APWU Web News Article 130-2012, Oct. 18, 2012
The APWU has been informed by the Postal Service that letters offering incentives to APWU-represented employees who are eligible for voluntary early retirement (VER) were mailed on Oct. 10, 2012, and to employees eligible for regular retirement shortly after. Eligible employees should receive their incentive offer information no later than Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, Executive Vice President Greg Bell said.
To qualify for regular retirement, employees must have at least:
- 30 years of service and be 55 or older; or
- 20 years of service and be age 60 or older; or
- 5 years of service and be age 62 or older.
To qualify for early retirement, employees must have at least:
- 20 years of service and be 50 years of age or older, or
- 25 years of service at any age.
- For employees in the Civil Service Retirement System, the annuity is reduced 2 percent for each year workers are under age 55.
If You Didn’t Receive the Info
Employees who believe that they are eligible for regular retirement or early retirement and who have not received the retirement incentive information by Oct. 22, 2012, should contact the USPS Human Resources Shared Services Center (HRSSC) at 1-877-477-3273.
Regular (Optional) Retirement: Employees eligible for regular retirement should receive a “Special Optional Retirement Incentive Offer.”
Early Retirement: Employees’ eligible for voluntary early retirement should receive the “Acknowledgment of Irrevocability and Application for Immediate Retirement” along with their voluntary early retirement offer.
Deadline for Submission
Full-time employees except employees in Non-Traditional Full-Time (NTFT) duty assignments of less than 40 hours must indicate their intent to accept the incentive offer no later than Dec. 3, 2012.
The deadline for part-time employees and employees occupying NTFT duty assignments of less than 40 hours is Jan. 4, 2013.
Revoking the Decision
Employees who indicate they are taking regular retirement (or are resigning) may revoke their decision up to the effective date of their retirement or resignation.
Full-time employees (except for employees in NTFT assignments of less than 40 hours) who indicate they are taking the VER and who wish to revoke the decision must do so by Dec. 3, 2012.
Part-time employees and employees occupying NTFT assignments of less than 40 hours who indicate they are taking VER and who wish to revoke their decision by must do so by Jan. 4, 2013.
APWU Retirees Department
For information and assistance concerning retirement, members should contact the APWU Retirees Department. You can email questions to the APWU Retiree Q & A Center at RetireeQandA@apwu.org.
For further information regarding the incentive offer, see APWU Incentive at a Glance [PDF] USPS LiteBlue and Frequently Asked Questions [PDF] USPS LiteBlue.
Just sign those VER offers. It makes no difference that they say nothing about an incentive. You know you can trust the USPS to do the right thing!
Will all the employee’s that had their jobs abolished over the past two years without any offer of a job be eligble for the incentive if they took the indiviual VER’S that the Postal Service sent out to those employee’s? Or, will only the employee’s that still had a job be the only ones to receive an incentive?
I had a retired PO HR person fill out my papers in May & didn’t go. Called HR several times since
the incentive offer and no problem getting optional retirement letter or blue packet. There is some
difference on some of the forms so will have that same person re-do it. Still going to do the telephone counseling afterward to see what all they say. Nothing states the money incentive tho. My boyfriend is going to because his MVS unit is going to be subcontracted out sometime. My CFS department is safe for awhile. It is a hard decision.
what is “Special Optional Retirement Incentive Offer.”?
’bout time,,, consider me gone!
Has there been any further information regarding the “phased retirement” that has supposedly been approved for implimentation for USPS and other federal employees? It was approved in the summertime as it was reported that it would be put into motion quickly but I haven’t heard or been able to find anything about it since. Anyone???
I don’t think USPS was included in that.
What about the civil service letter carriers?
I sure hope they offer the carriers – The Time Has Come!! Give it to those who are the front line of the postal service! not those who sit on there you know whats and still bitch how hard they work!
What about them? Best question of the year. I know there are lots setting on the sidelines itching to GO! My S.O. being one of them. Can’t wait. Spouses ought to be given something as well for all the hel- been going on
Are they going to offer an incentive to all the employee’s that had their jobs abolished during the past two years without a job offer and were forced to sit all day in empty rooms and “stay out of sight”? Will those that were not offered a job after 1-2 years of sitting out of site and were finally offered an unadvertised early-out with a penalty be offered an incentive like those that actually still had a job?
I retired from the Postal service with an effective date of Oct. 1 2012. It is my understanding after reading the MOU concerning the incentive and calling HRSSC that I am entitled to the incentive. However i have gotten nothing in the mail saying so. Do I still get some sort of notice concerning the incentive in the mail? Or do I automatically get the incentive without being notified by mail?
Yes! You will recieve the incentive because you were in the time frame inwhich the incentives were offically sighed. That date was Sept-28-2012!!!!! you’re on your way!
Any one on the exact date Sept-28-2012 and after is entitle to the incentive. You may not get a letter because you are in process of retirement and the system may not idenify you.
I can relate because I retired on Sept-30-2012 and I did not recieve any notice in the mail. Do I automatically get the incentive ?
I retire to on Sept. 39th 2012. HR told me to call this number
1-888-767-6738 it os OPM. Can’t get thru so I e-mailed them telling them I want the incentive.
I have been hearing about a Nov. 9 deadline. Is that for accepting the VER, the incentive or both?
In anticipation of a clerk buyout, I had a PO HR person fill out my retirement paperwork in May. Now that the buyout has been announced, I want to submit but was told by the HR person that some of the forms from the “blue book” that were filled out in May are now obsolete and new ones must be filled out and submitted. Is this true, because I certainly don’t want some “clerk” at OMB to kick back my paperwork because of obsolete forms, thus delaying my retirement process. Also, I called the HR # to request a new “blue book” with the forms, but it is automated, offering no chance to request it. HELP!
I don’t know about obsolete forms but you have to hold for someone to help you. A person who was already eligible for retirement had to wait for 25 minutes to speak to someone about sending her a blue book, but she did get through and spoke to a person.