Not going regular

indmorcoffee · Dec 8, 2016

Has any sub not gone regular and just stayed a sub? I know being a sub sucks, been doing it for almost 6 years now. But the pay is pretty good. I would be going down about $6 an hour if I went regular.

I know there are a lot of benefits to being regular: health insurance, retirement, being on the same route no matter what, rarely last minute call ins, etc. But I think there's some benefits to being a sub too. The main one for me is not being tied down to one area or office. Every office seems to need subs.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm turning 49 next year and when the option comes up in the near future I don't know what I really want to do. I NEVER thought I would utter those words.

I just wanted to get the opinions from anyone who stayed a sub. Did you regret it, what were the reasons you made your decision?

Rt2mailman · Dec 8, 2016

When you become regular you do get paid less in dollars but not benefits. At 49 you may want to consider the thrift savings plan where you can get 5%matched by the Usps that will go towards your retirement someday. That and health care makes regular more valuable to most.

btdtret · Dec 8, 2016

indmorcoffee -- My old office had one such RCA. He was happy in his situation of work 2 or 3 routes when needed, so didn't bid to become a regular. This went on for years until one year when 6 routes went up for bid late in the year. He surprised everyone and did submit a bid and became a regular. I remember it well as I was #7 on the RCA seniority list!

That being said, a lot will depend whether the office is well stocked with RCA's so working only one or two days a pay period is the norm and RCA's are contend with that, enabling them to stay home, or go to school, or maintain a part-time or even full-time job. If in a sub-short office, an RCA could be working the equivalent of full time, and again some are happy with that as well as don't mind working multiple offices on short notice.

You've already posted the benefits of becoming a regular. Sooner or later, your body will begin to let you know when it is time to go regular.

Bottom line -- it will be your decision. Good luck.

Charlie Brown · Dec 8, 2016

So at age 49 unless you have A. some good retirement benefit from a previous job B. A trust fund or C. Rich old parents, you need to plan for your future retirement.

Here's an idea how postal retirement works. First you get FERS and lets assume you make regular at age 50 and retire at age 65 you'll probably get "gross" about $800 a month. Now if you're married, take survivors benefits out and it will be reduced. also you'll probably have to pay something for healthcare "medicare" and then don't forget taxes, federal tax for sure and some states tax retirement income too. All in all you won't get too much from FERS.

Take regular ASAP and contribute as much as you can to your thrift savings plan (TSP)

indmorcoffee · Dec 8, 2016

Yeah you guys are right. I've been thinking really hard on it for a while. But there really is more pros for becoming regular then staying a sub.

Boston65 · Dec 8, 2016

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">indmorcoffee said 
Has any sub not gone regular and just stayed a sub? I know being a sub sucks, been doing it for almost 6 years now. But the pay is pretty good. I would be going down about $6 an hour if I went regular.

I know there are a lot of benefits to being regular: health insurance, retirement, being on the same route no matter what, rarely last minute call ins, etc. But I think there's some benefits to being a sub too. The main one for me is not being tied down to one area or office. Every office seems to need subs.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm turning 49 next year and when the option comes up in the near future I don't know what I really want to do. I NEVER thought I would utter those words.

I just wanted to get the opinions from anyone who stayed a sub. Did you regret it, what were the reasons you made your decision? </blockquote>
The rate of pay (salary) will depend on the size of the route you get. In my case, I went up in pay along with the benefits. Main thing is working as safe and efficiently as you can. Working one route was a benefit to me. Getting to know my customers was awesome also.

Best of luck!

EthelAnne · Dec 9, 2016

I converted to regular six months ago after being an RCA for 10+ years. I'm now the regular on the smallest (41H), suckiest route in the office, working six days a week.

I took advantage of the life insurance and the TSP account, but I'm covered under my husband's health insurance, so the benefits of going regular weren't a real selling point for me: I have a decent amount of money in a 401k from the job I had before I had children, but you probably can never have enough saved for retirement so the TSP is nice. The life insurance is probably not necessary, but gives me peace of mind. My point is that the benefits were not life-changers for me, and I could have gone along well enough without them.

For me, the biggest deciding factor in turning regular was that I would no longer have to work Amazon Sunday. It only came to our area about a year and half ago and there were times--after being an RCA for ten years!--that I thought about quitting because I hated it so much, I hated working Sundays and holidays, it absolutely made smoke come out of my ears (and in my area, we worked every Sunday and holiday, unless we requested off, so lots of seven-day work weeks, more OT than any of us wanted).

Had it not been for Amazon Sundays, I might have stayed an RCA. I really liked the position, it worked very well for me and my family for many years, I earned between $20-30k a year as one of only two or three subs in a small office in an affluent suburb, and I had plenty of free time to pursue other interests.

What I find most difficult with being a regular is the lack of free time, and anxiety over whether or not leave requests will be approved (I haven't requested leave yet). As an RCA, there was just so much more flexibility, and I'm missing that a lot.

Boogiepop · Dec 9, 2016

You won't make $6 less as a regular for very long especially if you move to another route or move up In steps.

In my office I make way more money easier than I ever could as a sub. We have no subs so I've always worked my K day for 150% pay and that extra pay allows me to keep maxing out my tsp. You also get a tsp match.... Getting paid for holidays is pretty nice as well.

The only thing I miss from being an RCA is variety of delivering to different routes. If you get a chance to become regular.. Just take it.

indmorcoffee · Dec 9, 2016

EthelAnne & Boogiepop, everything you both just said is exactly what has been going thru my mind for the last year. We have 7 subs so my work schedule is Saturday and Amazon Sunday every week, weekdays off. But boy when they call me in for parcel help and I haven't worked a route in 2 weeks, my body is sooo soar at the end of the day. My body has to get use to it all over again.

