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NOTICE
The 2002 U.S. Savings Bonds Campaign broke the
record!
With a total of 13,701 new or increased savers, this
year's campaign total exceeds last year's total of 10,130
new or increased savers. In addition to the standard Series
EE Bonds, we offered the Series I Bonds. We started 4,994
new allotments for the Series I Bonds. These new Series I
Bond allotments will become effective in Pay Period
24-02, which starts November 2, 2002, and will be reflected in your pay check on November 22.
Thank you for supporting the 2002 U.S. Savings Bonds
Campaign.
- Information Technology Value,
Chief Technology Organization, 10-31-02
NOTICE
Effective Pay Period 24, all U.S. savings bonds will be
printed and mailed to Postal Service employees from a different location. Due to this change, the bonds initially will be
printed and mailed one week later than usual, and every
two weeks thereafter. This change will not affect the bond
issue date or the interest the employee earns. All bonds will
be mailed to employees in a security window envelope
bearing the G-10 penalty indicia with the following Postal
Service return address:
EAGAN IT ASC
DISBURSING BRANCH
2825 LONE OAK PKWY
EAGAN MN 55121-9640
Any undeliverable bonds will continue to be returned to
Eagan for processing.
- Corporate Accounting,
Finance, 10-31-02
POSTMASTERS/INSTALLATION HEADS AT LEVEL 13 AND BELOW POST OFFICES
Within the next 30 days, Safety Performance Management at Headquarters is mailing a package to Level 13 and
below Post Offices that contains safety and health inspection checklists and instructions for completing an inspection. Instructions are provided in the cover letter
included in the package. Postmasters/installation heads
(PMs/IHs) at those offices, or their designees, must complete a safety and health inspection using the checklist
within 30 days of receiving the package. These annual
safety and health inspections are required by the Employee
and Labor Relations Manual, part 824.
PMs/IHs must provide a copy of the inspection
report to the employee representative(s), post a copy for employee review (ELM
824.426), and ensure abatement of all deficiencies in accordance with the instructions.
PMs/IHs must also certify completion of the inspection to their servicing safety
office. PMs/IHs in Level 13 or below Post Offices should contact their servicing
safety office if they need technical or program assistance or if they do not
receive the package that includes the inspection checklists and instructions.
- Safety Performance Management,
Employee Resource Management, 10-31-02
The 2002 open season for the Flexible Spending
Account (FSA) program for career employees is scheduled
for November 11 through December 22, 2002, 5:00 P.M.
Central Time (CT). Enrollments made during this open season are effective January 1, 2003, for the 2003 plan year
(January 1 through December 31, 2003).
FSAs allow employees to set aside a portion of their pre-
tax earnings for certain types of out-of-pocket health care
and dependent care expenses. The money withheld for
FSAs is not subject to income, Medicare, or Social Security
taxes. United Health Care administers the FSA program for
the Postal Service.
The booklet FSA BK1, Flexible Spending Accounts
(November 2002), provides a good overview of FSAs. The
following information should assist local personnel offices
in conducting this open season.
To enroll in FSA during open season, employees have
two options: (1) the PostalEase telephone system or (2) the
PostalEase employee Web site.
To enroll by telephone: Call the PostalEase toll-free
number at: 877-4PS-EASE (877-477-3273).
To enroll via the Intranet: Go to http://blue.usps.gov,
click on Employee Self-Service, and then on PostalEase.
Note: PS Form 8200, Flexible Spending Account
Enrollment Form, is obsolete. Discard PS Forms 8200 by
recycling them.
To publicize FSA open season, all offices
must post the open season notice provided on page 5 on bulletin boards through
December 22, 2002.
Headquarters (HQ) Compensation is coordinating FSA
open season mailings to career employees at their mailing
addresses of record. Employees receive a leaflet, three
postcards, and an enrollment kit with an FSA brochure, a
PostalEase FSA worksheet, and a withdrawal request
form.
Undeliverable mailed kits are returned to the employing
office of record. When an office receives a returned kit, the
office should encourage the employee to update his or her
mailing address. Employees with access to the Intranet
Web job bidding may update their own mailing address.
All other employees must submit an updated PS Form
1216, Employee's Current Mailing Address. PS Form 1216
may be ordered from the Material Distribution Center
(MDC) as follows:
• Touch Tone Order Entry: Call 800-332-0317,
choose option 1, then 2.
Note: You must be registered to use TTOE. To register, call 800-332-0317, choose option 8, extension
2925, and follow the prompts to leave a message
(wait 48 hours after registering before you place your
first order).
• E-mail: Complete PS Form 7380, MDC Supply Requisition (manually or by using F3Fill), and send it as
an attachment to the e-mail address MDC Customer
Service or to mcustome@email.usps.gov.
