Effective April 4, 2013, the Postal Service™ is revising the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM). The Postal Service provides annuity estimates for eligible Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) employees through four different sources:
n eRetire, a self-service, web-based application.
n PostalEASE/National Retirement Counseling System (NARECS).
n Human Resources Shared Service Center (HRSSC) by telephone request.
n Semiannually by mail.
Employees can now access their annuity information instantly through eRetire or order an annuity estimate through PostalEASE. Therefore, ELM 569.12 and 589.12 are revised to change the annuity estimate mailing from semiannual to annual.
Employees without computer access will still be able to contact HRSSC and request annuity estimates by telephone.
Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM)
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5 Employee Benefits
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560 Civil Service Retirement Program
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569 General Retirement Information
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569.1 Retirement Counseling
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569.12 Retirement Annuity Estimates
[Revise 569.12 to read as follows:]
Retirement annuity estimates are provided to all employees through the use of the National Retirement Counseling System (NARECS) as follows:
a. Upon request within three years of an employee’s first optional retirement eligibility date, based on payroll and personnel system-generated retirement computation date.
b. Automatically once each year, once age and service eligibility criteria for optional retirement have been met.
c. Through the Postal Service’s self-service, web-based application, eRetire.
Note: Employees who do not have computer access may contact the Human Resources Shared Service Center (HRSSC) by telephone to request annuity estimates.
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560 Federal Employees Retirement Program
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589 General Retirement Information
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589.1 Retirement Counseling
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589.12 Retirement Annuity Estimates
[Revise 589.12 to read as follows:]
Retirement annuity estimates are provided to all employees through the use of the National Retirement Counseling System (NARECS) as follows:
a. Upon request within three years of an employee’s first optional retirement eligibility date, based on payroll and personnel system-generated retirement computation date.
b. Automatically once each year, once age and service eligibility criteria for optional retirement have been met.
c. Through the Postal Service’s self-service, web-based application, eRetire.
Note: Employees who do not have computer access may contact the HRSSC by telephone to request annuity estimates.
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We will incorporate this revision into the next printed version of the ELM and also into the online update available on the Postal Service™ PolicyNet website:
n Go to http://blue.usps.gov.
n In the left-hand column under “Essential Links”, click PolicyNet.
n Click Manuals.
(The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet website is http://blue.usps.gov/cpim.)
— Compensation and Benefits,
Labor Relations, 4-4-13
