The U.S. Postal Service’s inspector general is out with a new overview of employee retirement options. This is a hot topic nowadays, given that USPS leaders have been open about their interest in using early-out incentives as a glide path to a much smaller agency.
One finding: More than 189,000 postal employees (that’s well above one-third of the current career workforce) are eligible to retire in fiscal 2012. That number appears to be a good bit higher than the figure used by postal execs, who generally put the ratio at around one in four. The report also notes that the Postal Service already has the authority to offer early retirements in fiscal 2012, and “may request an extension to” 2013.
The IG also makes no recommendations on how USPS leaders should proceed, but does offer a handy summary of annuity formulas, the mechanics of early retirement options, etc. Definitely worth a look.
5 Comments
I just wish they would do something now to retire people with the incentives to get ready for the people whose Postal facilities are being closed soon. They should put a two week open window ( Like from now till June 3 rd ) for people to apply for the incentives for retirement and be done with it.
Readers can find out, quickly and easily, how much their VSIP and retirment payments will be, by using the software at fedbens.us . Nine calculators for Federal benefits. No waiting.
Counting the number of USPS employees eligible for retirement. This is what you pay IG’s nearly 200K a yr. for and why it’s important to have so many accountants on IG staffs. You need someone who knows numbers like the Count on Seseme Street.
How many of that 189,000 are clerks, handlers, custodians, or other non mail delivering people? That might be a better way to determine where the retirements would do the most good. 100,000 carriers/ city and rural would pretty much not help the PO with the service, while diminishing their total cost.
response to not retiring yet: What service are you refering to it cannot be customer service, because postal management could care less about that. every time you turn around they’re streching routes longer and longer. If anything let the letter carriers go your already, killing us with dois,this and dois, that.