The United States Postal Service announced Thursday, April 9, that all employer contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) would be suspended.
This suspension will take effect on April 10, as the agency faces a serious financial crisis that could leave it without cash within 12 months.
Through cash conservation measures, approximately $2.5 billion will be saved. However, it will end the $200 million in payments the USPS makes every two weeks to contribute to the federal retirement program.
According to USPS Chief Financial Officer Luke Grossman, “the risk to the Postal Service and the American public of a lack of liquidity for postal operations significantly outweighs any long-term risk to pension funds.”
Concerns about the cash crisis were raised last month by Postmaster General David Steiner, who warned that without major reforms the agency would face a cash shortage by February 2027.
This potentially disrupted mail delivery across the country. According to Steiner, this problem could be solved by increasing the price of first-class stamps to 95 cents, or $1, from the current 78 cents.
Another suggestion was to reduce delivery from six days a week to five days or less.
Since 2007, the USPS has posted net losses of $118 billion as first-class mail volume has fallen to its lowest level since the late 1960s.
In 2025 alone, the agency recorded a loss of $9 billion.
Despite the announcement of the suspension, the USPS emphasized that the pension suspension will not have an immediate impact on current or future retirees.
