Postal Early Out: VERA Information in case the rumors come to fruition

Are you contemplating a possible early retirement from your postal career? If you are, and you are reading this, then you are already one step ahead of the majority. You are obviously someone who is seeking information so you can make the most informative decision you can make. Anyone keeping up with the economics of the mailing industry can tell you there are changes going on in this industry. The leader in this industry is the United States Postal Service. The mailing industry has been seriously eroded by the internet. The USPS has been damaged not only from the internet, but by the corporate competition of large mailers and large mail movers. These groups have pressured congress to force the Postal Service to relinquish the monopoly it had once held. They have found success in convincing government and the masses, that the USPS should compete with large mailers. So unless the Universal Service requirement prevails, the postal service employment numbers will decline substantially. According to the USPS, mail volume has declined substantially. As we have been taught, "for every action, there is an equal..." or greater reaction. So the writing on the wall is this: Mail volume is rapidly declining, the postal service must reduce employees. The hopes are that this reduction will take place through attrition. However, it must be factored in that people are working longer than in the past due to a greater life expectancy, as well as the fact that cost of health care and energy have made retiring cost prohibitive. Therefore, as the rumors support, the USPS will more than likely have to convince employees to retire by offering some type of voluntary early retirement incentive. Most likely, since the USPS has been forced to compete with private industry, the employees of the USPS and their unions, will insist on buyout incentives equating to large cash offers, no early-out "age" penalties, and reasonable health insurance coverage. OPM has the basic starting point for this. The OPM website explains this as VERA or Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, which allows agencies that are undergoing substantial restructuring, reshaping, downsizing, transfer of function, or reorganization to temporarily lower the age and service requirements in order to increase the number of employees who are eligible for retirement. The authority encourages more voluntary separations and helps the agency complete the needed organizational change with minimal disruption to the work force. By offering these short term opportunities, an agency can make it possible for employees to receive an immediate annuity years before they would otherwise be eligible.

An agency must request VERA and receive approval from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) before the agency may offer early retirement to its employees. The approval from OPM will stipulate a period of time during which the option will remain available. Many agencies have been granted agency-specific VERA and are not required to seek OPM approval for their use of this option.

With this being said, as a postal employee or federal employee, you should familiarize yourself with VERA. Take a look at OPM's website at https://www.opm.gov/employ/vera/vera01.asp.

The website says, Voluntary Early Retirement offers apply to employees covered under both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). When an agency has received VERA approval from OPM, an employee who meets the general eligibility requirements may be eligible to retire early. The employee must:

1. Meet the minimum age and service requirements -
* At least age 50 with at least 20 years creditable Federal service, OR
* Any age with at least 25 years creditable Federal service;
2. Have served in a position covered by the OPM authorization for the minimum time specified by OPM (usually 30 days prior to the date of the agency request);
3. Serve in a position covered by the agency's VERA plan; and
4. Separate by the close of the early-out period.

There is no annuity reduction in FERS for employees who retire on an early voluntary retirement under age 55. A FERS Transferee with a CSRS Component in his/her annuity, who retires before age 55, will have the CSRS portion of the payable annuity reduced by one-sixth of one percent for each full month he/she is under age 55. No reduction will be applied to the FERS component of the annuity.

A FERS Annuity Supplement is payable to an employee who has completed at least one calendar year of FERS service when he/she reaches Minimum Retirement Age (MRA). MRA is age 55 to 57, depending on date of birth. The annuity supplement is payable until eligibility for Social Security begins at age 62, subject to an earnings limitation.

The OPM VERA website is very informative and a "must" read for all postal employees considering retirement.

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Postal Service revoked Centralia's ZIP code

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Centralia Mine Fire

"...Centralia is a borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population has dwindled from over 1,000 residents in 1981 to 12 in 2005[1] and 9 in 2007,[2] as a result of a 46-year-old mine fire burning beneath the borough. Centralia is now the least-populous municipality in Pennsylvania..."

