HRPAY 16-01, Annual Pay Raise

Published: January 7, 2016
Effective: Pay Period 01, 2016

Summary

The National Finance Center (NFC) will be processing the 2016 Federal pay raise in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidelines as described below.

Affected Systems

Implementations

This bulletin contains the following sections:

1. Federal Pay Increase
2. Special Rate Supplement
3. Law Enforcement Officers Covered by the GL Pay Plan
4. Locality Pay
5. Life Insurance Coverage
6. Personnel Action Processing Information
7. Availability of Standard Form 50B, Notification of Personnel Action
8. Additional Information

1. Federal Pay Increase

Executive Order Number 13715, dated December 18, 2015, authorizes a 1-percent across-the-board increase in the rates of basic pay, effective January 10, 2016, for employees under the General Schedule (GS) and Foreign Service Schedule statutory pay systems.

By law (5 United States Code (USC) 5318), the rates for Levels I through V of the Executive Schedule (EX) (EX-I through EX-V) will increase by 1 percent (rounded to the nearest $100). Under Executive Order Number 13715, the President has also authorized an increase in the rates of basic pay for administrative law judges (ALJ) of 1 percent (rounded to the nearest $100). The rate of basic pay for Administrative Law Judge (AL) AL-1 will be $160,300. The rate for AL-2 will be $156,300. The rate of basic pay for AL-3/A through AL-3/F will range from $107,000 to $148,100. The rates for administrative appeals (AA) judges are directly linked to those of ALJs (see 5 USC 5372). Therefore, the rates of basic pay for the AA-1 through AA-6 will also range from $107,000 to $148,100.

Pay rates for certain other employees are linked to the Executive Schedule. The rates of basic pay for Board of Contract Appeals (BCA) members are calculated as a percentage of the rate for Level IV of the Executive Schedule. Therefore, BCA rates of basic pay will increase by approximately 1 percent. The rate of basic pay will be as follows: Chairman $160,300, Vice-Chairman $155,491, and other members $150,682. In addition, the pay for the Inspector General (IG) at establishments (those covered by the IG pay plan) is also calculated as a percentage of the EX-III plus 3 percent and thus will increase by approximately 1 percent. The IG pay plan rate will be $175,512.

The increase in Federal pay and any applicable locality-based comparability payments or special rate supplements for all eligible biweekly employees will be reflected in salary payments and earnings and leave statements for Pay Period 01 (January 10, 2016, through January 23, 2016). The official payday for Pay Period 01 is February 4, 2016.

The following outlines the process of the Federal pay increase:

Federal Pay Increases Not Processed in Pay Period 01, 2016

NFC will not process Federal pay increases for the following types of employees:

• Executives and Foreign Executives (i.e., employees in Pay Plans ES and FE).
• Experts and consultants (i.e., employees in Pay Plans CG, EC, ED, EE, EF, EG, EH, EI, and IC).
• Employees paid at statutory rates (i.e., employees in Pay Plan SR).
• Employees in Pay Plans AE, DB, FN, HA, IE, IM, OC, OF, PJ, PL, RA, RG, RS, RW, SB, SQ, SS, UT, VG, VH, YV, YW, ZA, ZP, ZS, ZT, and ZZ.
• Employees who are being paid under Pay Rate Determinate (PRD) D, R, S, U, V, 2, 3, and 4.
• Employees in Pay Plans GG, GS, GM, and GH who are being paid under cooperative agreements and for whom the Federal Government does not pay all the salary (the cooperator pays a portion or all of the salary).

  Note: Employees who are Americorps members (Special Employment Programs Code V8) are not eligible to receive the 1-percent Federal pay increase.

NFC will not process Federal pay increases for the following pay plans with the exception of employees in Agencies notifying NFC to automatically process the pay increase:

• Employees in Pay Plans AD, SL, and ST. Pay adjustments for these pay plans are made at the discretion of the Department/Agency.
• Employees with the PRD T will be bypassed in the Annual Pay Raise process.

