet the age requirement, but either you or your spouse must have worked at least 10 years in a Medicare-covered employment in order to receive what is commonly referred to as free-Medicare-Part A (Hospital Insurance).
Working for 10 years under a Medicare covered employment provides you with the 40 credits, previously called quarters, needed to qualify.  On average, an employee earns 4 credits per year of employment, accumulating 40 credits in 10 years.
As of January 1, 1983, if you were a federal employee, you automatically qualify for Medicare.  Even if you do not qualify for Part A (premium free), the Social Security Administration might be able to direct you as to how you can obtain Part A of Medicare. Make sure to explore every option to ensure you will be qualifying for Medicare.
P. S.  Always Remember To Share What You Know.

 

For information on FEHB and Medicare please see the attached

Access PostalEase and LiteBlue Here

Not affiliated with The United States Office of Personnel Management or any government agency

©2021 Public Sector Retirement News. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
Powered By :  FMM Financial Media & Marketing, LLC, The Best Financial Advisor Websites