Postal Service Keeps Going by Tapping Workers' Retirement

The US Postal Service isn't about to grind to a halt next year after all, but its long-term finances are still shaky. Postmaster General David Steiner told senators on Wednesday that earlier warnings of a 2027 cash collapse are off the table, largely because of a pause on required retirement fund payments and other cost-cutting moves, per NPR. New estimates now put a potential cash crunch somewhere between 2031 and 2034. That breathing room comes with a catch: USPS is effectively funding operations by delaying what it owes to worker retirement plans, Steiner said, a strategy he and regulators describe as unsustainable.

"The bottom line is that we are out of cash," Steiner said in written testimony, per Reuters, to a Senate committee. He warned that the agency could run out of operating funds in months if it stopped deferring obligations. About 58% of the 18,000 ‌Post Offices lose money, per Reuters. The agency, which posted a $2 billion loss last quarter, is raising stamp prices again and pressing Congress for changes to its borrowing limits, retirement obligations, and even its six-day delivery mandate. Lawmakers want detailed projections before signing off. "The Postal Service has a broken business model and action is needed by Congress to fix it."