Benefits Administration Letter

Number : 15-310 December 2015

United States

Office of 

Personnel Management 

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency

 

Subject: Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014 

INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

This announcement pertains only to the payroll provider servicing the U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection Agency (CBP). The purpose of this announcement is to advise you that as 

of January 10, 2016, there is a change to the way Border Patrol agents will be paid overtime 

compensation, which will affect how this data will be posted on the Individual Retirement 

Records (IRR). 

The Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014, Public Law 113-277, created a new form of 

retirement-creditable overtime compensation for Border Patrol agents. The new compensation is 

known as the Border Patrol Overtime Supplement (BPOS). Border Patrol agents may elect one 

of three regular work schedules, each referred to as a “regular tour of duty,” and each providing 

different rates of compensation. An overtime supplement applies to agents with Level 1 or Level 

2 regular tour of duty, as shown below: 

1) