OK, here’s the story I received. Anybody care to explain it?
http://www.postcom.org/public/2002/letter%20to%20the%20president.pdf
Without knowing exactly what the study showed I can take a guess.
It sounds like the USPS was involved in what your mutual funds broker would call “Income averaging” – i.e. they put in the same amount per employee per month regardless of what the investments were paying off at the time.
The investments had a run of particularly good luck and increased in value beyond projections. Therefore, the pension fund now has a surplus in it.
This organization wants USPS to bring its pension fund back in line with projected need but cutting its investment until the balance evens up. The USPS is refusing to do that, and its projected monthly investments in the fund have already been factored into the next rate increase.
Usually companies are attacked for underfunding their pension funds, for projecting a higher rate of return on the investments than is actually possible, or for using money dedicated to pensions for other purposes.