Retirement Ron Watson Director of Retired Members

Ron Watson was elected NALC director of retired members on Oct. 7, 2015, following a Dept. of Laborsupervised election conducted by mail. He has served as director since his appointment in 2013 to fill a vacancy. Full bio

NALCs Retirement Department serves the members, active and retired, with advice and assistance regarding pre-retirement and post-retirement issues. These issues primarily involve the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and its administration of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). But the issues also at times intersect with other agencies and programs, including the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), Medicare, Social Security, Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) and Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB).

2017 retired member COLA projection: 0.5%

Based on the July 17 release of the June 2016 Consumer Price Index (CPI), the accumulation toward the 2017 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) was 0.5 percent.

For details and a look at recent COLAs and trends, click here.

The NALC Retirement Department can be reached by calling 800-424-5186 (toll free) Monday, Wednesday or Thursday, 10 a.m.-Noon or 2 p.m.-4 p.m. (Eastern time), or by calling the NALC Headquarters switchboard at 202- 393-4695 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Eastern time) and asking for the Retirement Department.

The USPS HR Shared Service Center (HRSSC) can be reached by current employees who are planning or applying for retirement by calling 877-477-3273, option 5.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) acts as the personnel office for retired letter carriers, and is the agency responsible for administering retirement, health and life insurance benefits. Before you call or write to OPM, be sure to have your Civil Service Annuity (CSA) number ready. OPM can be reached by retirees who have a CSA number by calling 888-767-6738 or 724-794-2005, 7:40 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday (Eastern time), or 202-606-0500 in the Washington, DC, area. Mail your written inquiries to Office of Personnel Management, Retirement Operations Center, Boyers, PA 16017 (unless OPM has specified a different address for a specific action such as health benefits open season).

Click here to download Dir. Watsons workshop PowerPoint presentation from NALCs 2015 Rap Session in Houston. (Dont have PowerPoint? Try importing the file to Google Drives Slides program.)

Click here to download Dir. Watsons workshop PowerPoint presentation, CSRS and FERS: A Guide for Employees Approaching Retirement. (Dont have PowerPoint? Try importing the file to Google Drives Slides program.)

Click on the plus symbol next to each topic below to see more information:

While the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) makes all decisions regarding retirement entitlement, current employees are required to apply for retirement through the USPS Human Resources Shared Services (HRSSC).Learn more...

Dont forget to act to maintain your NALC membership when you retire to continue to receive the many benefits of membership.Learn more...

Retirees are an essential part of NALCs political and legislative advocacy efforts.Learn more...

Click here for other useful documents and resources.

While employees who are planning or applying for retirement are required to process through the Postal Service Human Resources Shared Service Center (HRSSC), once retired, that changes. After the effective date of retirement, issues regarding retirement matters must be directed to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Learn more...

Dont forget to act to maintain your NALC membership when you retire to continue to receive the many benefits of membership. Learn more...

Retirees are an essential part of NALCs political and legislative advocacy efforts. Learn more...

Click here for other useful documents and resources.

The OPM maintains a listserv that provides up-to-date information about retirement benefits. Click here to join or access the listserv.

Click here for documents and links to websites about relevant topics, including questions and answers on the Civil Service Retirement System, questions and answers on the Federal Employees Retirement System, a survivors guide to CSRS, FERS, and Social Security, preparing for retirement, what to do when a retired or active letter carrier dies, OPM and federal employee benefit resources on the Web, information on NALCs retirement community (Nalcrest) and more.

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Retirement | National Association of Letter Carriers AFL-CIO