USPS Suspends Pension Contributions Amid Crisis

The United States Postal Service announced on April 9, 2026, that it will temporarily suspend its employer contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System, a pension plan covering nearly all of its career employees, as part of efforts to address a deepening financial crisis. The move, effective immediately, aims to preserve cash for essential operations like payroll and mail delivery, with officials warning the agency could exhaust its funds by February 2027 without further reforms.

The suspension targets the agency's biweekly payments of about 200 million to the Office of Personnel Management for the defined benefit portion of the retirement system. USPS Chief Financial Officer Luke Grossmann stated that the action will save approximately 2.5 billion in the current fiscal year through September 30. He emphasized that employee contributions to the system will continue to be forwarded, as will all payments to the Thrift Savings Plan, including employer matches, and Social Security contributions. "There will not be any immediate detrimental impact to our current or future retirees if normal FERS cost payments are temporarily withheld," Grossmann said. He added that the...