Federal Pay Increases Processed Automatically in Pay Period 01, 2016

NFC will automatically process Federal pay increases for the following types of employees:

• Employees in Pay Plans including but not limited to AA, AL, CA, CO, CP, DN, EX, FC, FO, FP, FS, GG, GH, GI, GL, GM, GS, GT, IG, IJ, IS, LE, LP, NF, NX, NY, NZ, PD, PG, PQ, PU, PZ, SP, SV, and TR.
• Reemployed annuitants. The system will automatically generate pay adjustments for all reemployed annuitants. For any reemployed annuitant whose salary is offset by an annuity from the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) (Annuitant Indicator Codes of A, C, E, 1, 4, and 5), personnel offices must also prepare a 917 Nature of Action Code (NOAC) personnel action when OPM authorizes COLA for CSRS and FERS retirement annuities. If COLA is authorized, the increased amount of the employee’s annuity must be recorded in the Annuitant Share Amount field.
• Employees who are being paid under PRD code E, F, J, K, 5, or 6.

2. Special Rate Supplement

For employees who currently receive a Special Salary Rate (SSR) supplement because their highest payable rate is currently from an SSR table, it is important to remember that in the event that the locality rate in the employee's area exceeds his/her SSR supplement entitlement, the employee will cease to be covered by the SSR table and will instead be entitled to the higher locality rate. NFC will do this for entities for whom we are generating the pay raise. Agencies will be responsible for handling this function for any pay raise action that the Agency processes.

Note: For those SSR tables applicable to more than one geographic area, it is possible for a grade and step to remain active on the SSR even though that rate is superseded by locality pay in some of the coverage area(s). In these instances, employees in the higher locality areas would cease to be covered by the SSR.

SSR tables have been updated incorporating the 1-percent general increase. A list of these SSR tables, as well as the additional dollar supplement for Special Rate tables, can be found on the OPM Web site at: http://apps.opm.gov/specialrates/index.aspx.

• No Special Rate tables will be terminated entirely due to an OPM annual review of special rates authorized under 5 USC 5505.
• No Special Rate tables will be changed based on the OPM annual review of special rates and no additions of new SSR schedules.

3. Law Enforcement Officers Covered by the GL Pay Plan

Employees that were converted from GS to GL and are now using the Law Enforcement Officer (LLEO) pay table code will have actions generated by NFC. For those GL employees for whom the 2016 pay increase will remove their entitlement to an SSR supplement, NFC will still process NOAC 894, Pay Adj. However, NFC will remove PRD code 6 from the employee’s record and replace the SSR Table in the Position Management System Online (PMSO) with LLEO, which is the Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) special base rate table code.

4. Locality Pay

The locality rate of pay for GS employees may not exceed the rate payable for Level IV of the Executive Schedule ($160,300 in 2016). As a result of the pay increase in 2016, the locality rates for GS-15/06, GS-15/07, GS-15/08, GS-15/09, and GS-15/10, in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland area; the locality rates for GS-15/08, GS-15/09, and GS-15/10 in the Houston, Los Angeles, and New York locality areas; the locality rates for GS-15/09 and GS-15/10 in the Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Hartford, San Diego, Washington-Baltimore, and Alaska locality areas; and the locality rates for GS-15/10 in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, and Seattle locality areas would otherwise exceed Level IV rate. Therefore, these identified GS-15 steps in the applicable locality areas are limited to $160,300 for 2016.

Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA) (Public Law 101-509) provides for comparability payments within each locality that is determined to have a pay disparity of greater than 5 percent with non-Federal workers.

The President’s Pay Agent has determined that the 2016 locality-based comparability payments will be the same as the Government-wide and single-Agency categories that were authorized for the 2016 Locality-Based Comparability Payments.

Changes to locality pay are outlined below:

Locality Pay Areas

The total number of locality pay areas are 47 for 2016. The boundaries for these locality areas have changed, and new locality areas were created. There are 21 changes to the existing locality areas and 13 newly established locality areas. Locality pay area definitions are posted on OPM's Web site at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2016/general-schedule/.