I do love the variety, but I think being on the same route everyday will have its perks. Especially the day after a holiday. And yes, no more Amazon Sundays.

I'm gonna blame my indecisiveness on menopause.

Nebcarrier · Dec 11, 2016

Which pay schedule are you looking at? 2 or 1. It does make a difference. Like others have said, benefits are very good. I like the paid days off, if you can get your leave approved. So many jobs today don't have the best combination of security and decent pay like this job does. Just remember supervisors can change quicker than your patrons, so just do your best.

North · Dec 11, 2016

EthelAnne--- I run an H route in a small office, so its hard for me to keep a sub, which is understandable. I think the best solution is to put in for LWOP on regular intervals even when its not important. (Plus of course some sick and vacation days). I have two trained RCA's in the main office who can run my route well. LWOP doesn't have to be approved (no available sub???), and I'm fine with that (it usually is approved), I just want to give others the time, and me a break from 6 days a week. I usually do less than 10 a year for what its worth, maybe once every other month...I've had several postmasters find it unusual, but I don't absolutely need to work 6 days a week,, and it doesn't sound like you do either.

Life as a regular vs. RCA is no comparison for me. Probably the best argument, life as an RCA is less guaranteed than that has a regular, changes will continue to come to the Post Office, and I can guess who will have the better outcome from any changes.

Charlie Brown · Dec 11, 2016

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">North said 
EthelAnne--- I run an H route in a small office, so its hard for me to keep a sub, which is understandable. I think the best solution is to put in for LWOP on regular intervals even when its not important. (Plus of course some sick and vacation days). I have two trained RCA's in the main office who can run my route well. LWOP doesn't have to be approved, and I'm fine with that (it usually is approved), I just want to give others the time, and me a break from 6 days a week. I usually do less than 10 a year for what its worth, maybe once every other month...I've had several postmasters find it unusual, but I don't absolutely need to work 6 days a week,, and it doesn't sound like you do either.

Life as a regular vs. RCA is no comparison for me. Probably the best argument, life as an RCA is less guaranteed than that has a regular, changes will continue to come to the Post Office, and I can guess who will have the better outcome from any changes. </blockquote>
According to the contract LWOP does have to be approved.

Also on an H route once you take twelve days of LWOP you lose some annual leave, it's at 11 days if you're a J route and 10 days if you're a K route. The amount you loose depends on what leave category you're in. 13 days annual per year you lose 4 hours, 20 days annual per year you lose 6 hours, 26 days annual per year you lose 8 hours.

EthelAnne · Dec 11, 2016

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">Charlie Brown said 

According to the contract LWOP does have to be approved.

</blockquote>
I think @North just meant that LWOP was more likely to be denied than annual, and supervisors will not make much of an effort to find coverage, not that LWOP is handed out freely.

I've thought about using LWOP but I'm concerned how that might affect benefits, particularly pension, which I believe is calculated based on 40 hour work weeks. We have a PTF clerk in our office who has been working forever because most of his career he worked <30 hours a week (at least, I think that's the reason why).

North · Dec 12, 2016

this link http://retirement.federaltimes.com/2015/11/04/lwop-and-retirement-date/

quote----It won’t affect your retirement unless you took more than 6 months within the same calendar year. If you did, any days of LWOP beyond six months wouldn’t count toward your total service time. That could affect the date on which you are eligible to retire and the amount of your annuity.-------

also see https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/effect-of-extended-leave-without-pay-lwop-or-other-nonpay-status-on-federal-benefits-and-programs/

--------------High-3 average salary computations are based on periods of creditable service.------

Edit--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

for more info on retirement see

https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/computation/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My guess is the part time 30 year clerk is dealing with a low High-3 computation amount because he don't work full-time, so his salary is lower.....

Charlie Brown · Dec 12, 2016

North, I'm not sure if you got this right but the high three is not your 3 highest years it's your highest 36 contiguous months. So if you're like most employees and your earnings are at there highest towards the end of your career you (or anybody) needs to avoid taking any LWOP if at all possible during what may be part of your high 3.

I recently retired and was very fortunate that the last count pushed me into a 48K Even though I only worked a little while at that evaluation it helped push my high three amount a little bit higher. So even though you won't lose time towards retirement if you only take a couple weeks or so of LWOP you will lose out on your high 3 basis. It may only be a small amount but you'll pay for it every month for as long as you live and that can add up to thousands.

Rt2mailman · Dec 12, 2016

Charlie Brown, I must have mis-understood, but I always thought your high three were the highest three years out of your last five not needing to be contiguous months.

Charlie Brown · Dec 13, 2016

Yea, a lot of people are not sure about this. This is from the OPM web site.

"Your high 3 average pay is the highest average basic pay you earned during any 3 consecutive years of service."

Notice it says basic pay, none of that Xmas O/T counts nor do any of those code 5 Saturdays.

If you're interested in learning any more about your retirement go to opm.gov click on retirement then click on FERS really easy to read site.

btdtret · Dec 13, 2016

All -- High 3 earnings over 36 continuous months.

-- It sort of rankled me when Arbitrator Clarke put the following in his "award" for the 2010-2015 Contract:

The Board of Arbitration will direct modification of the High Option language in order that COST SAVINGS anticipated in the Award are realized while at the same time ensuring that Rural Letter Carriers are NOT HAMPERED IN MAXIMIZING their incomes in their last years of service.

-- Delaying the option from 3 years to 10 years in service isn't hampering? At least in my case, I had my largest route during years 3 to 5 as a regular. Later Counts and adjustments gradually ate away the route so I had to utilize the High Option ( K to J ) to keep from having a $5K drop in pay in my last year.