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The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a proposed rule to delegate to agencies the authority to approve waivers of the normal payment limitations on recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives so agencies have access to higher payment limitations based on a critical need without requesting approval from OPM.

Currently agencies have the authority to approve a recruitment or relocation incentive without OPM approval for payments of up to 25 percent of an employee’s annual rate of basic pay times the number of years in a service agreement (not to exceed 4 years or 100 percent of annual basic pay). Under a waiver, agencies could approve a recruitment or relocation incentive of up to 50 percent of an employee’s annual rate of basic pay times the number of years in a service agreement (not to exceed 100 percent of annual basic pay).

Agencies have the authority to approve a retention incentive for an individual employee without OPM approval for payments of up to 25 percent of the employee’s rate of basic pay. Agencies also have the authority to pay a retention incentive of up to 10 percent of basic pay to an eligible group or category of employees without OPM approval. Under a waiver, agencies could approve a retention incentive of up to 50 percent of an employee’s rate of basic pay based on a critical agency need.