U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

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The "Fourth R"

Student Loan "Repayments" and other Pay Flexibilities

Strategic Compensation Conference 2002

August 28, 2002

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The "Fourth R" and Other Pay Flexibilities

• The "Fourth R"–Student Loan Repayments
• The "3Rs"–Recruitment and Relocation Bonuses, and Retention Allowances
• Special Salary Rates
• Superior Qualifications Appointments
• And More

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Student Loan Repayments
(5 U.S.C. 5379 and 5 CFR part 537)

• Agencies may repay part or all of an outstanding student loan previously taken out by an employee.
• Used to help recruit or retain highly qualified personnel.
• Payments may be up to $6,000 for an employee in a calendar year or a total of $40,000 for any one employee.
• Requires employee to sign a service agreement to remain with the agency for a specified amount of time.

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Recruitment Bonuses
(5 U.S.C. 5753 and 5 CFR part 575, subpart A)

• Lump-sum bonus for a newly appointed employee or former employee with a 90-day break-in-service.
• Used for positions that would otherwise be difficult to fill.
• Up to 25 percent of basic pay.
• Employees must fulfill a service agreement of at least 6 months with repayment penalties if agreement not fulfilled.

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Recruitment Bonuses

FY1999 - 1698

FY2000 - 4247

FY2001 - 5227

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Recruitment Bonus Usage Rates

FY1999 - .80%

FY2000 - 1.90%

Y2001 - 2.20%

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Recruitment Bonuses by
GS Grade Groups

Grade	FY 1999	FY 2000	FY 2001
1-4	17	62	171
5-8	684	2525	2095
9-12	450	648	1172
13-15	179	275	338

 

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Agency Usage of Recruitment Bonuses
October 1998 - September 2001

Navy - 2101
VA - 2004
Justice - 1459
Army - 1299
Commerce - 884
Agriculture - 570
Air Force - 547
Labor - 405
DOD - 402
All Others - 1501

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Recruitment Bonuses by Occupation
October 1998 - September 2001

Series Border Patrol Agent	Number 1,349	Percent 12.1%
Nurse	860	7.7%
Electronics Engineer	633	5.7%
Patent Examiner	586	5.2%
Practical Nurse	529	4.7%
Mechanical Engineer	513	4.6%
Auditor	406	3.6%
Other Series	6,296	56.4%
Total All Series	11,172	100.0%

 

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Recruitment Bonuses
by Percentage of Basic Pay

	1 to 5%	6 to 10%	11 to 15%	16 to 20%	21 to 25%
FY 1999	12	45	14	10	20
FY 2000	12	54	11	9	13
FY 2001	18	32	18	9	23

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Relocation Bonuses
(5 U.S.C. 5753 and 5 CFR part 575, subpart B)

• Lump-sum bonus for current employees who must relocate to accept a position in a different commuting area.
• Position must be otherwise difficult to fill.
• Up to 25 percent of basic pay.
• Requires employee to sign a service agreement to remain with the agency for a specified amount of time and to establish a residence in the new commuting area.

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Relocation Bonuses

• FY 1999 - 447
• FY 2000 - 558
• FY 2001 - 834
  
  

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Relocation Bonus Usage Rates

• FY 1999 - 1.40%
• FY 2000 - 1.90%
• FY 2001 - 2.60%
  
  

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Relocation Bonuses by
GS Grade Groups

Grade	FY 1999	FY 2000	FY 2001
1-4	0	1	4
5-8	19	24	51
9-12	153	193	304
13-15	120	162	237

 

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Agency Usage of Relocation Bonuses
October 1998 - September 2001

Navy - 239
VA - 376
Army - 169
Agriculture - 212
Air Force - 126
Treasury - 112
Justice - 102
NRC - 92
All Others - 503

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Relocation Bonuses by Occupation
October 1998 - September 2001

Series Border Engineer	Number 99	Percent 5.4%
IT Specialist	93	5.1%
Criminal Investigator	87	4.7%
Nuclear Engineer	77	4.2%
Nurse	77	4.2%
Electronics Engineer	74	4.0%
Medical Officer	69	3.8%
Other Series	1,263	68.7%
Total All Series	1,839	100.0%

 

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Relocation Bonuses
by Percentage of Basic Pay

	1 to 5%	6 to 10%	11 to 15%	16 to 20%	21 to 25%
FY 1999	7	25	14	15	39
FY 2000	16	25	16	12	32
FY 2001	22	27	19	11	21

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Retention Allowances
(5 U.S.C. 5754 and 5 CFR part 575, subpart C)

Continuing payments (i.e., biweekly) to an employee-

• with unusually high or unique qualifications

OR

• when the agency has a special need for the employee’s services that makes it essential to retain the employee,

IF

• the employee would be likely to leave the Federal service in the absence of an allowance.

