Voluntary Early Retirement Timeline Set
For Excluded, Newly Eligible Employees

(This article first appeared in the May/June 2004 issue of The American Postal Worker Magazine.)

A timeline was established in late March for 8,100 APWU-represented employees who were denied voluntary early opportunities last year or were offered but declined early retirement in 2003. The timeline affects newly eligible employees as well.

Statement of Interest packages were mailed April 16 to eligible, full-time employees, and are to be sent to eligible part-time employees May 24.

Employees covered by the IT/ASC Collective Bargaining Agreement were not covered by the timeline released by the USPS on March 30. Separate instructions were to be issued for them shortly thereafter.

Employees who believe they are eligible but have not received a Statement of Interest packet should contact their personnel offices. "The personnel office must provide a copy of the materials to employees," management guidelines state, as long as the employees are covered by the appropriate pay schedules.

Completing the Package

Interested full-time employees must complete the Statement of Interest packages and return them to USPS headquarters postmarked no later than May 14; the due date for part-time employees is June 14.

Completing the Statement of Interest letter does not constitute a commitment to retire early, nor is it an application for Voluntary Early Retirement (VER): It simply prompts employees' personnel offices to validate their eligibility for VER. Employees found to be eligible will then be provided with a VER Offer package. The VER Offer package will include an annuity estimate, a service history report, an Acknowledgement of Irrevocability form, and an application for VER.

The Statement of Interest package will notify employees that completing the form "may result in retirement effective dates of July 31, 2004, or December 31, 2004, or June 30, 2005, with final determination to be based on operational needs." For part-time employees, the effective dates will be Aug. 31 and Dec. 31 this year, and June 30 next year.

The actual effective retirement date for individual employees will be included in their VER Offer package. The packages will be delivered to eligible, interested full-time employees no later than June 8, and to part-time employees no later than July 16.

Determination of Effective Dates

Guidelines distributed to management in the field indicate that the effective date of July 31, 2004, will be "referred to as the early date for full-time employees," and will be assigned to full-time employees "who can be released because their positions are no longer necessary or internal replacements are ready now."

Aug. 31, 2004, the guidelines continue, will be "referred to as the early date for part-time employees," and will be assigned to part-time employees (including both Part-Time Regulars and Part-Time Flexibles) "who can be released because their positions are no longer necessary or internal replacements are ready now."

Dec. 31, 2004, will be "referred to as the mid-range date," the guidelines indicate, and will be assigned to employees "who cannot be released by the early date because their position is still needed." The guidelines cite Retail Clerks as an example, noting that "internal replacements must be prepared to assume the position responsibilities."

June 30, 2005, will be "the long-range date," and will be assigned to employees "who cannot be released by the early date or the mid-range date because their positions are still needed." The guidelines cite Electronic Technicians as an example, noting that it can take a year or more to prepare an internal replacement to assume the position responsibilities.

The Human Relations and Operations Departments in the field will determine the effective date of retirement for eligible employees from the four dates listed above.

Full-time employees will have a "VER window" of June 14 through July 12, 2004. A VER decision will be irrevocable after 5 p.m. on July 12. For part-time employees, the window is July 26 through Aug. 20, 2004. The VER decision for part timers will become irrevocable on Aug. 20. After the close of the VER window period, each eligible employee who submitted an application for retirement will be sent an Approval Notice.

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