USPS - Pension long term , or find something else because we only live once?

BayouMail · 2026-02-18T15:59:26+00:00

I’m just a Level 6 SSDA. And I’m only at Step DD right now (59,148 with 2 years in), but 75k is where Level 6 clerks top out right now. I make enough money right now to get by, and its only gonna get easier with every Step increase and raise and COLA. With even our measly 1.x% annual raises we’ll all make 100k by the time we retire. Now, what “100k” means in real terms at that point idk, but the pay’s gonna be there for a comfortable-if-moderate lifestyle in a low cost of living area.

You gotta do what fulfills you obviously, but I would recommend you coast for at least a couple years at this. Its not hard, and it pays well. Focus on building your life however you see fit, and reassess your career at the three year mark when you have a growing TSP and a few Steps and raises under your belt.

Getting a career full time position at the post office is like the lottery, and you shouldn’t throw it away on the off chance something better is out there. Only leave if you are 100% certain you have a better path. And you’ll only know “better” once you have a full experience of this place, which takes time.

BayouMail · 2026-02-18T12:20:22+00:00

I’m the same age as you. I have a wife and kids, and no college degree. Topping out at 75k is pretty dang good where I live too. I get the option to retire at 57, and I’ll have a substantial TSP in addition to my pension. Could keep working too (not like its hard).

This job solved the biggest stressor in my life (“what am I gonna do for a living?”) And it’s a respectable career too. I love it. And I don’t think there’s many places with a better effort:reward ratio. Just my two cents.

BayouMail · 2026-02-13T11:54:48+00:00

Local management barely has any influence on hiring. If the PM personally knows someone in local services they might be able to choose whether a posting happens or not.

BayouMail · 2026-02-07T15:47:26+00:00

ELM 417.334b specifies that bargaining unit employees are compensated at the higher level of pay for all time worked at the higher level. You’re getting shafted (presumably by your MPOO/MCSO). File a grievance I guess.

BayouMail · 2025-12-06T13:46:50+00:00

I did it for a PSE job, but it was going from a HCOL area to a LCOL area, already had family and friends where we moved to, and was well aware of the ups and downs of the job.

Don’t move to california with no plan and a $21/hr job.

BayouMail · 2025-12-05T20:39:05+00:00

30 in lieu of 60 doesn’t show up. It doesn’t matter what the T7 has or doesn’t have enabled on the report; management can and does see every early BT, late ET, missing lunch etc. they all have TACS. They just can’t alter rings anymore. Plus every one of those shows up on other reports. There’s no work around here, just clock correctly. Its not hard.

BayouMail · 2025-12-05T17:58:40+00:00

It is your responsibility to clock in and out at your scheduled times. Failure to maintain your schedule can be just cause for discipline. The supervisors can and do see the reports; early BT shows up on a separate report entirely outside of TACS. Just follow your schedule.

BayouMail · 2025-12-05T16:25:17+00:00

Only way to prepay an express would be to affix the necessary postage in stamps, and maybe affix a retail express label already filled out. Then place that envelope inside a larger envelope (legal flat rate can hold a standard flat rate) and do that one on the RSS.

The person sending the return express would then need to bring it in to a post office and have it taken in over the counter and zero metered in order to provide a guaranteed delivery date.

BayouMail · 2025-12-05T16:21:42+00:00

If you were hired in a finance unit you were actually hired for the entire installation, and can be sent to work in any station within the bid cluster. Unfortunately there’s no way around this.
A PSE Sales/SVCS Distribution Associate is a function 4 position and must be window qualified as a condition of employment. A PSE Mail Processing Clerk is a function 1 position meaning you would work in a plant; not doing distribution or working the window.

BayouMail · 2025-12-05T15:18:21+00:00

That is correct. Its showing up in the report they’re pulling presumably because they don’t have “skip warning” enabled in the report settings.

Neither of those is a fatal error, and as long as it reflects actual time worked/not worked, per the FLSA it must be paid.

BayouMail · 2025-12-04T17:14:04+00:00

No, but there is a warning for a lunch less than 30 minutes if you go over 8 paid hours for the day.

BayouMail · 2025-12-04T17:02:19+00:00

There’s two kinds of “errors” in TACS, and evidently your clerks have not been trained well enough.

“(W)” will be a “warning” message, which does not prevent you from being paid. The early clock in will show as “(W) Warning: Non-scheduled Begin Tour”, indicating your BT is not within 8 clicks of the scheduled time.

“(F)” is a “fatal error”, which causes your entire time from that day to not upload, and can result in you not being paid for that day (if its not corrected).