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Retention Allowances

• Up to 25 percent of basic pay.
• May be authorized for groups of employees up to 10 percent of basic pay (or up to 25 percent with OPM approval).
• Must be recertified annually.

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Retention Allowances

• Sept. 1999 - 3747
• Sept. 2000 - 3106
• Sept. 2001 - 6703
• March 2002 - 8461
  
  

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Retention Allowance Usage Rates

• Sept. 1999 - 0.23%
• Sept. 2000 - 0.19%
• Sept. 2001 - 0.39%
• March 2002 - 0.49%
  
  

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Retention Allowances by
GS Grade Groups

Grade	Sept. 1999	Sept. 2000	Sept. 2001	March 2002
1-4	11	10	41	55
5-8	381	485	1438	2204
9-12	927	1064	1852	2040
13-15	2080	1104	1886	2162

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Agency Usage of Retention Allowances
March 2002

VA - 2863
Army - 1479
Navy - 1111
Air Force - 784
Treasury - 706
HHS - 452
Energy - 359
DOD-Other - 116
All Others - 594

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Retention Allowances by Occupation
September 1999

Series IT Specialist	Number 1,437	Percent 38.4%
Aircraft Operation (Pilot)	647	17.3%
Medical Officer	201	5.4%
Nurse	161	4.3%
Financial Institution Exam.	133	3.6%
Pharmacist	114	3.0%
Physician's Assistant	102	2.7%
All Other Series	952	25.4%
Total All Series	3,747	100.0%

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Retention Allowances by Occupation
September 2000

Series Aircraft Operation (Pilot)	Number 455	Percent 14.6%
IT Specialist	317	10.2%
Pharmacist	280	9.0%
Nurse	193	6.2%
Medical Officer	188	6.1%
Financial Institution Exam.	129	4.2%
Physician's Assistant	114	3.7%
Police	95	3.1%
Other Series	1,336	43.0%
Total All Series	3,107	100.0%

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Retention Allowances by Occupation
September 2001

Series Police	Number 543	Percent 8.1%
Nurse	501	7.5%
Pharmacist	499	7.4%
IT Specialist	446	6.7%
Aircraft Operation (Pilot)	442	6.6%
Medical Officer	343	5.1%
Able Seaman-Maintenance	310	4.6%
Diagnostic Rad. Tech.	251	3.7%
Other Series	3,370	50.3%
Total All Series	6,705	100.0%

 

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Retention Allowances by Occupation
March 2002

Series Nurse	Number 875	Percent 10.3%
Practical Nurse	614	7.3%
Pharmacist	536	6.3%
Police	467	5.5%
Aircraft Operation (Pilot)	452	5.3%
IT Specialist	384	4.5%
Able Seaman-Maintenance	340	4.0%
Medical Officer	339	4.0%
Diagnostic Rad. Tech.	321	3.8%
Other Series	4,136	48.9%
Total All Series	8,464	100.0%

 

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Retention Allowances
by Percentage of Basic Pay

	1 to 5%	6 to 10%	11 to 15%	16 to 20%	21 to 25%
Oct. 1999	11	55	8	6	20
Oct. 2000	14	32	14	11	29
Sept. 2001	14	48	12	7	19
March 2002	16	52	9	6	17

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Special Salary Rates
(5 U.S.C. 5305 and 5 CFR part 530, subpart C)

• Higher rates of basic pay approved by OPM.
• Needed to address serious staffing problems(existing or likely)--Targeted by occupation, grade, and location.
• Basic pay for most purposes.Not used to compute locality rates.
• May not exceed Executive Schedule V rate (currently $121,600).Minimum rate may not exceed 30% above maximum rate for the grade.

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Special Salary Rates

• Reviewed annually for possible adjustment (at the time of January GS increase).
• Approximately 143,000 employees are currently covered by special rates. There are 406 approved special rate tables.
• Police special rate study.

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Superior Qualifications Appointment
(5 U.S.C. 5333 and 5 CFR 531.203(b))

• An appointment above step 1 of the grade.
• Based on the superior qualifications of the candidate or a special need of the agency for the candidate’s services.
• Used for newly appointed employees or former employees with at least a 90 day break in service.

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And More. . .

• Advanced payments for new appointees
• Travel and transportation expenses for interviews or new appointments
• Payment for academic degree training
• Performance and incentive awards
• Alternative work schedules
• More aggressive or creative recruitment efforts
• Use of different appointment authorities
• Job redesign
• Training
• Improvements in working conditions

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For More Information:

• OPM’s web site at www.opm.gov/oca
  • Factsheets
  • Frequently Asked Questions
• OPM’s Pay and Leave Administration Division
  • (202) 606-2858
  • payleave@opm.gov