Skip to page navigation
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

OPM.gov / Frequently Asked Questions / Pay and Leave FAQ / Pay Administration
Skip to main content

Pay Administration

Questions and answers

Yes. By law, severance payments must be discontinued when the recipient is "reemployed by the Government of the United States." (See 5 U.S.C. 5595(d).) The U.S. Postal Service is part of the U.S. Government. The fact that Postal Service employees are not entitled to receive severance pay under section 5595 (due to the exclusion at 5 U.S.C. 2105(e)) is irrelevant. (We note that past Postal Service employment is creditable service for purposes of computing an employee's severance pay fund. See 5 CFR 550.708(b).)

If the Postal Service job is without time limitation, severance payments are terminated. However, if the Postal Service job carries a definite time limitation, then severance payments are merely suspended for the duration of the time-limited appointment and may be resumed after separation. (See 5 CFR 550.710-711. Note: We plan to revise these regulations to clarify that, consistent with the law, any Federal employment terminates or suspends severance payments.)

Control Panel