• Mail: Mail a completed PS Form 7380 to the MDC at
the following address:
SUPPLY REQUISITIONS
MATERIAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
500 SW GARY ORMSBY DER
TOPEKA KS 66624-0702
The relevant ordering information for PS Form 1216,
Employee's Current Mailing Address, is as follows:
PSN: 7530-02-000-7354
PSIN: PS 1216
Unit of Issue: EA
Quick Pick #: 118
Bulk Pack Quantity: 4,000
Price: $0.0171
Edition Date: 06/93
Participation in the FSA program is limited to career employees. To enroll, a career employee must have completed at least 26 full pay periods of postal career service
during the current appointment by the end of pay period
(PP) 26-2002 (December 13, 2002). A career employee
who is in a leave without pay (LWOP) status that has lasted
for more than eight consecutive full pay periods as of
December 13, 2002, is not eligible to participate in the FSA
program. However, an employee who is returning from
uniformed military service may enroll even if he or she has
exceeded the eight consecutive pay periods of LWOP.
Eligible career employees may elect to participate in
one, or both, of two FSAs - the Health Care FSA and the
Dependent Care FSA. Each FSA covers eligible expenses
for services that are received during the employee's period
of participation during 2003 plan year (January 1 through
December 31, 2003). Employees who elect to participate
must enroll via PostalEase no later than 5:00 P.M. CT on
December 22, 2002. The brochure FSA BK1, Flexible
Spending Accounts, that employees receive in the mail describes eligible and ineligible expenses and guidelines for
estimating 2003 expenses.
For the 2003 plan year, eligible career bargaining unit
employees may elect to contribute up to $2,600 to the
Health Care FSA. Career nonbargaining unit employees
may elect to contribute up to $5,000 to the Health Care
FSA. All eligible career employees may elect to contribute
up to $5,000 to the Dependent Care FSA. Contributions are
withheld in equal amounts through payroll deductions covering 26 pay periods (PP 01-2003 through PP 26-2003).
The minimum annual contribution employees may make to
either FSA is $130 ($5 per pay period).
Participants may neither cancel enrollments nor change
contribution levels during the plan year except following
qualified life status changes, as explained in the brochure
FSA BK1, Flexible Spending Accounts.
Each career employee receives the following items at
his or her mailing address of record:
• Three publicity postcards:
- A postcard with instructions on how to obtain a
PostalEase Personal Identification Number (PIN)
(mailed in early November).
- A postcard with examples of typical FSA cost savings (mailed in late November).
- A postcard with a reminder of the closing date
(mailed in mid-December).
• FSA LF1, Flexible Spending Accounts Overview and
Tax Savings Estimator (September 2002). This leaflet outlines how FSAs work in a simple question-and-
answer format and provides a tax-savings estimator.
• Enrollment kit that includes the following items:
- FSA BK1, Flexible Spending Accounts (November 2002), a brochure explaining plan policies and
provisions.
- The FSA PostalEase worksheet.
- FSA1, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Withdrawal Request (September 2002). This form is
used to request to withdraw funds from an FSA for
payment of eligible expenses for services received during the period of participation.
By the beginning of the open season, HQ Compensation
coordinates the distribution of extra supplies of the leaflet,
enrollment kit, and copies of the worksheet and withdrawal
request form to Human Resources at district offices, area
offices, processing and distribution centers, bulk mail centers, airport mail centers, remote encoding centers, the
Office of Inspector General, Inspection Service divisions,
Headquarters, and selected Headquarters field units.
Additional copies of the following FSA items will be
available from the MDC but not until the distribution of extra
supplies has been completed. The relevant ordering information follows.
PSN: FSA LF1
PSN: 7610-04-000-5138
Unit of Issue: Each
Quick Pick #: None
Bulk Pack Quantity: 1,800
Price: No cost
Edition Date: 11/02
PSN: FSA BK1
PSIN: 7530-02-000-9910
Unit of Issue: Each
Quick Pick #: None
Bulk Pack Quantity: 300
Price: No cost
Edition Date: 11/02
PSN: FSA1
PSIN: 7530-02-000-9911
Unit of Issue: Each
Quick Pick #: None
Bulk Pack Quantity: 2,275
Price: No cost
Edition Date: 09/02
Personnel offices are responsible for the following tasks:
• Respond to employee inquiries about eligibility.
• Determine the participant's eligibility to enroll or to
change contribution levels during the plan year
based on the participant's qualified life status
changes.
Offices are reminded of the following points:
• Offices may refer to PostalEase Update 2001-03
(June 4, 2001) for instructions on processing
FSA elections in cases of belated election or
administrative error; these instructions are found at
http://blue.usps.gov/hrisp/hris/updates/postalease/2001/.
• PostalEase reminds employees to include health
care expenses for dependents in the Health Care
FSA contribution amount, and not in the Dependent
Care FSA. Although the brochure and worksheet advise employees of this provision, some employees
did not properly follow this distinction in past open
seasons.
• PostalEase also reminds employees of the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) annual limits on the Dependent Care FSA contribution - $5,000 for a family
and $2,500 for a married employee filing a separate
return. These limits are explained fully in the brochure FSA BK1, Flexible Spending Accounts.
