( CNN ) -- Postmaster General John E. Potter has come under criticism for his total 2008 compensation of nearly $ 800,000 , but the agency 's board of governors says the pay is less than what leaders of several other independent government agencies receive . Postmaster General John Potter is n't paid as much as leaders of some other independent government agencies . And the amount is far below that given to CEOs in the private sector , even though compensation and benefit packages for postal service officers are required by law to be comparable to those given to private-sector employees doing similar work , the board of governors says . `` That 's a difficult standard to achieve given the compensation restraints within the federal sector , '' said Carolyn Lewis Gallagher , the chairman of the agency 's board of governors . She added that the postal service , with $ 75 billion in revenues and nearly 700,000 employees , compares with Fortune 100 companies . Potter received a salary of $ 263,575 in 2008 . His total compensation of nearly $ 800,000 included deferred earnings toward his retirement plan . Compensation and benefit packages for officers of the postal service are governed by Congress and not funded by taxpayers . Gallagher said effective compensation was necessary for effective managers . `` Even in these difficult times , the postmaster general continues to exhibit visionary leadership , effecting billions of dollars in cost reductions , '' she said . Critics have tried to paint Potter 's compensation as excessive , given that he had recently appeared before Congress warning that , with a $ 2.8 billion loss in 2008 , the postal service may need to reduce its congressionally mandated six-days-a-week delivery schedule . iReport.com : Mail five days a week ? `` Apparently compensating executives well is still a possibility at the post office , '' Pete Sepp of the National Taxpayers Union told CNN on Tuesday . `` And despite all the delivery problems they may have , despite the deficits they may have , executive compensation is still nice , fat and round . '' Other independent government agencies pay their executives much more , however . Richard Syron , former Freddie Mac CEO , had a compensation package of $ 3.4 million and reportedly took home much more in cash , stocks and other compensation before he was fired in September , according to Forbes magazine . Daniel Mudd , former CEO of Fannie Mae , had a total compensation package of $ 8.79 million before he , too , was fired that month , according to Forbes . Frederick Smith , the long-time CEO of delivery giant FedEx , had a total compensation package of $ 32.21 million , Forbes said . Fannie Mae and FedEx are among Forbes ' top 100 firms . A new postal law in 2006 , Gallagher said , gave the postal service more flexibility to devise a compensation plan that did n't focus on salary . As a result , she said , the agency adjusted salaries and benefits packages , including performance-based initiatives , that became effective in 2008 . Potter saw his civil service pension fund rise by $ 381,496 in 2008 , and he received a $ 135,041 incentive pay that will be deferred to his retirement , according to a filing released December 10 . Civil service pension rules are applied to all federal employees to calculate compensation , postal service spokesman Gerald McKiernan said . The calculation is based on salary and years of service , he said . Sepp compared Potter 's earnings to `` Detroit auto executives flying to Washington in a fancy jet to ask for tax dollars '' and said he `` would not be surprised '' if the postal service asked for a Wall Street-like bailout . Automakers General Motors and Chrysler on Tuesday asked Congress for another $ 21.6 billion to keep them out of bankruptcy . They plan to cut 50,000 jobs between them by the end of the year . The price of a postage is increasing in May , going up from 42 cents to 44 cents . CNN 's Amy Sahba contributed to this report .
Postal service 's board of directors : Postmaster General Jim Potter 's position . Total is less than that of some other independent government agencies ' CEOs . Other : Pay also behind private - sector pay , though it 's unlikely to be comparable .