04/11/2026
Dear All,
I have received several calls relating to yesterday’s USPS Board of Governors decision to temporarily suspend the agency’s FERS contributions. It is important to note that this is not the first time the USPS has taken such an action. For example, in 2011, the USPS suspended the employer-share due to OPM’s projected overfunding of the pension plan. Lost amidst the attention to the BoG action is the more consequential action taken by the PRC yesterday, relating to USPS’ amortization payments of postal pensions.
A portion of postage is obligated by PRC rules to cover the USPS’ annual pension amortization payments. Yesterday, through a regulatory order, the PRC waived this obligation through the 2030, unless extended or shortened by the PRC as the result of the USPS’ financial condition at the time. The PRC waiver provides $2.4 billion liquidity for FY 2026, and about $3 billion per year through 2030 – totaling about $15 billion in financial breathing room.
The BoG action relates to the FY 2027 employee-share contributions – not amortization payments. The temporary suspension of USPS employer contributions would free up about $2.5 billion this year. The USPS does not indicate for how long it would suspend its employer-share.
It is important to note that neither the suspension of the employer-share nor the PRC’s 5-year waiver would impact FERS benefits. It would, however, impact the USPS pension liability.
Bob Levi
Director of Legislative and Political Affairs
National Association of Postal Supervisors
703-836-9660
