Benefits

Postal career employees enjoy excellent benefits, including annual and sick leave that can be accumulated, the opportunity to donate leave, basic life insurance paid for by the Postal Service with additional options at the employee’s cost, pretax health benefits with most of the cost paid by the Postal Service, pretax Flexible Spending Accounts for out-of-pocket dependent and health care expenses, the option to enroll in pretax dental and vision insurance, the opportunity to apply for long term-care insurance, and coverage under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) plans, which provide pension benefits and, for FERS employees, include Postal Service contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan. The 2010 Annual Report contains employer costs and retirement program participation rates.

During 2007, agreements were achieved through the collective bargaining process and consultation with the management associations to reduce the Postal Service’s share of contributions to the cost of employee health benefits premiums. Annual 1 percent reductions for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) plan years 2008 through 2011 were agreed to for employees represented by the American Postal Workers Union, the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, and for EAS employees. Annual 1 percent reductions for FEHB plan years 2009 through 2012 were agreed to for employees represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers, the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, and the Fraternal Order of Police.