PRC chairman tells Congress to tackle retiree benefits before five-day delivery

Ruth Goldway, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, told members of Congress on April 15 to fix the US Postal Service's retiree health benefit payment system before turning its attention to five-day delivery.

The Postal Service's Office of Inspector General said in January that the current system of funding the Civil Service Retirement System pension responsibility resulted in the agency overpaying by $75 billion from 1972 to 2009. The PRC is investigating the pension payment system.

“I can recall times when the Postal Service predicted billion dollar losses and ended the year with billion dollar gains,” she said, according to a statement released by the PRC.

Goldway also recommended other changes in the next 10 years, including converting the bulk of its vehicle fleet to electricity; changing branches into one-stop shops for government services; and empowering postal workers to have more interaction with their communities.

John Potter, inspector general and CEO of the USPS, unveiled the agency's plan to reduce its home delivery service to five days per week in March.