SENDING A BIRTHDAY card to the States? You may need to send it a day earlier to ensure it gets there on time.

President Barack Obama has just endorsed plans to reduce postal services in the US.

The current six-day service may be cut so deliveries only happen five days-a-week, according to the new proposals.

The Postal Service lost US$8.5 billion last year. To help reduce the massive losses, Obama said it should be allowed to reduce its delivery days. Most likely, Saturday mail will get the chop.

The American people may also face higher postal charges as the President said the post office should be allowed to raise rates. Currently, rates cannot be raised by more than the amount of inflation.

The national post office has already cut 100,000 workers and closed offices as part of wider attempts to keep operating costs low.

Obama also announced that the Postal Service should be repaid the nearly $7 billion it has overpaid into the federal retirement system.

-Additional reporting by AP