U S General Services Administration Office of Governmentwide

U. S. General Services Administration Office of Governmentwide Policy Review of Last Known Address Policy Kick-Off Meeting September 15, 2015 General Services Administration & United States Postal Service

Agenda § Part I: USPS Overview of Postal Mail System § Defining Undeliverable-as-Addressed (UAA) Mail § UAA Mail Impacts § Addressing Best Practices § Federal Agency Mail Volume Characteristics § Part II: GSA Overview of Federal Agency Mail § § § § An Example Mailing Costs & Intangible Costs Case Study from CMS Agency Requirements / Rules Developing New Policy / Law Steps Necessary to Implement Change Summary

Last Known Address Policy § Legislation, Regulation, Agency Policy: • Law • OMB EO’s • Federal Regulation • Legal Policy/Agency Policy § Agency uses the last known address from the agency’s system of records for any mail to be sent to addressee § While policy may have been used for decades and still is appropriate for certain situations, the emergence of security concerns, rights to privacy, i. e. , PII, and cost efficiencies (mailing discounts) forces a review of the policy

How does the USPS® define “UAA Mail” UAA mail is all mail that cannot be delivered to the name and address specified on the mailpiece, and must be forwarded, returned or properly treated as waste as authorized for the class of mail and ancillary service endorsement on the mailpiece. Some reasons mail may be considered UAA because: § The individual, family or business has moved § The address is incomplete, incorrect or illegible § The addressee is unknown or deceased § The addressee refuses or fails to claim the mail § The necessary postage has not been paid 4

What is the Impact of UAA Mail? 2014 Christensen UAA Report Return 52. 5¢ / pc. 1. 465 Billion pieces $769. 8 Million Original Address Mailer Waste 6. 1¢ / pc. 4. 140 Billion pieces $253. 4 Million New Address Forward 22. 7¢ / pc. 1. 011 Billion pieces $229. 6 Million

Addressing Best Practices § Correct • Implementing a solution at point of capture • Apply address matching updates to your file • Identify records that do not match for correction § Complete • Use products to provide missing address elements § For suite numbers use Suite. Link® § For apartment numbers use Apartment append (commercially provided) § Current • Pre-mailing – NCOALink® • Post-mailing – Endorsements, ACSTM and Secure Destruction 6

Name Formats Check your database § First and Last names § No “mixed” data fields! • No business titles in name • No names in the address • No company names in the address § Name fields are used for postal matching 7

Address Formats Check your database § Enough space (30 to 50 characters) § Secondary address information § Proper address elements § Proper abbreviations USPS Publication 28 Postal Addressing Standards http: //pe. usps. gov/cpim/ftp/ pubs/Pub 28/pub 28. pdf 8

Federal Agency Mail Source – Mailing Volume: USPS Official Mail Accounting System Source – First-Class Mail UAA Percentages: FY 2014 Christensen UAA Study

An Example of an Effective Definition of Last Known Address § Title 26 301. 6212 -2 Definition of last known address. (a) General rule. Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, a taxpayer's last known address is the address that appears on the taxpayer's most recently filed and properly processed Federal tax return, unless the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is given clear and concise notification of a different address. Further information on what constitutes clear and concise notification of a different address and a properly processed Federal tax return can be found in Rev. Proc. 90 -18 (1990 -1 C. B. 491) or in procedures subsequently prescribed by the Commissioner.

An Example of an Effective Definition of Last Known Address – continued § Title 26 301. 6212 -2 (b) Address obtained from third party (2) Exception for address obtained from the United States Postal Service (i) Updating taxpayer addresses. The IRS will update taxpayer addresses maintained in IRS records by referring to data accumulated and maintained in the United States Postal Service (USPS) National Change of Address database that retains change of address information for thirty-six months (NCOA database). Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section, if the taxpayer's name and last known address in IRS records match the taxpayer's name and old mailing address contained in the NCOA database, the new address in the NCOA database is the taxpayer's last known address, unless the IRS is given clear and concise notification of a different address.

Mail Costs and Intangible Costs § Take a step back…what are the obvious costs? • Printing, paper and labor • Postage • Any return service and address correction fees All ju$t mailing-related co$t$! § What are the intangible costs? • PII and PIFI risks • Privacy Act • Sustainability

Agency Requirements / Agency Rules § Who needs to be involved – team members, legal representation, etc. ? § Current agency policy or last known address? § Current agency procedures to follow? § What are your agency’s requirements for implementing changes? § What needs to be done to change? § Show the value of this change. § What references need to be reviewed for buy-in?