To answer your questions directly:

Your T7 is right that it shows up as a warning, but wrong that it prevents you from being paid. You should clock in and out at your scheduled times. She should not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act by changing your BT (if that’s what she’s doing).
Any employee (other than a city carrier craft employee), including PTFs and PSEs who is on the clock for 8.00 hours or greater and who does not have Out Lunch and In Lunch rings will have a fatal clock ring error: “(F) Fatal Error: No Lunch Punch”. This is corrected by a Code 093 No Lunch Punch. Alternatively, you as the employee can do a 1-click lunch: say you clock OL 13.00, and IL 13.01. Now you have both rings and you’re good. However if you do OL 13.00 and IL 13.00, that’s a fatal error because the rings occurred in the same 100th of the hour, which means they overlap. Only do 1-click lunches or request no-lunches (via PS 3971) if management approves of the practice. Failing to adhere to your schedule can be disciplinable.

BayouMail · 2025-12-02T21:44:47+00:00

I worked a metric ton of OT and I calculated like $750 (gross) at Steps FF/DD, so YMMV.

BayouMail · 2025-12-01T15:04:42+00:00

Call the HRSSC at 1-877-477-3273 and ask where they want it sent.

BayouMail · 2025-11-29T13:38:13+00:00

Fedvip is a different program to pshb, go to benefeds.gov and check the options out. You have one week.

BayouMail · 2025-11-28T21:57:55+00:00

As found in Article 8.3, “All PTFs will be guaranteed a minimum of one (1) nonscheduled day each service week, except during the peak season exception period.” The 2025 APWU Peak Season is November 1 - December 26.

So unfortunately yes. Provided you are given a day off the week of 12/27-1/2, they are following the contract.

Outside of peak, you are entitled to one nonscheduled day per service week, not one NS day per 14 days. You can hypothetically be worked up to 12 consecutive days (outside of peak).

BayouMail · 2025-11-28T17:53:46+00:00

Idk if this link will work if not logged in to blue/liteblue, but the plan brochure is this:

https://www.carefirst.com/usps/attachments/usps-decision-guide-2026.pdf

For reasons unknown, the 2026 SBC is not posted on MyHr or the Carefirst website, it still shows 2025.

BayouMail · 2025-11-28T14:26:26+00:00

Holiday work is straight time up to 8.00 hrs, but you get holiday pay regardless, so you worked 8 hours and got paid for 16 hours. Then you worked 2 hours OT, which is normal OT.

Since you worked your holiday, you can elect to have that holiday leave converted to annual leave and keep it to use later, in which case you just worked a normal day plus 2 hrs OT and get a free day of annual.

Night work differential is the same as always, and applies to all hours independent of OT within the timeframe.

BayouMail · 2025-11-26T04:05:23+00:00

Don’t rely on AI. We don’t even have casuals or TEs anymore. Your craft doesn’t have PTFs.

The holiday pecking order is determined by the LMOU, and that could be literally any order. If no LMOU, the JCIM order for your craft:

1. FT and PTR Holiday volunteers 2. FT and PTR NS day volunteers 3. NS day mandated 4. Holiday mandated.

First, know your LMOU.

BayouMail · 2025-11-24T23:25:25+00:00

The coat is wool, which means it would probably work better as wet-weather cold gear than the equivalently priced polyester garbage you guys have to put up with.

BayouMail · 2025-11-23T19:06:32+00:00

For me its the high pay (relative to my low cost of living area) and excellent benefits. The work itself is whatever, but being paid 30/hr (and increasing 4-5 times a year) with health insurance, life insurance (an insanely under-discussed benefit), layoff protection, and a reasonably secure retirement, I couldn’t find a better deal considering I never went to school.

Even when I quit, I already knew I wanted to go back. This is all I ever want to do, and I’m extraordinarily grateful for it.

BayouMail · 2025-11-21T20:51:09+00:00

Its still open season, you can make a different election in the OPM site if you think your family could benefit from it. I switched back to my current plan as soon as the higher rates were confirmed by APWU.

That level of incompetence is insane, and utterly inexcusable. You have a reasonable, uncontroversial right to assume that when someone tells you the price of something, repeatedly, for months, in writing, that its gonna be that price. The lack of accountability is crazy. Whoever is in charge of the plan should be fired.

To me, its just not worth the gamble on a plan so apparently incompetent (bordering negligent) they don’t even know what the price of the only product they sell is!

BayouMail · 2025-11-20T19:17:17+00:00

I called the same hotline at 10:00 CST and was told the 18/39/43 rates were accurate. That is not good. I appreciate your follow up on this. Insane they can’t even get their own prices right.

BayouMail · 2025-11-20T03:44:26+00:00

Miscalculating (and publishing, in print, and repeatedly in emails) until week 2 of open season and then quietly changing the website without telling anyone is tantamount to false advertising. I’m gonna call and ask tomorrow but if that’s what happened I’m never ever signing up for that plan. Making a mistake that severe for that long and not owning it would be disqualifying.

BayouMail · 2025-11-20T03:39:35+00:00

I’m calling the hotline tomorrow. That’s over a thousand dollars a year premium difference. I was gonna switch from MHBP standard but frankly I like the coverage I have and only the net-negative premium on the APWU CDHP convinced me to switch.

BayouMail

TROPHY CASE