The United States Postal Service is the only federal entity that’s required to prefund its retirees’ healthcare, and National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 533 President Pam Jones hopes to see that change.
A bipartisan bill called the USPS Fairness Act was introduced in May that seeks to repeal the prefunding mandate, which would free up billions in funding. Currently, the USPS is required to prefund health benefits for 75 years out.
“We have over $50 billion in our fund for prefunding of retirement and insurance benefits, so if we were able to now have a pay-as-we-go type of deal, it would definitely shore us up on the financial end,” Jones said.
The bill, HR2328, was introduced by Reps. Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Reed (NY-23), Fitzpatrick (PA-01), and Torres Small (NM-02). According to Small, the mandate undercuts the work the postal workers do and threatens the agency’s mission.
