Post office misses payment

[Texas Proud]

Post office misses $5.5 billion payment for retirees.... and will miss another one in Sept...

I guess this would mean they are BK....

We need to get Congress out of the postal service...



Congress won

 

[MasterBlaster]

This is a political hot-potato. I suspect that nothing will be done regarding the USPS until after the election.

I do note that other countries have privatized mail service with great success. They also went through all the drama, the moaning, the sky-is-falling stories before things settled down.

 

[W2R]

I think that this thread could result in an interesting discussion about the level of risk that postal and other government retirees face and what level of preparation for these risks would be sensible for prospective retirees to put in place.

If I was a postal retiree, I'd be pretty worried. And if I was a postal worker, I think a sensible approach would be to build up a bigger nestegg before I'd apply to retire. I'd need some extra money to pay for private health insurance until the PPACA is in effect.

There have been massive numbers of new postal retirees in the past 2-3 years as the post office downsizes. Retirement incentives have encouraged more postal employees to retire, but given this news any further incentives may not be very effective. At least they wouldn't be for me, were I a postal employee considering retirement. Also, I can't imagine how one could handle a change like this in one's second or third year of retirement.

 

[aaronc879]

I don't understand why it costs so much for the post offices' benefits. My dad is a mail carrier and his retirement benefits are not that good. His pension will barely cover the $600/mo premium that he'll have to pay for retiree health insurance for him and my mom. It's not like they're getting free health ins. or large pensions. I guess it must be because there are sooo many postal workers.

 

[NW-Bound]

Just saw that San Bernadino has filed Chapter 9. Shoes keep on dropping. Bleak!

 

[Texas Proud]

I think that this thread could result in an interesting discussion about the level of risk that postal and other government retirees face and what level of preparation for these risks would be sensible for prospective retirees to put in place.

If I was a postal retiree, I'd be pretty worried. And if I was a postal worker, I think a sensible approach would be to build up a bigger nestegg before I'd apply to retire. I'd need some extra money to pay for private health insurance until the PPACA is in effect.

There have been massive numbers of new postal retirees in the past 2-3 years as the post office downsizes. Retirement incentives have encouraged more postal employees to retire, but given this news any further incentives may not be very effective. At least they wouldn't be for me, were I a postal employee considering retirement. Also, I can't imagine how one could handle a change like this in one's second or third year of retirement.

I really do not know anything about the system except what I read in this article... but is seems that the post office was giving the money to the US Treasury... which means it is going to be spent on other things... I would think that the Treasury would be required to pay the benefits when they come due....

If so, then I would think that it might be a bit safer than what we might think... that is as long as the PO pays the money to the Treasury....

 

[MasterBlaster]

If so, then I would think that it might be a bit safer than what we might think... that is as long as the PO pays the money to the Treasury....

That's the whole point of this saga. The post office missed their payment (defaulted) for their own employee pensions today.

The (yesteryear) USPS model won't work in today's environment without massive subsidies. Major changes are needed to the USPS that just may not be politically easy to accomplish.

There are many articles on this subject that seem to suggest... That if we can't find agreement on how to fix the post office, then there is no hope whatsoever in finding a sustainable long term fiscal solution to our other more pressing probelems.

 

[Chuckanut]

Several years ago we had quite a bit snow in my area, much more than the usual few inches. Many cities either could not or would not remove the snow from the roads. Side streets were particularly bad, iced up and requiring traction devices. As a result the major private package delivery customers cancelled delivieries, the trash company cancelled pickups, repairmen would not come out to service broken devices, and cable and phone companies would not send out their trucks. One organization alone made its rounds every day - The United States Postal Service. While others moaned and groaned about conditions that made transportation impossible, the USPS delivered and picked up the mail.
Need I say more?

The USPS is supposed to be a private type of agency, but Congress still tells it you can't to this and you must do that - whether they make sense or not. Just see what happens if they try to close a little used post office. . No wonder they are having financila problems.

 

[Dog]

My husband is a letter carrier. The Post Office has gone before congress to present plans to close some offices & facilities and ideas for new products and services to generate revenues. But congress won't act until after the election. WORMS! It is very frustrating.
Interestingly, both FedEx and UPS use the post office to deliver the last mile in many rural areas of the country.