Developing New Policy/Law § § The processes of making laws and policies in the different spheres of government is a very slow process. Opportunities for the public to participate in these processes are also identified. It is important to understand the difference between a policy and a law. • A policy outlines what a government department hopes to achieve and the methods and principles it will use to achieve them. • Laws set out standards, procedures and principles that must be followed. If a law is not followed, those responsible for breaking them can be prosecuted in court Stages 1. Stage one – Ruling party conference gives vision, goals and direction 2. Stage two – Executive (Ministry) draws up policy on an issue 3. Stage three - Finalizing a policy 4. Stage four - Passing a law

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services BEST PRACTICES IN FEDERAL MAIL September 15, 2015 Tina Dickens, Agency Mail Manager, EMCM, COR

CMS VISION AND MISSION Vision Statement A high quality health care system that ensures better care, access to coverage and improved health Mission Statement As effective steward of public funds, CMS is committed to strengthening and modernizing the nation’s health care system to provide access to high quality care and improved health at lower cost *CMS Strategy 2013 - 2017

BEST PRACTICES IN MAIL OPERATIONS BEST PRACTICES § PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS § POST PRODUCTION PROCESS § DE-DUPLICATION PROCESS

BEST PRACTICES IN MAIL OPERATIONS Use of pre-production tools to identify undeliverable mail • NCOA • CASS • LACS/LINK

EXAMPLE OF BEST PRACTICE MODEL: EXAMPLE: Beginning Volume Pre-Productions SAVINGS: MEDICARE AND YOU HANDBOOK MAILING 55, 000 pieces 39, 000 pieces +/- 1. 2 MILLION for the last 5 years

BEST PRACTICES IN MAIL OPERATIONS Use of post-production tools to identify cost saving opportunities • Presorting • IMB Requirement

EXAMPLE OF BEST PRACTICE MODEL: EXAMPLE: ALL CMS MAILING CONTRACTS All contracts are required to have the capability to produce full service IMB mailings. SAVINGS: APPROXIMATELY $120, 000. 00 Yearly

BEST PRACTICES IN MAIL OPERATIONS Use of de-duplication processes to reduce receipt of unwarranted mail

EXAMPLE OF BEST PRACTICE MODEL: EXAMPLE: MEDICARE AND YOU HANDBOOK MAILING For the Medicare and You 2015 Handbook Mailing, Beginning Volume De-duplication process 45, 373, 746 37, 972, 620 SAVINGS: $4, 958, 754. 42

BEST PRACTICES IN COMMUNICATIONS • Stay Current on Postal Events • Postal Updates – Price Increases • Communicate Updates to Staff

Project: Returned Mail Defense Finance and Accounting Service Lynne Maldonado DFAS OMM September 15, 2015 Integrity - Service - Innovation

Problem: DFAS Returned Mail • Returned Mail = Bad Addresses • How can DFAS identify customer bad addresses before we waste postage to mail it out? RESTRICTIONS: • DFAS can not just turn off mail ü Union agreements ü IRS requirements ü Legal requirements • DFAS can not change customer addresses. 9/19/2021 Integrity - Service - Innovation 26

Technology Solution Tool = Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) 2. DFAS IN postal contractor bumps customer addresses against CASS. 1. Quarterly, we receive a file with the address information for all Civilian Pay customers who receive their pay voucher in hard copy. We do a Pre. CASS. 3. Pre-CASS IDs bad addresses ü Employee has moved ü Employee address has major error ü Employee address has minor error 9/19/2021 Integrity - Service - Innovation 27

New Process – Bad/Undeliverable Addresses Start Pre-CASS identifies bad/undeliverable addresses: 1. Employee has moved 2. Employee address has major error DFAS Turns Off member’s Hard Copy Delivery** Send “Undeliverable” Pay System generated email informing member DFAS has turned off LES to protect PII End Process to be repeated quarterly 9/19/2021 Integrity - Service - Innovation 28

New Process – Minor Address Errors Start CASS identifies addresses with minor errors. Mail vendor applies correct address barcode on each outgoing mail piece. End As a result of the DFAS IN mail contract consolidation project, the contractor applied intelligent barcoding corrects minor issues with employee addresses, which ensures LES delivery and protects PII. 9/19/2021 Integrity - Service - Innovation 29

Steps Necessary to Implement Change § § § § Assemble governmental intra-agency stakeholders Review current policy • Legal Assessment Identify possible opportunities for improvement Define risks • Maintaining status quo vs effective, efficient cost savings • Statutory compliance Identify mechanism to promote improvement • Law change / Federal Register / Mailroom policies Develop timeline Implement

Summary § Be aware of the impact of undeliverable records § Know the quality of the records you are mailing § Safeguard against loss of PII / PIFI § Correct undeliverable records to reduce costs incurred by returned mail or pieces that get thrown out by the carrier § Improve customer service — ensure recipients receive their mail in a timely manner § Performance measurements that show cost savings

Thank You!