Reference: en.wikipedia.org

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Nalcrest Florida 33856 ...Postal Retirmement Community

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Nalcrest: A retirement that's union-made

"...Bill Doherty turned the first shovel of earth on July 1, 1962, and Nalcrest—it stands for National Association of Letter Carriers Retirement, Education, Security and Training—began to take shape in central Florida.

Down the road is one of only a handful of union-built communities in the country, but Fedhaven went bankrupt years ago. No so for Nalcrest, which remains nonprofit. In 2002, the Nalcrest Foundation made its final mortgage payment and is no longer under U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations...."

Reference: www.nalc.org

Postal Service service must act more like a private company

Price of Stamps Not the Only Thing to Change for U.S. Postal Service

"...A new federal law mandates that the mail service must act more like a private company by showing profits. Also, it has not and will not receive government subsidization. "Tax payers aren't paying our wages. They haven't for years, and a lot of people still think that we're government subsidized and we're not," says Liz Snow, an Idaho Falls Post Master..."

Reference: www.localnews8.com

Postal Rate Change Tips

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USPS Rate-Change Tips for E-tailers

"...No Fuel Surcharge for USPS
While this may discouraging, Mike Colgate, of Endicia, said that one benefit of the USPS service is that there are no extra charges. "There are about 90 different surcharges you can get from private carriers, the top four being for fuel, rural addresses, incorrect addressing and residential status," he said. "Private carriers can cost up to three times as much as the USPS with these added to the bill."..."

Reference: www.ecommerce-guide.com

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Undelivered Mail Found at Former Postal Service employee's home

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100,000 Pieces Of Undelivered Mail Found At Postal Worker's Home

"...the mail was taken to the Raleigh distribution center where they are still going through the mail to determine what can and can not be delivered at this late date..."

Reference: www.nbc17.com

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Postage Stamps Rise 1 cent on Monday, May 12, 2008

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USPS Announces New Prices as of Monday

"...The restructured price list offers some savings, among which reduced Express Mail prices for items shipped to addresses closer to home, lower online postage prices for Express Mail and Priority Mail and Volume Express Mail price rebates for frequent shippers...." Reference: www.efluxmedia.com

From the Auderbach Collection

Posted: 05.11.2008 @ 10:00 PM Central

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2008 Federal SES Executive Pay Schedule

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OPM has posted the 2008 Salary Tables at their website.



Reference: http://www.opm.gov/oca/08tables/

OPM Issues Findings from the 2008 Survey of the Senior Executive Service

News Advisory

"...On Tuesday, May 13, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will issue the governmentwide results from the 2008 Survey of the Senior Executive Service. The Survey, which was administered on-line in January and February to all SES (career, noncareer and term), focused on the new SES pay-for-performance system, executive development and general attitudes toward work..."

Reference: opm.gov

Frank Sinatra Stamp

Postal Chairman of the Board to Deliver ‘The’ Chairman of the Board
"...Frank Sinatra Stamp to be issued May 13 Special Ceremonies in New York City, Las Vegas and Hoboken, NJ..."
Reference: www.usps.com

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Unions Attempt to Preserve Postal Universal Service for the American People

Postal Reform Act Is No Endorsement of Privatization
"...“The issue of the Universal Service Obligation is a public policy issue; it cannot and should not be driven solely by economists of any political stripe or of all political stripes,” Reid testified. “The Postal Service belongs to the American people. It is a fundamental service provided to the American people.”..."
Reference: www.apwu.org

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U.S.P.S. Post $707 Million Loss Quarter 2, 2008

U.S. Postal Service lost $707 mln in 2nd quarter

"...The Postal Service has cut costs and increased efficiency, reducing its work hours by more than 18 million during first two quarters of 2008 compared with same period in 2007..."
Reference: www.reuters.com

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FERS Special Retirement Supplement

QUESTION: Does the Special Supplement approximate the amount of Social Security I will get at age 62?

