Voluntary Early Retirement Authority

OPM Reduction in Force Portal

"...Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) 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..."    

Tags: VERA, RIF, Early Retirement

Source: www.opm.gov

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OPM to remove RetireEZ from the web

OPM suspends contract for electronic retirement system

"...One federal source said the prime vendor for the contract and OPM have had concerns regarding aspects of the program that the vendor says are out of the scope of the contract. A former OPM employee also said there has been problems with data cleansing for the system, noting that annuity calculations have not consistently been correct as a result...."    

Source: www.govexec.com

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spouses' federal retirement benefits

New CRS reports on spouses' federal retirement benefits

"...A state court can award a former spouse a share of the employee's retirement annuity, a survivor annuity, or both. A court also can award a former spouse of a federal employee a portion of the employee's Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account balance as part of a divorce settlement...."    

Source: lawprofessors.typepad.com

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Postal Workers Protected from Retaliation for Age-Discrimination Complaints

"...This is an important victory for postal and federal employees,” APWU President William Burrus said. “The ruling makes clear that postal workers enjoy the same protection against retaliation as employees in the private sector..."    

Source: www.apwu.org

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Postal Buyout

What is the latest information on the possibility of a buyout or early retirement bonus from the postal service?

A quick search of the web offers numerous possibilities in this arena. However, all the sources verify that there is not a postal buyout offer on the table at this time. Rumors are purely speculation and wishful thinking on the part of many. It appears that the environment is ripe for such offers. Some think that the USPS feels they can reduce employment numbers adequately through attrition. Although many feel reduction through attrition will not be sufficient due to the harsh economic realities this country is now facing, therefore many postal employees are either delaying retirement or not even considering it anymore. With the economy in such bad shape and postal pay raises being so small under the latest union contracts, many feel there will have to be an early out retirement cash bonus before retirement will be considered. If you are seeking more information on this subject, a search of the web offers the following informative links:

Postal eDaily

Postal News Network

Federal Times

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Postal and Federal Special Retirement Supplement

How do I calculate my eligibility for the FERS Annuity Supplement?

According to OPM, the supplement is computed as if you were age 62 and fully insured for a social security benefit when the supplement begins. By law, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) first estimates what your full career (40 years) social security benefit would be. Then we calculate the amount of your civilian service under FERS and reduce the estimated full career social security benefit accordingly. For example, if your estimated full career social security benefit would be $1,000 and you had worked 30 years under FERS, we would divide 30 by 40 (.75) and multiply ($1,000 x .75 = $750). The result would be your special retirement supplement, prior to any reductions...."    

Source: OPM

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Court sides with Destin postal worker in white powder case

Court sides with Destin postal worker in white powder case

"...Earlier this month, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the United States Postal Service broke the law when a Destin postal supervisor threatened an employee for filing a labor complaint..."    

Source: www.thedestinlog.com

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April 2008 COLA Update Released on May 14

COLA Update: APRIL INFLATION UP 0.7 PERCENT

"...The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 0.7 percent in April 2008 according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). Released on May 14..."   

Reference: www.narfe.org

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TSP and Taxes

TSP and Taxes

"...Do you know the circumstances under which you can withdraw funds from your Thrift Savings Plan account without a tax penalty? Are your heirs..."    

Source: www.govexec.com

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Memorial Day

Veterans talk about holiday's significance

"..."They wanted to amputate my legs, but I wouldn't let 'em. I still have the letter to prove it," said the 77-year-old retired postal worker...."    

Source: www.ocala.com

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Corporate cherry-picking isn't delivering the goods

"...of public service privatisation and commercialisation. Not for them the pickled nostrums of the past: if the corporate world could deliver the goods, it had to be given the freest of reins. The farce of their claims couldn't have been more clearly demonstrated than in the liberalisation and creeping privatisation of Britain's postal service...."

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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New USPS Processing and Distribution Center Construction in Nashville

Postal Service to build massive center near airport

Nashville Post (subscription) -

"... Panattoni Development Co. will oversee construction and is working with the USPS on traffic studies of the area. The new facility is likely to employ more ...
The US Postal Service plans to build a 626000-square-foot processing and distribution center near Nashville International Airport..."

Reference: www.nashvillepost.com

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TSP Investing

Who's Investing What, and Where?

"...Do you ever ask, or wonder, how your coworkers invest in the TSP?..."

Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com

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Potter at the National Postal Forum

Postmaster General Embraces Change

"...Potter spoke about new technologies that are providing these solutions — Intelligent Mail Barcode and the Flat Sequencing System (FSS). FSS is new technology that will speed the sorting and delivery of large envelopes, catalogs and magazines, quadrupling productivity. FSS machines also will be able to read the Intelligent Mail Barcode, allowing mailers and the Postal Service to track mail throughout the sortation process, improving service and reducing costs to mailers and consumers...."

Reference: www.usps.com

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Mail Network Protection Act

Support for Mail Network Protection Act Tops 100

"...The legislation, introduced last November by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), would require the Postal Service to bargain with postal unions before it engages in significant contracting-out and protect inexpensive, trustworthy mail service for the American public..."

Reference: www.apwu.org

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Advanced Facer Canceller Systems 200 (AFCS 200)

Siemens wins $245M contract from US Postal Service

"...from the United States Postal Service (USPS) for 550 Advanced Facer Canceller Systems (AFCS) 200 to replace and modernize its existing fleet of AFCS. The AFCS currently being used has been in service for almost 20 years and is used by the Postal Service(TM) to cancel First-Class mail...."

Reference: siemens.com

More Related Resources: Siemens Postal Automation

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Federal Worker COLA -v- Retiree COLA

You Can't Take It With You

"...The horse race between a pay raise for workers and a COLA (cost of living adjustment) for retirees has some working feds thinking..."

Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com

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Baxter The Postal Cat Needs Home

Holland cat up for adoption after joyride under postal truck's hood

"...Baxter is in need of a good home, but keep him away from postal trucks...."

Reference: www.wzzm13.com

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TSP Rewards the Patient Investor

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TSP posts positive returns as interfund transfers drop

"..."Those people who stuck it out [and did not made withdrawals], they probably have come back to pretty much flat," FRTIB Chairman Andrew Saul said, suggesting that positive returns could begin to compensate for the market's decline earlier in the year..."

Reference: www.govexec.com

Resources: TSP investors should understand the concept of Dollar Cost Averaging.


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Netflix offers service alternative to Post Office shipping of DVD

Netflix to Sell a Device for Instantly Watching Movies on TV Sets

"...Netflix, which pioneered the business of offering DVD movie rentals by mail, is now offering its 8.2 million subscribers an option to watch movies easily on their televisions without involving the post office..."

Reference: www.nytimes.com

Other Resources: Netflix Ready Device

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