NFC established 13 new Locality Table Codes for the new locality pay areas which are listed below:

• Albany-Schenectady, NY – 16AL
• Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM – 16AQ
• Austin-Round Rock, TX – 16AU
• Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC – 16CT
• Colorado Springs, CO – 16CS
• Davenport-Moline, IA-IL – 16DV
• Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA – 16HB
• Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS – 16KC
• Laredo, TX – 16LR
• Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ – 16LV
• Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL – 16PB
• St. Louis-ST.Charles-Farmington, MO-IL – 16SL
• Tucson- Nogales, AZ – 16TU

The percentage factor for each locality is based on the geographic location of the employee’s official duty station. The areas designated as locality pay areas for 2016, along with the corresponding percentage factor for each area, are shown in the table below.

Locality and Cost-of-Living (COLA) Rates

Alaska

Hawaii

Locality Pay

Note: Information about the geographic scope of each locality pay area can be found on OPM’s Web site at www.opm.gov under Salaries and Wages.

Locality payments will be paid as part of the employee’s biweekly salary and will be used in determining the calculations for retirement annuity and contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), life insurance, overtime, and other premium pay. For most employees, the amount of locality pay will be determined by multiplying the employee’s scheduled annual rate of pay by the percentage factor for the locality pay area.

Employees Ineligible to Receive Locality-Comparability Payments

The following group of GS employees do not receive locality-based comparability payments because they are already receiving pay rates that exceed locality:

• Effective May 1, 2006, employees in retained pay (i.e., employees with PRD codes J, K, R, U, or V) were no longer eligible for locality pay. The appropriate pay increase for these individuals must be processed in accordance with OPM guidance for employees on pay retention.
• Employees entitled to a special salary rate supplement that exceeds the locality pay for their pay area.

  Note: Under 5 USC 5305(a)(1), the maximum special rate to the rate payable for the Level IV of the Executive Schedule (160,300 in 2016). There are 200 capped special rates in 2016, and these are shown by a special rate table, and on OPM's CPM 2015-15, Annual Review of Special Rates. Capped special rates are listed in the table below.

Capped Special Rates for 2016

5. Life Insurance Coverage

If there is an increase in the regular life insurance coverage as a result of the pay increase, the related increase in life insurance deductions will be effective at the same time.

6. Personnel Action Processing Information

OPM does not require a separate personnel action for those employees who receive a locality payment or SSR supplement increase along with the Federal pay increase authorized under 5 USC 5303. Therefore, NFC will automatically generate one personnel action for both the Federal pay increase and locality-based comparability payment/SSR-supplement increase.

In addition to the standard items required for a salary change, the personnel action must include the following data for a salary change personnel action:

• The effective date of the new rate (i.e., January 10, 2016).
• The 2016 scheduled salary rate. (Do not include the locality-based comparability payment. The Payroll/Personnel System (PPS) will automatically increase the salary amount for employees who are entitled to receive locality pay.)
• NOAC 894, QWM/ZLM, Reg 531.207, and Executive Order Number 13715 for GS employees (e.g., GS, GL, GM, etc.).
• NOAC 894, ZLM, QUB; Executive Order Number 13715; and Reg 530.303(d) for a GS/GL employee whose locality rate exceeds his/her special salary rate. The employee's PRD code will be changed to "0", and the SSR pay table code will be removed from the PMSO record.

  Note: For employees in the GL pay plan, the SSR pay table code in PMSO will be replaced with the Law Enforcement Officer pay table code of LLEO.

• NOAC 894, ZLM; Reg 534.504; and Executive Order Number 13715 for Pay Plans SL and ST, if requested by the Agency.
• NOAC 894, ZLM and the authority cited by the Agency for Pay Plan AD, if requested by the Agency.

  Note: Agencies with special authorities must use the authority specific to their Agency. For detailed instructions, refer to OPM's Guide to Processing Personnel Actions (GPPA), Chapter 17.

• NOAC 894, for PRD 7, with the PRD changed to 0.
• NOAC 894,VGR including spaces for the second code, not the standard NOAC 894,QWM,ZLM. The authority is the same E.O. 13715 with Authorization Date of December 18, 2015.
• Authentication date of the Executive Order (i.e., December 18, 2015).