ANSWER: No. The Special Supplement approximates the portion of an estimated Social Security benefit that you would earn during civilian service that is creditable toward the FERS portion of your annuity. Since the formula for the Special Supplement assumes a working life of 40 years, each year of FERS service is worth one-fortieth of the estimated Social Security benefit.

This information and more on the FERS Social Security Supplement can be found at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Online

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FERS Social Security Supplement

Under the Federal Employees Retirement System, what needs to be provided to receive the Social Security supplement for those retiring before age 62? "...meant to mimic the Social Security benefit (based only on your FERS civilian service), it actually is paid as part of the FERS basic retirement benefit from the Office of Personnel Management. Receiving the FERS supplement does not affect the amount of your Social Security benefit at 62...." Reference: www.govexec.com

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Mail Handler National Convention

OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL MEMBERS TO GET INVOLVED IN 2008 NPMHU NATIONAL CONVENTION "...The Credentials Committee is chaired this year by Local 321 (Colorado) Vice President Don Gonzales, and also includes (in alphabetical order) Mark Addington, President of Local 327 (Montana); Bob Blum, Vice President of Local 300 (New York metropolitan area); Don Chapman, President of Local 325 (Mississippi); Julio Figueroa, President of Local 313 (Puerto Rico); Lisa Greer, Recording Secretary and N. Metro Branch President of Local 310 (Georgia); Teresa Harmon, Virginia State Executive Board Member of Local 305 (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia); Jessie Leonard, President of Local 317 (Alabama); and Bruce Phillips, President of Local 329 (Arkansas and Tennessee).

Meeting in July will be several committees that will consider all proposals that are timely submitted to amend the NPMHU constitutions or for adoption as resolutions by the elected delegates. To become involved in this process, mail handlers who are members in good standing of the NPMHU are allowed to submit proposals for consideration first by these committees, and ultimately by the delegates meeting in Convention. To submit proposals, mail handlers must follow the requirements set forth in the NPMHU National Constitution...." Reference: www.npmhu.org

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Graffiti on USPS Mailboxes...

Painting graffiti on private or public property is a crime

"...U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman in Indianapolis, Kim Yates, said one postal employee is assigned to handle mailboxes damaged by graffiti. He uses a cleaner to remove the graffiti paint. If this doesn't work he paints the box on site or swaps it for another one. Yates said the Postal Service in Indianapolis averages graffiti removal on five boxes a week. Report such graffiti to your local post office..."
Reference: indystar.com


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Forever Stamp Humor

Now's the time to become a stamp collector
"...I am going to take my hoard of stamps, put them away in the safety deposit box like savings bonds, then one day when the rest of you are paying $4 to mail a water bill, I'll be doing the same at a tenth the cost. I shared this brilliant financial strategy with my wife, in hopes she might let me invest the government rebate check George Bush is mailing out this month..."

Reference: chronicle.augusta.com

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Postal Employee Jury Duty Scam

Postal worker gets 5 months for fraudulent jury service
"...summoned for jury service in October 2003 and served on a jury. But then he submitted fraudulent documents to his boss showing he was away on jury service many days past the time he was dismissed. He was caught when a supervisor became suspicious when he repeated the scam in 2006...."
Reference: www.examiner.com

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Postal Service Launching Competitive Expedited Mail Prices

Express Mail Will Be the Best Overnight Deal in the Country for Most Shippers "...“We are excited to offer our customers these price incentives — a first for the Postal Service,” said Gary Reblin, vice president, Expedited Mail. “We already have world-class products and first-rate service, and our new prices make us the best value in the market.”..." Resource: www.usps.com

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USPS Retaliation for Unfair Labor Practice

Court Upholds Unfair Labor Charge Against USPS

"...The case stemmed from an incident on Aug. 25, 2004, when an employee at a Florida post office discovered white powder in a tray of letters. Mindful of incidents involving anthrax in the mail, several workers protested the supervisor’s instructions to process the mail. The supervisor told the shop steward at the Destin post office to shut up, and an employee filed an unfair labor practice charge, alleging that the supervisor had refused to allow the shop steward to perform his duties...."

Reference: www.apwu.org

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