Postmaster General John E. Potter could receive about $5.5 million in deferred compensation, retirement benefits and accrued annual leave for the rest of his life when he leaves the U.S. Postal Service next month, according to financial statements.

Potter is also eligible for up to two years of outplacement assistance and may continue receiving health-care insurance from the Postal Service for up to one year after his departure, the Postal Service said this week in forms required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Potter's departure package includes payouts from about $1.3 million made in a USPS pension benefit established for him from June 2001 to June 2007.

He is also eligible for about $3.06 million in benefits through the Civil Service Retirement System to be paid out monthly.

The Postal Service would not comment on the specifics of the retirement package.

A 2006 postal reform law permitted the Postal Service to compensate top executives more generously to help recruit talented outsiders. But critics say that the agency has recruited few outsiders to join the executive suite since the law was passed and that Potter's total compensation has climbed steadily despite the Postal Service's poor financial performance.

Several labor unions declined to comment Tuesday on Potter's exit package.

More than half of Potter's anticipated retirement package is from his estimated CSRS earnings, which are "benefits any federal employee would receive," said Fredric V. Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Potter's total compensation package pales in comparison to money earned by top corporate executives.

In 2007, United Parcel Service chief executive Michael L. Eskew made about $6 million in total compensation, and FedEx chief Frederick W. Smith took home more than $17 million. Former Exxon Mobil chief Lee R. Raymond left with more than $351 million in 2006, and former Disney head Michael Eisner made north of $1 billion in bonuses, salary and stock options during his 21 years at Disney, according to estimates.