Postal Service Announces VER Timeline For Letter Carriers, Maintenance, EAS, PCES
Filed under: early out, maintenance, Postmasters, retirement, scams, usps, ver
Headquarters / Headquarters-Related EAS & PCES; Motor Vehicle; Maintenance (excluding Electronic Technicians); Rural Carriers; City Carriers
The Postal Service recently received approval from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to offer voluntary early retirement to eligible employees nationwide.
Automation and technological advances coupled with mail volume reductions has the Postal Service continuing to look for ways to voluntarily reduce its workforce while maintaining excellent customer service.
This offer is open to employees in those positions who meet the OPM conditions, and who are at least 50 years of age with 20 years of creditable federal service or any age with 25 years of creditable federal service.
Please Note: The age and years of service criteria must be met by the effective retirement date of this VERA: February 28, 2009. If you don’t meet the criteria by February 28, 2009, you are not eligible for voluntary early retirement.
For your convenience, a timeline of activity related to this VERA can be found by clicking on VER Steps At-a-Glance. Read through this timeline carefully and consider your retirement options. It’s important to note that November 21, 2008 is the date when an employee’s voluntary choice to retire becomes irrevocable (cannot be withdrawn) under this VERA.
As a reminder, a voluntary early retirement is just that — voluntary. But if retirement is part of a near-future plan for you, make sure to navigate through all the information on this website and get all the information you need to make an informed decision.
VER Information Sessions
While Local Services won’t have any additional information regarding VER eligibility lists, HQ and HRSSC will work together to coordinate and set up information sessions to provide opportunities for Q&A dialogue. VER Information Sessions include reviews of eligibility requirements, the pre-established timeline and the Retirement Seminar DVD. Watch for local announcements within your District on times and locations.
In the meantime, don’t waste time; it’s your retirement, after all! Look through all the information provided on this website and view the retirement videos along with the workbooks to prepare prior to the VER Information Sessions.
Timeline
October 10, 2008 – Annuity Estimates are mailed out to all VER eligible employees.
October 15, 2008 -VER Offer Packet mailed out to all VER eligible employees.
October 20 – November 21, 2008 -VER eligible employees must decide whether to apply for retirement during this period.
October 20, 2008 -HRSSC begins sending out Retirement Forms to all early retirement applicants.
November 21, 2008 – 8:30 p.m. (Eastern time) -Required documents must be received at the HRSSC to take advantage of VER offer.
November 21, 2008 – 8:30 p.m. (Eastern time) -Sent in your retirement application and changed your mind? SUBMIT REQUEST TO WITHDRAW BEFORE THIS TIME.
Mid-January, 2009 -HRSSC begins notification to employees on status of VER applications.
February 28, 2009 -Effective retirement date for approved EAS and PCES in Headquarters and Headquarters-related positions (excluding bargaining unit positions and Area positions). Maintenance, Motor Vehicle, City Carrier, and Rural Carrier positions.
https://liteblue.usps.gov/news/ver2008/effective_retirement_date_022809.htm
Clerks, Mal HAndlers, Supervisors FAQs
https://liteblue.usps.gov/news/ver2008/effective_retirement_date_123108.htm
Postal Service destroys millions of letters to try to stop scams
According to KY3-TV in Springfield. MO:
Some of your mail may have disappeared — not at the hands of thieves but at the hands of law enforcement. Since 1994, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has destroyed more than 20 million pieces of mail, a practice that continues. The service hopes it’s protecting people from getting scammed.
“We’ve been working with Customs to seize suspicious letters coming through borders to the United States mail stream,” said Postal Inspector Dan Taylor.
It’s all in an effort to protect people from foreign lottery scams aimed at stealing thousands of dollars.
“It’s always a scam; there is no legitimate foreign lottery that can be played in the United States,” said Taylor.
The typical scam involves a notification letter that someone has won a contest or lottery and a check with the winnings. The scammers ask the receiver to deposit the check and then send back a portion of it for taxes and other fees. Of course, the check turns out to be a fake.
“They have access to funds. They send money off and, two to three weeks later, the bank calls and says you owe us money you withdrew out of your account,” said Taylor.
The Postal Inspection Service estimates victims of foreign lottery scams lose $120 million a year. Taylor says the largest single loss that he investigated was $500,000.
“A lot of people would say this can’t happen to me but they don’t understand that these people find out what motivates you and that’s what they target when they talk to you,” he said.
Since the scams originate out of the country, the con artists are difficult if not impossible to catch, which is why the Postal Inspection Service says prevention, through the seizing of letters and education of consumers, is key.
It’s illegal for U.S. citizens to participate in foreign lotteries so, even if one of the letters is for real, you’d actually be breaking the law by participating.
ID Theft Ring Used COA Forms to Scam Stars
Scammers used Postal Service change of address forms to redirect stars mail
Investigators busted a massive identity theft ring allegedly operating out of a row home in Northeast Philadelphia Friday.
The scammers used the postal service change of address forms to redirect stars mail to their North Philadelphia home. Authorities said the pair allegedly used change of address forms to have their victims’ mail delivered to their home and used the personal information they obtained to create phony checks and credit cards.
Police said the list of targeted victims includes celebrity names like Donovan McNabb, his mother Wilma, Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton, Whitney Houston, Patti LaBelle, Michael Vick and Microsoft founder Paul Allen.
Postal Inspectors warn employees to avoid insurance scammers
From USPS
Postal Inspectors are warning employees about a so-called “Employee Benefit Questionnaire” that a company operating under several names is distributing nationwide.
The scam questionnaire claims to help federal employees with “little knowledge of their benefits” by calculating retirement payments or obtaining passwords for their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and PostalEASE accounts. Employees should be on guard for “company representatives” who also may offer to help employees change TSP allotments. The company mails the surveys to postal work sites, giving employees the erroneous impression that USPS has endorsed them.
Employees who respond to the bogus survey are called by a salesperson who may falsely claim to be affiliated with the Postal Service. The salespeople also may appear at Post Offices, wearing IDs and sporting business cards that say they are from an insurance company.
Inspectors remind employees to report to their managers anyone on the workroom floor who lacks a proper postal ID badge. Managers also are reminded that, as noted in the Administrative Support Manual, 271.6, employees may not receive personal mail at worksites. Such mail must be returned to sender.
You can call the Employee Service Line at 877-477-3273 if you have questions on employee benefits. Select Option 5, the Shared Service Center, to talk to a Human Resources representative.