Benefits of Civil Service Employee | Civil Service Salary, Insurance and Holidays

The federal government has a number of compensation structures. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) creates and upholds government-wide rules and policies controlling pay administration, such as basic pay setting, locality pay, special salary rates, back pay, pay limitations, premium pay, grade and pay retention, severance pay, and cost-of-living allowances (COLA).

However, it is the responsibility of each Federal agency to manage these compensation policies and programmes for its personnel. The Department’s Bureau of Global Talent Management works with the Secretary to fulfil these duties.

The Department of State employs several different pay systems, some of which are briefly described below:

Benefits of Civil Service Employee

Pay Adjustments

Under 5 U.S.C. 5304(d)(1), employees who work in specific regions (such as the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area) specified by the President may see their pay adjusted in order to close the wage gap with non-Federal workers in each locality. Visit the Office of Personnel Management or see 5 CFR 531.601, Subpart F for details on locality pay zones and rates.

Executive Schedule (EX)

There are five salary tiers for top executives, including those in the president’s cabinet, as deputy secretaries, undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, and different commission and regulatory board members.

Live Insurance

Term insurance is offered by the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program, which does not accrue cash value. FEGLI has three options: Option A Standard, Option B Additional, and Option C Family, in addition to the standard life insurance coverage. Unless otherwise waived, all new hires are immediately covered under basic.

In order to choose any of the optional coverages, employees must have the required basic insurance. You must choose optional insurance; it is NOT something that is offered automatically. You must choose coverage within 60 calendar days of becoming eligible if you desire Optional Insurance. You are deemed to have waived optional insurance if you do not make an election.

Fill out an SF 2817, Life Insurance Election form to opt additional coverage or to forego the standard life insurance coverage. The Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program encourages employees to name beneficiaries on SF-2823, Designation of Beneficiary, in order to obtain life insurance proceeds and guarantee that payments would be paid as planned. In the absence of beneficiaries, payments will be made in line with the state’s order of precedence for the employee’s residence at the time of death.

FEGLI does not have an annual open enrollment period like health insurance does. As a result, in order to enrol if you missed the enrollment deadline, you must be eligible and provide proof of your insuranceability.

Long-Term Care Insurance

The package of benefits available to Federal employees and retirees has been significantly expanded by the creation of the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP). However, the expense of this insurance is fully covered by the employee.

When you are unable to perform at least two activities of daily living (such as eating, bathing, or dressing) for an anticipated period of at least 90 days or when you require constant supervision due to a severe cognitive impairment, long-term care insurance, under the Federal programme, reimburses you for the costs of care.

You might be qualified to apply for this programme as a new employee. Depending on whether you apply within 60 days of becoming eligible, you will utilise either an abridged underwriting application or a full underwriting application if you are qualified.

Program for Flexible Spending Accounts

You can use Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) to make pre-tax salary contributions to cover dependent care costs as well as eligible medical expenses that aren’t covered by FEHB or any other source of reimbursement. Federal income taxes, FICA taxes, and the majority of state and local income taxes do not apply to money deposited into an FSA.

An HCFSA (Health Care Flexible Spending Account) covers the uncovered or unreimbursed portions of some medical expenses. The HCFSA merely uses pre-tax funds to cover your out-of-pocket medical bills, not your health insurance. You can use a Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA) to pay pre-tax funds for certain dependent care expenses, such as child care costs or costs for an adult with a disability.

You must decide whether to join the FSA Program within 60 days of the date of your hire, but no later than October 1 of any Plan Year. Except in the event of a Qualified Status Change, elections will be binding for the duration of the Plan Year (e.g., marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a dependent).

If you begin working on or after October 1st, you are ineligible to participate in that Plan Year and must wait until the FEHB open season, which runs from mid-November to mid-December every year, to enrol. Your decisions take effect for the following year’s calendar.

You must re-enroll each year if you want to keep a dependent and/or health care account because FSA elections are entirely optional. You must submit FSA claims on time. Furthermore, any money withheld that is not repaid by the designated period will be forfeited. There are no government subsidies for the programme, in contrast to the FEHB. You are the sole contributor of all funds to the FSA.

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Foreign Service Schedule (FS)

The FS pay scale has fourteen levels. The appropriate authority takes into account all relevant considerations when determining an employee’s compensation in the Foreign Service, including their credentials, experience, and education.

GG

The Department’s term for the General Schedule-like pay schedule is “pay plan.” The GG designation is used for excepted service posts at the US Mission to the UN (USUN) and the Foreign Service Institute (FSI).

General Schedule (GS)

based on fair pay for comparable labour within each local pay zone. The General Schedule governs compensation for the majority of the Civil Service workers of the Department. Pay is based on fifteen grades, with ten steps in each grade.

