PRC Initiates Review of USPS Pension Liability
TweetWashington, DC – The Postal Regulatory Commission yesterday issued a Notice establishing Docket SS2010-1 to conduct a review of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension liability of the United States Postal Service.
“This is an important study which will provide information regarding the financial health and viability of the Postal Service, and it will assist the Commission as it analyzes the mounting financial losses the Postal Service is projecting,” said Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway.
The Commission action is called for under section 802(c) of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which directs the Commission, upon request of the Postal Service, to promptly procure the services of an actuary qualified to evaluate pension obligations to conduct a review in accordance with generally accepted actuarial practices and principles and to provide a report to the Commission containing the results of the review.
Upon the Commission’s receipt and approval of the actuary’s report, together with any comments the Commission may choose to make, the report shall be submitted to the Postal Service, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and Congress.
OPM is responsible for calculating the Postal Service’s CSRS pension liability. The Postal Service filed its request with the Commission on February 23, 2010.
March 3rd, 2010 13:56
Have a VERA for Postmaster and a lot of them will leave.
Just offer as much as the Clerks and Mailhandlers got!
March 3rd, 2010 18:03
I thought the OIG just did that and found we had overpaid 75 billion?
March 3rd, 2010 19:05
OIG did, however this way we can spend another 5 million for the study, and cry about losing more money. Also the study will take 2 years, thus taking us past contract negotions.
March 4th, 2010 06:43
where did ruth goldway come from?
March 4th, 2010 08:05
This isn’t rocket science, guys. The OIG is an arm of the Postal Service. They can say that the USPS was overcharged by $75 billion as much as they want, but the USPS doesn’t have the authority to take the money just because it claims it was overcharged.
The Postal Regulatory Commission, chaired by Ruth Goldway, is NOT part of the USPS- it answers to the President and Congress. If an independent agency responsible for regulating the USPS says the USPS was overcharged, it helps make the case for repaying the money.
The whole idea that the USPS will get the money back just by showing it was overcharged is pretty naive- everyone agreed a few years that we were being overcharged 4 or 5 billion a year, and not only did we not get that money back, Congress came up with a way to keep charging us!
If it makes you feel better to imagine that it’s a massive conspiracy to screw you personally, then go for it, but the reality is that it’s just another political football being fumbled by your representatives in Congress.
And I’m not a fan of the big mailers, but if anyone should be pissed, it’s them, not postal employees. The $75 billion came from them, not you. Postal rates were supposed to be set to break even. If there has been a $75 billion overpayment to OPM, then that means postal rates were overstated by the same amount, and mailers overcharged by $75 billion.
March 4th, 2010 17:49
so why is USPS the only one that has overpaid to CSRS.
all CSRS employees pay the same amt per paycheck
that USPS pays…why haven’t the CSRS employees
overpaid too?
March 5th, 2010 07:04
It doesn’t have anything to do with employees overpaying- it’s the postal service that was overcharged for the employer’s share. The employer share for other agencies is simply appropriated by Congress, since they are not self-supporting, and don’t produce their own revenue the way the USPS does.