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Benefits November 5, 2002
Post Office "Delivers" Extra Pension Funds
November 5, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A financial
review of a US Postal Service retirement account has revealed
less money is owed than previously estimated.
Reported by Eric Hazard
The Civil Service Retirement System fund, used to provide benefits for employees who joined the Postal Service before 1983, has nearly paid off obligations it has for current and future retirees. Liability to this retirement account is now an estimated $5 billion, as opposed to the previous $32 billion estimate.
Postal service workers who joined after 1983 have been on a different retirement plan. Current contributions and future benefits won’t be affected by the discovery.
“The findings are the result of a number of factors, but the change was primarily driven by higher-than-expected yields on pension investments made by the Department of the Treasury,” said Postmaster General John Potter.
Pending Congressional approval, the Postal Service plans to use the extra money to reduce debt and preserve current postage rates.