The language is ... inflammatory? All pension benefits in well-operated schemes are, by definition, pre-funded. You can't have a pay-as-you-go type of system b

The language is ... inflammatory? All pension benefits in well-operated schemes are, by definition, pre-funded. You can't have a pay-as-you-go type of system because, if your company went bankrupt tomorrow, you might have retirees that still have a life expectancy in the decades. You get an actuary to look at your current and future obligations based on your workforce, schedule of entitlements etc. and they work out how much you need to contribute to the scheme today to make sure that it is funded. The idea is that some disaster could befall your company at any time and retirees would not be out of pocket. This is what pre-funded means. It doesn't mean "when I join the USPS at age 21 they have to assume I'm going to retire with 40 years of service and immediately put aside cash for that". Now, typically, retiree health benefits are not included in this setup because they're not guaranteed. i.e. there is nothing in the law that requires them to be maintained. On the other hand, the USPS is required to provide those retiree health benefits. It can't stop paying them unless Congress passes a law. It does at least seem consistent with the treatment of pension benefits on this basis.