Retirement buyout incentive and Voluntary Early Retirement for Mail Handlers

 

Mail Handlers to be offered retirement incentive

Opportunity for voluntary early retirement or separation: Incentives up to $15,000

Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by both parties on May 22, 2012, eligible Mail Handlers who choose to leave employment with the USPS on or before August 31, 2012 will each receive incentive payments totaling up to fifteen thousand dollars (for full-time employees).  The MOU also provides a moratorium on excessing in all facilities until at least August 11, 2012 (unless excessing was already scheduled).  This provision should eliminate excessing in some facilities that will now have vacancies due to retirements, and may provide vacancies closer to home for other employees who have to be excessed after August 11.

The monetary incentives included in the MOU will be available (with certain restrictions) to all Mail Handlers who are currently eligible for regular retirement, voluntary early retirement, and all other employees who may wish to separate from the Postal Service.  Any Mail Handler wishing to participate in this retirement incentive offer must do so no later than July 2, 2012 -- which date, as detailed in the MOU, is the deadline for accepting this incentive offer, and also is the deadline for revoking a submitted acceptance.

Those Mail Handlers who are eligible should be receiving a package in the mail from the Postal Service (these retirement documents will be mailed to the employee's address that USPS has on file; an employee can confirm or change his/her mailing address online by logging on to www.liteblue.usps.gov), but in general terms VERA offers apply to employees covered under both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).  More specifically, to be eligible the employee must:

*   Meet the minimum age and service requirements:

*   Be at least 50 years of age with at least 20 years of service, or any age with at least 25 years of service, and

*   Have at least five years of creditable civilian service, not military service.  Employees may use military service to meet the balance of service required for eligibility.

*   The above criteria MUST be met by the VERA effective retirement date, which in this case is August 31, 2012.

*   CSRS employees must have been employed under CSRS for at least one year out of the last two years, but the service need not be continuous.

In addition, certain retirement videos are available on the "lite-blue" network.  An employee needs his/her Employee Identification Number (EIN) and Personal Identification Number (PIN) to log on at www.liteblue.usps.gov .  Once logged on, the employee can go to "My HR," then to "Browse By Subject," then to "Retirement," and then to "Watch Retirement Videos."  Both the regular and VER retirement videos are available at this site.

The agreement with the Postal Service is intended to provide a financial cushion, and added peace of mind, for Mail Handlers who might be prepared to move on to the next chapter of their lives by leaving the Postal Service – a decision that could be particularly trying during these difficult economic times.  In addition, with many closings and consolidations expected to be implemented at mail processing facilities in August 2012 and February 2013, the MOU also will benefit remaining Mail Handlers to the extent that some Mail Handlers choose to retire because of this incentive.  More specifically, remaining Mail Handlers will experience less excessing and will benefit from more landing spots if excessed, more bidding opportunities, and other results of reduced staffing.   

Please understand that none of the information in this bulletin should be considered as official retirement advice, and the NPMHU National Office is neither recommending retirement or separation nor assuming any responsibility for decisions that you may make about your retirement or separation from the USPS.  We recognize that retirement or separation from the Postal Service is a very personal decision, based on each individual’s own finances and circumstances.  Therefore, the National Office cannot provide individual retirement advice.

Moreover, you may want to seek advice from the USPS at retirement counseling sessions that will be scheduled, and you also may wish to consult with your own financial advisor on this important decision.  There are many personal and financial factors to be considered if you are thinking of accepting this incentive offer.  For just some examples, you need to consider your personal family and health situation; how your health, life insurance, and other benefits may be affected; what your future sources of income will be; and whether you have alternative plans and opportunities.

Again, any Mail Handler who may be considering this incentive-based retirement or separation option should closely review the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding that are printed below, do the necessary research on the liteblue webpage, and participate in a USPS retirement counseling session to ensure that any and all questions are answered prior to applying for this retirement or separation option.

VIEW THE SIGNED MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING REGARDING THE RETIREMENT INCENTIVE

 

USPS ALSO HAS MADE AVAILABLE THE FOLLOWING RELATED DOCUMENTS:

USPS LINK EXTRA - May 24, 2012

USPS NEWSBREAK - May 24, 2012

USPS Mandatory Stand-Up Talk - Mail Handlers - May 24, 2012

NPMHU VERA INCENTIVE - FAQs - May 24, 2012

Reference: www.npmhu.org 

Postal Early Retirement Buyout Incentives Coming?