7. Availability of Standard Form 50B, Notification of Personnel Action

NFC will not print Standard Form (SF) 50Bs. The forms can now be viewed online via an electronic Official Personnel File (eOPF) and the Remote Forms Queuing System (RFQS). SF 50Bs will run after the completion of the processing for Pay Period 01, 2016.

8. Additional Information

Processing Personnel Actions in Pay Period 01, 2016

The general adjustments that take effect in January 2016 must be processed before any individual pay action (i.e., within-rate increase or promotion) that takes effect on the same date. General adjustments include across-the-board increases under 5 USC 5303 and increases in locality payments or other geographic adjustments, special rate supplements, and retained rates. If multiple individual pay actions become effective on the date of the January 2016 pay adjustment, those actions must be processed in the order applicable to the employee’s pay system (i.e., the simultaneous action rule for GS employees in 5 CFR 531.206).

Personnel Input and Edit System (PINE) Edit Messages

To avoid a system-generated rollback, Agencies should have ensured that all personnel actions with effective dates prior to Pay Period 01, January 10, 2016, were entered before the processing of the first pass of PINE (on or before Sunday, January 17, 2016). Any rollback action will result in the rollback of all personnel actions (Agency-initiated or system-generated) that have applied in the current pay period, including the system-generated change in the service computation date (SCD) and the Federal pay increase/locality-based comparability. These actions are then placed in suspense and will appear on the Listing of Personnel Error Messages with Override Code F and with the edit message In Suspense Due To Rollback-Take Appropriate Action. The document(s) will remain in suspense until action is taken.

The system will produce Document Type 999 informational edit messages on the Listing of Personnel Edit Error Messages in Pay Period 01 to identify employees who did not receive an automatic pay raise (i.e., GM employees whose salaries are less than the minimum salary range for the step).

The first pass of PINE for Pay Period 01 will be executed on Sunday, January 17, 2016. Consult the NFC Electronic Access Bulletin Board on the NFC Mainframe or the NFC Home Page for updates on the processing of the pay raise actions and system availability.

ES/SL/ST Employees in Non-Foreign Areas

Employees who are assigned to ES/SL/ST positions in the non-foreign areas on or after January 3, 2010, are not eligible for locality pay (only the adjusted COLA, if any, in effect for their official duty station) if a covered ES/SL/ST employee reaches the applicable pay rate cap. If this occurs, the law provides that the employee will continue to receive the frozen COLA rate subject to an offset until the employee leaves the COLA area, the employee leaves the pay system, or the employee becomes entitled to receive a rate of basic pay (including locality pay) that exceeds the employee's existing COLA adjusted rate. The formula for calculating the adjusted COLA percentages is contained in OPM Memo, Subject: Non-Foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act, CPM 2009-27, dated December 30, 2009. For these employees, COLA payments should not be placed on time and attendance (T&A) reports for payments but should be submitted by the Agencies via the Special Payroll Processing System (SPPS). Any COLA amounts added to T&As will be paid via TMGT Table 027 (the standard COLA-reduced rates for employees in the non-foreign areas).

Suspense Documents

Documents that are processed by NFC for the annual pay raise will not appear under any of the Agency’s normal user identification (ID) on suspense reports. It is especially critical at this time of year for Agencies to run reports, verify all documents in suspense not just those of individual human resources staff members. Failure to work an NFC-generated pay raise personnel action that falls into suspense for any reason will prevent the employee from receiving his/her January pay adjustment. If an Agency deletes an NFC-generated pay raise personnel action from suspense, the Agency will have to generate a replacement action manually.

History Correction

If a History Correction package is processed during Pay Period 01, 2016, the system-generated personnel actions (i.e., the change in SCD and the Federal pay increase/locality-based comparability payment) will become part of the package. Special measures should be taken to ensure that these system-generated personnel actions are reapplied during Pay Period 01 regardless of whether the package is subsequently deleted.

Note: The system will hold history correction processing for the first pass of PINE for Pay Period 01 only.

Inquiries

For questions about NFC processing, authorized Servicing Personnel Office representatives should contact the NFC Contact Center at 1-855-NFC-4GOV (1-855-632-4468) or via the Internet using the Requester Console.