Pay is typically established at step one of the grade of the position the person is chosen for on initial appointment into the Civil Service, though it may be raised higher based on better qualifications or a specific need of the agency when certain requirements are met.

Additionally, the location or degree of difficulty of the position may affect the pay rates for personnel paid under the General Schedule. For more details, go to the Adjustments to Pay Section.

Health Insurance

No matter their age or health status, eligible employees can join a group health insurance plan under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) programme. Federal employees have access to 200 health plan alternatives nationwide. The cost of the employee’s health benefits is withdrawn from his or her pay every two weeks, with a large portion of the cost covered by the government.

When they are hired, new employees have 60 days to enrol in a participating FEHB plan. Employees must fill out the SF-2809 Employee Health Benefits Election Form and submit it to their bureau’s executive office within 60 days of starting work in order to enrol. NO COVERAGE will result from failing to enrol within the 60-day window.

When a qualifying life event takes place or the yearly open season, which typically runs from November through December, presents itself, the employee must wait until the next opportunity to enrol (e.g., marriage, and birth of a child).

Absences and Leave

The Department’s policy is to apply the legislation governing the administration of leave in a fair and uniform manner. In exchange, employees are required to take the Department’s interests into account when requesting leave and to refrain from abusing their right to time off.

Rates of leave accrual

Compensatory time and overtime

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) allows for overtime pay for “nonexempt” employees (FLSA). Agencies are required to pay these workers for work done past the typical 40-hour workweek.

Although “exempt” workers are not protected by the FLSA, they are nonetheless eligible for overtime pay under Title 5 of the U.S.C. Employees may be allowed to seek compensatory time off in place of overtime compensation or may be obliged to take compensatory time off in place of overtime pay under certain circumstances.

All overtime and compensatory time must receive the supervisor’s or authorised official’s approval prior to being worked. Contact your Executive Office to learn more about the policies and processes for overtime and compensatory hours, as well as to determine if you are exempt or non-exempt.

Pay Adjustments

The President decides whether to approve a change in the basic salary for specific categories of Federal employees each year. This change is typically introduced at the start of the first full pay period of January every year.

Day of the Presidential Inauguration

On the day a President is inaugurated, federal workers in the Washington, DC, area are entitled to a holiday (January 20 following a Presidential election). Employees who work in — are eligible for this holiday.

1. The District of Columbia
2. Maryland’s Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties;
3. Virginia’s Arlington and Fairfax counties; and
4. Falls Church and Alexandria, both in Virginia.

Federal workers in the Washington, DC, area who would normally work on Monday, January 21, are entitled to a holiday on that day when Inauguration Day is postponed to January 21st since January 20th falls on a Sunday.

Paid Holidays

1. New Year’s Day (January 1)
2. Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Third Monday in January)
3. Washington’s Birthday (Third Monday in February)
4. Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)
5. Independence Day (July 4)
6. Labor Day (First Monday in September)
7. Columbus Day (Second Monday in October)
8. Veterans Day (November 11)
9. Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November)
10. Christmas Day (December 25)

You must be in a pay status either the day before or after the holiday in order to be paid.

Retirement

For those working in the civil service, there are three retirement options. Typically, an employee’s eligibility for a retirement plan is determined by the type of appointment. Before December 31, 1983, employees are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS).

For those hired after January 1, 1984, the Federal Employees Retirement System is in effect (FERS). The CSRS Offset system may apply to workers who had a hiatus in employment that lasted longer than a year that ended after 1983 and five years of creditable civilian service as of January 1, 1987.

Senior Executive Service (SES)

includes the majority of managerial, administrative, and policy posts in the Executive Branch of the federal government that are graded higher than 15 on the General Schedule. The Executive Resources Board (ERB) pay policy permits pay to be determined based on credentials, performance, job duties, and compensation in the private sector.

Social Security

Social Security also provides benefits to employees covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Workers who meet the requirements receive Social Security payments through the Old-Age Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) programmes of the Social Security Act. It restores a percentage of the earnings that were lost due to death, incapacity, or retirement.

Employees are also protected by the Medicare Hospital Insurance programme of Social Security, which covers a percentage of hospital costs incurred if you are receiving Social Security retirement benefits or disability payments if you are 65 years of age or older. Visit the Social Security Administration website for further details on Social Security benefits, including Medicare.

Special Salary Rates

These are higher basic pay rates that have been set for a class or group of General Schedule (GS) positions in one or more geographical locations. Special rates have been set to meet potential or actual severe obstacles to finding and keeping highly qualified workers. Based on factors like occupational series, speciality, grade level, and geographic area, these rates may be determined for almost any kind of employee.