  USPS shrinks workforce, changes "...If the goal of 7,500 jobs is not reached through voluntary retirements, Donahoe might look at financial incentives for retirement...." Reference: Postal Newsgroup  

RETIREMENT-SEPARATION INCENTIVE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

 
RETIREMENT-SEPARATION INCENTIVE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
Memorandum of Understanding
Between The
United States Postal Service
And The
National Postal Mail Handlers Union, AFL-CIO,
A Division of the Laborers’ International Union of North America



Re: One-time Retirement Incentive

The parties agree that the Postal Service will make lump sum incentive payments totaling $15,000 (less applicable taxes and deductions) to eligible full-time career employees who choose optional retirement, retire pursuant to a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA), or voluntarily separate from the Postal Service. Part-time employees shall be eligible for a prorated amount, as provided below. These payments are subject to the following terms and conditions.

1. All career employees covered by the USPS-NPMHU 2006-2011 National Agreement are eligible for incentives pursuant to this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) except for employees in a probationary status on the date of this MOU or employees who have a pending notice of discharge that was received on or before the date of this MOU.

2. Within thirty (30) days of the signing of this MOU, employees must indicate in a manner prescribed by the Employer their intent to participate in the retirement incentive program by indicating that they wish to take optional retirement, retirement pursuant to a VERA, or voluntary separation. Full-time employees will be assigned by the Employer a retirement or separation date of October 31 or November 30, 2009 based on operational need, or, at the employees’ option, they may retire or separate on or before September 30, 2009. Part-time flexible and part-time regular employees will be assigned a retirement or separation date of November 30, 2009. Employees who indicate they are taking a VERA under the terms of this MOU and wish to revoke their decision must do so on or before September 25, 2009.

3. The $15,000 incentive for eligible full-time career employees will be paid as follows. For those employees who separate or retire on October 31 or November 30, a $10,000 payment will be effective within two full pay periods after they retire or separate. For employees who separate or retire on or before September 30, the $10,000 payment will be effective pay period 21, to be paid October 16, 2009. The remaining $5,000 payment shall be effective for all eligible employees the first full pay period in October 2010 (pay period 22, to be paid October 29, 2010).

Part-time flexible and part-time regular employees shall receive incentive payments that are prorated based on the number of hours paid in the twenty-six full pay periods prior to the effective date of this MOU, in accordance with the following schedule:

Number of Paid Hours Percent of Incentive Payment

Under 520 25
520 and under 1020 50
1020 and under 1520 75
1520 and over 100

The prorated percentage shall be applied separately to the $10,000 and $5,000 payments. These payments shall be made on the same dates as for full-time employees.

An employee who accepts the incentive payment, and subsequently seeks future employment with the Postal Service, must return the incentive payment received to the Postal Service as a precondition for employment, unless a period of two years has passed from the date of retirement or separation and the date of rehire.

4. If excessive numbers of employees in particular offices take advantage of the provisions of this MOU, the parties at the national level will discuss the terms for relaxing contractual restrictions on casual use for a reasonable period of time (not to exceed 60 days past December 31, 2009) in order to meet operational needs. In such circumstances, the Employer reserves the right to amend the retirement and separation dates in paragraph 2 to the extent reasonably necessary to meet operational needs, but in no event later than December 31, 2009.

The parties further agree that these incentives will be provided to no more than 30,000 employees in the Mail Handler and APWU bargaining units combined. If more than 30,000 employees indicate that they wish to take advantage of the terms of this MOU, the number allocated to each of the bargaining units shall be proportional to the number of employees in the bargaining units that are eligible for these incentives. The parties agree to meet and discuss implementation of this paragraph once the number of employees indicating a desire to take advantage of this MOU reaches 25,000.

5. This MOU has the potential to impact pending excessing actions. In order to give the Postal Service time to review and consider those impacts, the parties agree to a moratorium on excessing from the date of this MOU through October 9, 2009. The parties recognize that they may need to discuss the proper application or modification of notice requirements under the provisions of Article 12 based on the impact of this MOU.

