Pay and Benefits | APWU - South Jersey Area Local 0526

Seventh and Final COLA under the 2015 Contract Agreement Announced

(This article was first reported on the National Website on August 10, 2018)

In accordance with the 2015-2018 APWU/USPS Collective Bargaining Agreement (union contract), career employees represented by the APWU will receive a 31 cent per hour cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), effective September 1, 2018. It will appear in paychecks dated September 21, 2018 (Pay Period 19-2018), and will total $645.00 per year.

The COLAs are in addition to general wage increases.

This is the seventh and final cost-of-living adjustment under the 2015-2018 contract:

$0.00 The first COLA would have been effective Sept. 5, 2015
$0.00 The second COLA would have been effective March 5, 2016.
$21.00 The third COLA was effective Sept. 3, 2016.
$333.00 The fourth COLA was effective March 18, 2017.
$270.00 The fifth COLA increase effective Sept. 2, 2017.
$520.00 The sixth COLA effective March 3, 2018.
$645.00 The seventh COLA effective Sept. 1, 2018.

The COLAs received during the 2015-2018 CBA will total $1,789 per year.

Postal Support Employees (PSEs) do not receive cost-of-living increases, but had five general wage increases under the 2015-2018 contract. PSEs received a pay increase of 21 cents on May 26, 2018.

Updated pay scales are available.

Special Enrollment for PSEs

On July 30, 2018, the Postal Service notified the APWU that there will be a special enrollment period for PSEs to enroll in the USPS Health Benefits Plan. The enrollment period will be open from August 20 2018, through October 4, 2018. Coverage will become effective on October 13, 2018.

This special enrollment is being conducted in accordance with the settlement agreement, RE: Workforce Benefits Fund. The settlement calls for the Postal Service to make additional contributions to USPS Health Benefits Plan for self plus one and family enrollments for PSEs. With these changes, it is necessary for the Service to offer eligible PSEs the opportunity to enroll.

Each eligible PSE will be receiving a letter (attached) from the Postal Service giving enrollment deadlines, enrollment methods, and plan premiums. The letter will instruct the employees to go the https://liteblue.usps.gov/uspshbp to learn about the plan. Enrollment will be through PostalEASE via liteblue, self-service kiosks in some offices, or by calling the HRSSC at 1-877-477-3273.

This enrollment is for the USPS non-career health benefits plan and should not be confused with the APWU Consumer Driven Option (CDO) plan. Enrollment will not be open for the APWU CDO plan during this special enrollment.

PSEs are eligible for enrollment in the APWU CDO plan after completing their first 360-day appointment. PSEs may enroll in the APWU CDO plan within 60-days of being appointed to a second term as a PSE or during regular Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) open season held in November and December of each year after meeting eligibility requirements.

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Your TSP account: Surviving the coming correction

(This article was first reported on federalnewsradio.com on June 15, 2018)

You know it’s coming. A major stock market correction is well overdue, according to historical averages. That’s something to keep in mind whether your Thrift Savings Plan account is in stocks, such as the C, S and I funds, or bonds, such as the F Fund. Or it could be in the G Fund composed of special Treasury securities, or in any of the automatically adjusting lifecycle L Funds.

It’s your money. A major portion of your retirement nest egg which, if you are under the Federal Employees Retirement System, will provide one third to one half of all the cash you have to spend in retirement.

Read more…