Retiree health fund pushes postal service into red

Nearly all of the Postal Service's products produced revenue increases, but the agency is in debt because of a congressional requirement that it pay about $5 billion into a future retiree health care fund.

The New York Times: Postal Service Quarterly Loss Was $2 Billion, Despite Higher Prices
Despite an increase in revenue for nearly all of the Postal Service's products, the agency continues to be mired in debt because of a congressional requirement to pay about $5 billion into a future retiree health care fund, post office officials said on Monday (Nixon, 8/11).

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Postal Service Posts $1.96 Billion Loss In Third Quarter
The biggest financial hurdle is a congressional mandate that requires it to prefund about $5.5 billion annually for health benefits for future retirees. The service said Monday it will default on its required $5.7 billion payment by Sept. 30 for the fourth year in a row, unless legislative reform is passed in time. Before this charge, as well as some workers' compensation items, it would have earned $1 billion in the first three quarters (Stevens, 8/11).