Any disputes arising under this MOU will be referred to the National Administrative Committee for discussion and resolution.

This MOU is without prejudice to the positions of the parties on any issue and shall not be cited in any dispute resolution proceedings, except for the purpose of enforcing its terms.


_Original Signed___ _Original Signed___
Anthony J. Vegliante John F. Hegarty
Executive Vice President and National President
Chief Human Resources Officer National Postal Mail
United States Postal Service Handlers Union, AFL-CIO

Date: __8/24/09_
Reference: www.npmhu.org

 

NEW RETIREMENT-SEPARATION OPPORTUNITIES ANNOUNCED WITH INCENTIVES UP TO $15,000

 
NEW RETIREMENT-SEPARATION OPPORTUNITIES ANNOUNCED WITH INCENTIVES UP TO $15,000
After in-depth discussions between NPMHU and USPS representatives at the headquarters level, the Postal Service has agreed to offer financial incentives for a new round of retirement and separation opportunities for most Mail Handlers. Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by both parties on August 24, 2009, those eligible Mail Handlers who choose to leave employment with the USPS will each receive incentive payments totaling up to fifteen thousand dollars (for full-time employees). These incentives will be available (with certain restrictions) to all Mail Handlers who are currently eligible for regular retirement, voluntary early retirement, and all other employees who may wish to separate from the Postal Service. Details are outlined below in the Memorandum of Understanding (which also is available for review on the NPMHU website at www.npmhu.org).

The NPMHU is pleased to have reached this agreement with USPS, as it may provide a financial cushion, and added peace of mind for Mail Handlers who might be prepared to move on to the next chapter of their lives – particularly during these extremely difficult economic times. To the extent that some Mail Handlers or other eligible postal employees choose to retire because of this incentive, the MOU also may benefit other Mail Handlers who will experience less excessing, more bidding opportunities, and other possible consequences of reduced staffing.

Please understand that none of the information in this bulletin should be considered as official retirement advice, and the NPMHU National Office assumes no responsibility for any decisions that you may make about your retirement or separation from the USPS. We have provided you with all of the pertinent information surrounding this offer. However, we realize that retirement/separation from the Postal Service is a very personal decision, based on each individual’s own finances and circumstances. Therefore, the National office is not authorized and cannot provide individual retirement advice. You should seek such advice from the USPS at retirement counseling sessions which will be scheduled in your area, and you also may wish to consult with your own financial advisor on this important decision. There are many personal and financial factors to be considered if you are thinking of accepting this incentive offer. For just some examples, you need to consider your personal family and health situation; how your health insurance, life insurance, and other benefits may be affected; what your future sources of income will be; and whether you have alternative plans and opportunities.
The Postal Service has made retirement videos available on the liteblue web site at: https://liteblue.usps.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/.scr/Login. You will need to log in with your employee ID number and PIN, and then go to the “MY LIFE” tab and underneath the “My Benefits” section, click on “Retirement Seminar Online.” There is a CSRS version, a FERS version, and also a video on “other benefits.” Also available at the site are workbooks to download as study aids. The sessions are presented in modules that vary in length from 4 minutes to 25 minutes, and they were specifically developed for Postal Services employees only, not for those of other federal agencies. The modules can be viewed in any order, but it is recommended that the basic information modules be viewed first.
The Postal Service has informed the NPMHU that it will be offering retirement seminars, on-the-clock¸ that employees will be able to attend. The USPS also will be issuing a list of ‘frequently asked questions’ (FAQs) to answer some of the many questions that will arise from the field.

Again, any Mail Handler who may be considering this incentive-based retirement or separation option should closely review the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, do the necessary research on the liteblue webpage, and participate in a USPS retirement counseling session to ensure that any and all questions are answered prior to applying for this retirement or separation option.
Reference: www.npmhu.org

 

Postal Service Offering a $15,000 Retirement Incentive

USPS Offers $15,000 Retirement or Resignation Incentive
The United States Postal Service is offering a $15,000 Retirement or resignation incentive to certain employees. The first installment will be $10,000 in November 2009 and the other $5000 will be one year later. Mailings will go out in the next few days to eligible employees. Stay tuned for more details. Update coming soon. The Postal Newsgroup