SOURCE: www.apwu.org
The American Postal Workers Union is working fervently to make certain that the Postal Service’ s decision t o suspend employer contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) does not negatively affect the nat i on’ s postal employees, President Cl i f f Guffey- said on June 22. ” We will take every step necessary to ensure that retirement benefits are protected. We are currently evaluating the best course o f action.”
There is a solution to the Postal Servi ce’ s financial crisis, he noted:
• The USPS has overfunded its FERS and CSRS retirement accounts by bi l l i ons o f dollars;
• It is the only employer – public or private – that is required to pre-fund the healthcare benefits o f future retirees. This obligation drains more than $5 billion annually from the USPS budget, and is the principal cause o f the Postal Servi ce’ s dire financialcircumstances.
“Congress must act no w to correct these inequities,” Guffey said. ” I t can start by passing H.R. 1351, which would allow the Postal Service to apply pension overpayments to the pre-funding obligation. This bill would provide the USPS r el i ef from its financial crisis at no cost to taxpayers.
The Postal Servi ce’ s financial predicament is the result o f flawed legislation (the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act o f 2006) that Congress can and must correct, the union president added.
“Postal workers did not cause USPS financial problems and their retirement benefits should not be jeopardized to solve t hem. “