Comments on: The Millionaire Mailman?

By: J. Money

J. Money — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 22:14:42 +0000

In reply to V P. Haha thanks for setting it straight! This post is now about 7 years old but I'm willing to bet not that much has changed since then benefits wise :) Appreciate the detailed insight! And thank you for your service!! I feel like y'all never get the love you truly deserve giving us all our mail through all that nasty weather!

By: V P

V P — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 11:27:17 +0000

Just to clarify: the USPS matches 100% of the first 3% contributed, 50% on the next 2% contributed, and an automatic 1% whether contributions are made or not, as long as an account is open. That adds up to 100% on 5% of contributions. The TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) also has a Roth feature, introduced less than a decade ago. There are five index options:G, or government (stable) index; F, or fixed income index; C, or large company (think S&P 500) index; S, or small company (think Wiltshire 4500) index; and I , or international index. There are also target-date funds available which utilize various combinations of the above indexes in a “pre-made” package suited to the retirement date desired. As one can expect, only the G fund is stable, and will not lose money, similar to a money market fund but with bond-like interest rates. My only gripe with these funds is that they reflect any income or capital gains from the index in the form of a price adjustment, not a “reinvestment” of dividends as known in the investing world. As a result, shares acquired remain the same, but the price increases (or decreases) with the market. Only purchases will increase the number of shares. (Of course, two interfund transfers are allowed each month, among the funds, so if one is lucky enough to ride a good stock index increase and jump back into the G fund, more shares may be obtained that way, too, but I do not really recommend this, as timing is almost impossible.) Employee contribution limit for 2019 is $19000 as with almost all 401(k) programs, and a $5000additional 50-year and over catch-up is allowed.

As to disability: there used to be a group disability benefit (to be paid out-of-pocket), but it is no longer touted. It may still be available, but I doubt it would pay out before worker’s compensation, the primary source of carriers’ funding. (And yes, it is an absolute horror to go through the claims process.) We also have sick leave benefits that carry over annually, without limit, and which can count towards time served for pension calculations. We also have annual leave (vacation time), which can accrue up to 440 hours , over which is lost if not used.

I bring all this up because the carrier in your interview did not seem to know or care to reflect the accuracy of these benefits. There is no “unlimited” match, for example.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 11:59:25 +0000

In reply to John. Nice work on that overtime $$! And investing an average of $15,000 a year too in your TSP! Millionaire Mailman status will be yours too at this rate :)

By: John

John — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 01:00:01 +0000

In reply to Tim Allen. I'm a topd out custodian at USPS. Base pay 54500, night d, Sunday premium 57500 a year. I always make 75000/to 80000 a year with overtime. I've saved 175000 tho in tsp the the 11 yes I've been with USPS.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 14:04:10 +0000

In reply to T nabkk. Really?? That's sad... business-wise I'm sure it makes sense as the industry is leaking $$$ like crazy, but jeez.

By: T nabkk

T nabkk — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 18:32:32 +0000

Forgot to mention that any of the offered health plans doesn’t include any dental plans coverage at all.
Also all letter carriers dont have coverage under any disability plan unlike most of people at any job at a store or city job etc……. which means if you get hurt or just got a longterm illness or surgery you wont get paid my USPS period so you get broke n lose your life because USPS doesn’t want to cover its employees under a disability insurance ! Another example for the lake of disability insurance and- i am sure that’s going to shock a lot of people – is the fact the there are no maternity leave at the post office which means when a woman gives birth she has to use all her own sick leave and annual leave balance period !! and if she doesnt have a balance good luck no pay ! the USPS dose’nt pay any woman in the working force a penny for maternity leave. I am sure that’s going to shock a lot of people – but that’s the realty at the USPS.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 14:30:48 +0000

Interesting… seems times are changing, eh?

By: T nabkk

T nabkk — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 03:23:56 +0000

2013 Now they hire the new carriers at 15$ /hr with no health benefits too .

By: T nabkk

T nabkk — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 03:22:20 +0000

They only match up to 5% and then you pay around 20-25 % taxes when withdraw at 59 1/2 if before that u pay 10% penalty and the health insurance in Ny is like 180$ a month for individual plan .

By: J. Money

J. Money — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 05:12:23 +0000

@Stephanie – Huh. That’s odd that there’s such a high minimum like that, but I guess also good cuz it forces people to save more! So I guess I dig it :) Way to go above it too – it’s all going to pay off over time!
@K.K. @ Living Debt Free Rocks! – Only 4 seconds? Oh come on – you should have at least lasted 5 ;)
@Joe @ Retire By 40 – Quite possibly! Randomly enough I haven’t seen him ONCE since posting this up, hmmm… hope I didn’t scare him away!
@MainlineMom – You know it! One of the best (and sometimes only) perks of a company! Gotta max that $hit out fo sho ;)
@StackingCash – Holy crap! Some of those are almost at the $200k level when you factor in those benefits – I would have never guessed! Wow… Guess they’re not “volunteer” ones, eh? :)
@SavvyFinancialLatina – And then the downfall is you could get stuck in a place forever too :( Unless you like that kinda thing, in which case even better!
@Leslie – Right? 26 years of hefty savings will add up quite a bit over time!
@DCM – “It doesn’t really matter how much you make. What matters is how you spend” – Yes yes yes! And you guys are doig an excelent job too, keep it up!! All that momentum goes far! :)
@Michael – Haha I know right?
@MakinSense Babe – We sure do our best ;) Part of this duo has to do all the work though!
@Jacob @ iheartbudgets – Hey, at least you’re contributing *something*! I have friends who don’t put in anything – it drives me bonkers… One who even WORKS at a 401(k) company! Whose sole job is to convince OTHER employees of the benefits and to invest!! *shakes head*
@Melissa@LittleHouseintheValley – Hah! I don’t blame you, that’s some pretty good matching. And awesome he forced you to invest so much too cuz that’s a sizeable amount most people wouldn’t go for! :)
@Slackerjo – You know it! Will check that out once I post this up, thanks :)
@Mandy @ MoneyMasterMom – Oh yeah! I keep forgetting about that book actually – one of the main ones I still have yet to read. Gonna add it back on to my list again, thanks :)
@debtgirl – Maybe cuz of the stability? Or how hard they say it is to get fired? Personally I’d mainly do it just to be able to travel more and move around – along with the healthcare benefits (if it’s true how good it is)… Every month when I cut that check for over $600 it stings! (okay, well no checks here, but still – when I see it auto deducted! :))
@Tim Allen – Ahhh, well even more important that I dig deeper then :) Still have yet to come across him since this post went live though, but it should be any day now!
@Brent Pittman – Haha… maybe give them a little beer first ;)
@becca – Inflation or not, it would still be real money being invested over all those years ;) But you could be right on all those salary numbers, I have no idea – I just made them up to see what they would calculate to. I’d have to prod him even further for that info but it may be taking it too far, haha…