The American Postal Workers Union is working fervently to make certain that the Postal Service's decision to suspend employer contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) does not negatively affect the nation’s postal employees, President Cliff 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 of action.”

There is a solution to the Postal Service’s financial crisis, he noted:

• The USPS has overfunded its FERS and CSRS retirement accounts by billions of dollars;

• It is the only employer — public or private — that is required to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees. This obligation drains more than $5 billion annually from the USPS budget, and is the principal cause of the Postal Service’s dire financial circumstances.

“Congress must act now to correct these inequities,” Guffey said. “It 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 relief from its financial crisis at no cost to taxpayers.

The Postal Service’s financial predicament is the result of flawed legislation (the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 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 them.”