Monday, January 6, 2025
You can contribute more to the TSP
The IRS has announced new limits for 2025
Postal Service employees can contribute as much as $23,500 to the Thrift Savings Plan in 2025, up from $23,000 in 2024.
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced the new contribution limits for the retirement savings plan, also known as the TSP.
Employees 50 and older can contribute an additional $7,500 to the plan in 2025, while employees 60 to 63 will be able to contribute a total of $11,250 in catch-up contributions.
Employees who are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System, or FERS, can receive a matching contribution of up to 5 percent from the Postal Service.
USPS encourages employees who are not maxing out their contributions to consider increasing their contribution amounts whenever they can to reach their retirement savings goals.
To make changes to TSP contributions, employees should go to the MyHR website to access PostalEASE. To make changes to their investment fund, employees should go to the TSP website.
Heroes
He kept calm and carried on
This carrier got shoppers to safety while a store was being robbed
Letter Carrier Nathan Slentz was delivering mail recently to a variety store in Lincolnton, NC, when a robber entered.
As the man pointed his rifle at a store clerk, Slentz put his hands up and stepped away from the counter.
The Postal Service employee then moved into an aisle as the robber demanded the money from the store’s cash registers.
Slentz quickly ushered terrified shoppers to safety, where they remained until the robber left. The clerk called 911 and Slentz stayed with the customers until police arrived.
The store employee told police that if Slentz had not been there, she was certain the outcome would have been different.
“Without hesitation, the mail carrier made his way to the back aisle of the store where he then directed two women and two small children to hide in the corner until the coast was clear and it was safe for them to exit,” she said.
The store sent Slentz a message of gratitude for his bravery and concern for the customers.
The alleged robber and getaway car driver were arrested a few days later. They are both in jail.
Employees featured in “Heroes” receive letters of commendation through the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program. The nomination form is available on Blue.
USPS employees can take new leadership courses
The virtual training includes instructor-led and self-paced classes
The Postal Service is offering virtual courses for Executive and Administrative Schedule (EAS) employees through the Center for Creative Leadership, a provider of leadership development and research.
The four courses are designed to elevate frontline leadership capabilities and include a mix of instructor-led, moderated and self-paced training.
Here’s the lineup:
• Frontline Leader Impact, available for EAS-18 to EAS-21 employees;
• Better Conversations Every Day, for EAS-18 to EAS-23 employees;
• Lead 4 Success, for EAS-22 to EAS-26 employees; and
• Creating Leadership, for EAS-23 employees to pay band managers.
Employees interested in taking advantage of these classes should have a career conversation with their manager, who must approve participation. Openings are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Applications must be submitted no later than Friday, Jan. 31.
For more information, employees should contact their local employee development team or email the National Training Leadership Programs team.
Week in Review
Here’s what Link covered Dec. 29-Jan. 4
Last year’s best photos and this year’s paydays were highlights
As the new year dawned last week, Link looked back at 2024 — and looked ahead.
We told you how the Postal Inspection Service maintained a round-the-clock operations center to safeguard the nation’s Election Mail last fall, offered a special year-end edition of “On the Job” and took another look at some of the best photographs we published last year.
Link also introduced you to a unique customer whose livelihood is firmly rooted in the past: John Coffer, a “wet-plate artist” who uses a photographic technique that dates to the 1850s. He communicates with clients solely by U.S. Mail.
“Only the most interested and thoughtful will take the time and effort to write,” he wrote in an interview conducted by mail.
We also took a look at the year ahead, offering a calendar that shows 2025 paydays, a preview of the big events expected to take place this year and a reminder that the deadline for the latest Combined Federal Campaign is approaching.
Additionally, we introduced you to Nathan Slentz, a Lincolnton, NC, letter carrier who safely shielded customers from a robbery in a variety store, and Henry Hirschman, a 13-year-old Rhode Island student who is writing letters to someone in every state.
One of his recipients: Barbara Batin, who recently retired as manager of the USPS Remote Encoding Center in Salt Lake City.
“I was so impressed. I thought this is phenomenal that there is a 13-year-old in Rhode Island who loves to write to people,” she said.
USPS again accepting mail, packages to Canada
The Postal Service will resume acceptance of mail and packages bound for Canada starting Monday, Jan. 6.
USPS suspended acceptance of mail and packages bound for Canada as a result of a strike at Canada Post that ended last month.
In a statement, the Postal Service said Canada Post has made “significant progress in clearing delayed volumes caused by their employee strike, and now commercial and retail customers, as well as those using online systems, will be able to send mail and packages to Canada once again.”
The usps.com service alerts page has the latest information.
Some employee postcards have incorrect names
USPS employees are currently receiving postcards about how the organization is modernizing its fleet as part of the Delivering for America plan.
Because of a printer error, the names and addresses on some postcards are mismatched.
Employees do not need to take any corrective action.
View past printouts
Printout details
What's included
-
You can contribute more to the TSP
The IRS has announced new limits for 2025
-
Heroes
He kept calm and carried on
This carrier got shoppers to safety while a store was being robbed
-
USPS employees can take new leadership courses
-
Week in Review
Here’s what Link covered Dec. 29-Jan. 4
Last year’s best photos and this year’s paydays were highlights
-
Brief
USPS again accepting mail, packages to Canada
-
Brief
Some employee postcards have incorrect names