WASHINGTON (PNN) - June 22, 2011 - The financially troubled U.S. Postal Service is suspending its employer contribution to the Federal Employee Retirement System.

The agency said Wednesday it is acting to conserve cash while it continues to lose money. It was $8 billion in the red last year because of the combined effects of the ongoing Depression and the switch of much mail business to the Internet. It faces the possibility of running short of money by the end of this fiscal year in September.

"This move underscores the need for Congress to make bold, quick and substantive reforms to the (U.S.) Postal Service. The USPS is hanging (on) by a thread, along with eight million private sector jobs that depend on the mail," said Art Sackler, coordinator for the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, a group representing the private sector mailing industry.

The Post Office said it has informed the Office of Personnel Management that the $115 million retirement payment made every two weeks will be suspended, effective Friday. The action is expected to free about $800 million in the current fiscal year. The Post Office's FERS account currently has a surplus of $6.9 billion, the agency said.