Student Loan Repayment Program

The Bureau of Global Talent Management, Office of Employee Relations, oversees the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) on behalf of the Department. The Department of State started funding the initiative in 2002, and it has continued to do so ever since. The Department has been able to offer SLRP incentives in the amount of $10k, the annual maximum per applicant ($60k lifetime maximum), to qualified personnel. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 offers SLRP incentive beneficiaries a special chance to profit from employer-provided student loan benefits remaining tax-free until 2025.

Career Civil Service (CS) employees who hold Mission Critical Occupational (MCO) series positions benefit from the SLRP. Annual reviews and approvals of the Civil Service pre-qualifying standards for the MCO list are done in accordance with agency-specific requirements for recruiting and retention. Despite the fact that the list of qualifying occupational series is changed annually, some jobs have historically always qualified;

• Foreign Affairs Series, GS-0130
• Passport and Visa Examining Series, GS-0967
• Information Technology Management Series, GS-2210
• Accounting Series, GS-0510
• Human Resources Management Series, GS-0201

Employees who want to take advantage of this annual incentive must be hired into an eligible occupational series between March 1 and July 31. Information can be accessed on the Department’s Intranet SLRP page after onboarding. Additionally, you can send specific inquiries via SLRP@state.gov.

Program for Forgiveness of Public Service Loans (Student Loan Forgiveness)

The Direct Loans programme of the U.S. Department of Education is in charge of carrying out this legislation. People who want to work in public service but who also owe a sizable amount in federally insured student loans might be interested in finding out if they qualify. Employees who meet the requirements for the Department’s SLRP may be eligible to have the remaining balance of their federally insured loan(s) cancelled after 10 years of specialised public service.

Wage Grade (WG)

The term “blue collar” or “prevailing rate” refers to a schedule that is based on the rates currently in effect in a certain local wage zone. Trade, craft, labour, and other blue-collar jobs are covered under this system. There are three classes in each salary scale: WG (worker), WL (leader), and WS (supervisor).

Within-Grade Increases (WIG)

Employees who are paid less than the maximum rate of the grade for their position (i.e., step 10) under the GG and General Schedule (GS) pay plan may advance to the next higher step of the grade or the next higher rate within the grade. This increment is known as a step increase or a within-grade (WIG) increase.

Waiting periods for a WIG are outlined in 5 CFR 531.405 and range from 1 to 3 years. Employees who are paid based on prevailing rates (such as a wage grade) likewise make money within the grades. The WIG is compensated, nonetheless, in accordance with the guidelines in 5 CFR Part 532.

The most recent performance rating on file must be at least totally successful or an equivalent level, and employee performance must be at an acceptable level of competence.

The federal government offers its employees a wide range of benefits, financial incentives, and family-friendly initiatives. Here are a few of the rewards provided:

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan, a retirement investing and savings plan for federal employees, are tax deferred. The TSP’s main objective is to offer extra retirement income.

TSP offers federal employees the same tax advantages and savings opportunities that many private businesses provide to their staff members through 401(k) programmes. An employee can save a portion of his or her income before taxes by taking part in the Thrift Savings Plan. Payroll deductions are how you make contributions to your account.

Participating in TSP can increase retirement income for employees insured by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). For every group, there are various regulations, though. Each pay period, FERS employees can contribute a portion of their base pay in exchange for matching agency contributions.

Employees covered by the CSRS are also eligible to contribute a certain amount of their basic pay each pay period, although no agency contributions will be matched. ]

There are six TSP investment funds available for selection.

1. Investment in Government Securities (G) Fund
2. Investment in Fixed Income Index (F) Fund
3. Investing in Common Stock Index (C) Fund
4. Investing in Small Capitalization Stock Index (S) Fund
5. Investment (I) Fund for International Stock Indexes
6. (L) Lifecycle Funds

Program for Transit Benefits

The Department also oversees a Transit Benefits Program that encourages employees to regularly and continuously commute to and from work using public transit. This non-taxable benefit encourages employees by lowering the expense of their daily journey to work.

Therefore, an employee is not eligible for registration in this programme if they just occasionally or irregularly use public transit. Even though the purpose of this programme is to help employees with their commuting expenses, the Department can only cover these charges up to the maximum amount permitted.

Employees must complete the online electronic application eTransit and attest that they will adhere to the program’s rules and regulations in order to be eligible to participate in the Transit Benefits Program. Employee Self-Service software called eTransit is accessible through the Department’s intranet.

Anyone who makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent certification may be subject to agency disciplinary sanctions up to and including expulsion from the Federal service, or criminal prosecution under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.

FAQs on Benefits of a Civil Service Employee