Postal Service Holds Back on Closures

(Reuters) - The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service will offer buyouts this summer to nearly all of its 45,000 mail handlers, part of a plan to consolidate operations at 140 mail-processing facilities in the next year. The mail agency, which lost $3.2 billion in the first three months of 2012, plans to begin this summer moving mail-processing activities away from smaller sites to reduce annual costs.

It’s no secret that many Americans are struggling to save enough for their retirement. Once upon a time, it was common for employers to bear the responsibility for worker’s well being after retirement through defined-benefit pensions. Today, if a worker is lucky, he will have the opportunity to invest in a 401(k) plan, usually with his employer providing matching contributions up to a certain amount. It’s now the worker’s responsibility to make sure he puts away enough each month, and that the investments he chooses are a good value.

It’s no secret that many Americans are struggling to save enough for their retirement. Once upon a time, it was common for employers to bear the responsibility for worker’s well being after retirement through defined-benefit pensions. Today, if a worker is lucky, he will have the opportunity to invest in a 401(k) plan, usually with his employer providing matching contributions up to a certain amount. It’s now the worker’s responsibility to make sure he puts away enough each month, and that the investments he chooses are a good value.

Scott Gries/Getty Images • Half of Americans have no idea how much they pay in fees for their 401(k). A 2015 study found that in 16% of 401(k) plans, fees were so excessive they outweighed the tax benefits. • It can be difficult to figure out how much you're paying in fees, but there are tools available and red flags watch out for.

A few blocks away from my apartment, there's a store that Yelp users describe as “dirty,” “disgusting,” “horrible,” and “saturated with bitterness.”  Yet they are still in business, and probably will be for a long time to come.  What type of establishment could have their customers routinely express such deep rooted frustration, and still get away with it?  The local Post Office, of course. At some point, we have all probably thought about doing something like what Michael Richards' character Kramer tried to do on Seinfeld - get out of the system, permanently.