	Background

The retention allowance authority was established by section 208 of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA). The act and OPM’s implementing regulations require agencies to document that (1) each allowance paid is based on a determination that unusually high or unique qualifications of the employee or a special need of the agency for the employee’s services makes it essential to retain the employee and (2) in the absence of such an allowance, the employee would be likely to leave federal employment. Scope and Methodology

To identify which agencies gave the largest number of retention allowances and the highest amounts awarded, as well as to determine the total value of retention allowances and the number of SES employees awarded allowances, we reviewed OPM retention allowance reports for fiscal years 1991 through 1994, which were derived from OPM’s Central Personnel Data File (CPDF). Retention Allowances Were Generally Awarded to a Limited Number of Employees

As of September 30, 1994, 354 employees (excluding HHS employees), or about 0.01 percent of the approximately 2.9 million federal civilian employees, were receiving retention allowances. The average allowance at the five agencies during fiscal years 1991 through 1994 was $7,789 per employee. Ex-Im Bank awarded allowances to 21.7 percent of its 462 employees during fiscal year 1994, while none of the other agencies awarded allowances to more than 0.3 percent of their employees. OPM has used this information to produce quarterly reports showing active retention allowance data governmentwide. Also, OPM’s regulations did not address whether agencies should review and/or recertify allowances when employees receive significant pay increases during the year. The retention allowance plans for DOD, Ex-Im Bank, and SEC did not include criteria for determining the amounts of allowances.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed federal agencies' use of retention allowances as salary supplements to retain essential employees, focusing on: (1) the total and average value of the allowances from 1991 to 1994; (2) the extent to which Senior Executive Service employees received retention allowances; (3) whether there were any compliance issues involved in retention allowance awards; (4) the agencies' adherence to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) retention regulations; and (5) the extent to which OPM oversees the use of retention allowances.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) 354 civilian employees received retention allowances as of September 30, 1994; (2) although the Department of Health and Human Services did not report its allowance data, 20 of its employees received allowances during fiscal year (FY) 1994; (3) retention allowances totalled $2.8 million annually and averaged $7,789 annually per employee; (4) the Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) awarded allowances to 21.7 percent of its employees in FY 1994, while the other agencies awarded allowances to 0.3 percent or fewer of its employees; (5) Eximbank did not determine whether prospective recipients would have left their positions if they did not receive retention allowances; (6) the criteria the Department of Defense, Eximbank, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) used to determine the amount of employee allowances could not be determined; (7) OPM regulations do not require agencies to review or recertify retention allowances affected by pay increases; and (8) OPM has developed regulations and conducted longitudinal studies of Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA) actions at selected agencies.