• Offices do not process Form FSA1, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Withdrawal Request. Participants are responsible for mailing Form FSA1 directly
to the FSA Customer Service Center at its Duluth,
Minnesota, address given on FSA 1.
• Offices must not provide tax advice. Offices must refer employees with tax questions to their tax advisors
or to the IRS toll-free information line at
800-TAX-1040 (800-829-1040). In addition, a section
of the brochure FSA BK1, Flexible Spending Accounts, presents certain tax information related to
FSAs.
• Refer employees with questions about the FSA program to the FSA toll-free hotline given below.
For inquiries about FSAs, employees should call the
FSA Customer Service Center's toll-free hotline at
800-842-2026. Following enrollment, participants may use
the hotline to:
• Make account inquiries.
• Discuss expenses that are eligible for payment
through the FSA program.
• Obtain other plan information.
The FSA Customer Service Center also provides a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) line at
866-649-4869. The FSA Customer Service Center encourages employees using the TDD line to place an advance
call to the toll-free hotline.
- Compensation,
Employee Resource Management, 10-31-02
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
Open Season
FSA Policy Changes Additional 3 months for FSA Customer Service Center to receive claims -
deadline is September 30, 2004, for 2003 plan year.
FSA Customer Service Center now located in Duluth, Minnesota.
See all changes described on page 12 of the FSA brochure FSA BK1,
Flexible Spending Accounts.
Enrollment Career employees must use the PostalEASE enrollment system if they wish
to enroll in FSAs for 2003 during the FSA open season.
Call toll free: 877-4PS-EASE (877-477-3273).
Should you have any trouble using PostalEASE, or if you are unable to use
the telephone because you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have another
medical reason, contact your local personnel office.
USPS Personal Identification To use PostalEASE, enter your Social Security Number and USPS Personal
Number (PIN) Identification Number (PIN). If you don't know your USPS PIN, call
PostalEASE and, when prompted to enter your PIN, simply pause, and the
system provides an option to have your PIN mailed to your address of record
the next business day.
When November 11 through 5:00 P.M. Central Time on December 22, 2002.
Eligibility Career employees only - noncareer employees are not eligible.
Plan Information Leaflet and brochure with PostalEASE FSA worksheet included mailed to all
career employees.
If material is not received by November 29, 2002, contact local personnel
office.
Effective Date FSA open season enrollments become effective January 1, 2003.
Questions Hotline for FSA questions: 800-842-2026.
TDD line for hearing impaired: 866-649-4869. Advance call to hotline
encouraged.
PLEASE POST ON ALL BULLETIN BOARDS THROUGH DECEMBER 22, 2002.
Annual Leave Exchange Option
The Annual Leave Exchange Program provides an option for eligible employees to receive a lump sum payment
in exchange for a portion of the annual leave that would otherwise be advanced at the beginning of the 2003 leave
year.
Note: Annual leave earned and accumulated through the 2002 leave year, which ends January 10, 2003,
cannot be exchanged for cash.
Eligible Employees
Employees eligible for the Annual Leave Exchange Program include the following:
• Career nonbargaining employees from Rate Schedule Codes (RSCs) E, F, J, S, and U who have an
annual leave balance of at least 160 hours at the end of the leave year.
• Bargaining employees from the following RSCs who have an annual leave balance of at least 440 hours
at the end of the leave year and have used less than 75 hours of sick leave during the leave year:
- National Postal Mail Handlers Union - RSC M.
- International Association of Machinists - RSC T.
- American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO - RSCs C, N, and P.
- Operating Services Division Agreement - RSC K.
- Fraternal Order of Police, National Labor Council, USPS No. 2 - RSC Y.
Letter Soon Mailed to Eligible Employees
The Eagan Accounting Service Center will mail a letter providing details of the eligibility criteria and instructions
for using PostalEase to make annual leave exchange elections to eligible employees at their address of record
during November 2002. Undeliverable letters will be returned to the personnel office, which should ensure that
they are forwarded to the employee's work location along with PS Form 1216, Employee's Current Mailing
Address. (Employees with access to Web job bidding on the Intranet should make address changes via the
Web. Other employees should return completed PS Form 1216 to the local personnel office.)
PostalEase Elections
Employees who meet the eligibility criteria and want to exercise this option must use PostalEase to make
elections. Employees must complete their entries to PostalEase by midnight, Central Time, December 15,
2002, for the election to be considered timely.
Employees who are unable to use PostalEase to complete their elections should contact their local personnel
office prior to December 15, 2002, for assistance.
We will not distribute forms for this election period.
Payment by Lump Sum
Payment under the Annual Leave Exchange Program will be a lump sum calculated on the employee's base
salary as of the first day of the 2003 leave year (January 11, 2003). Paychecks dated January 31, 2003, will
include the 2003 lump sum payment.
- Compensation, Employee Resource Management, 10-31-02
PLEASE POST ON ALL BULLETIN BOARDS THROUGH DECEMBER 15, 2002.
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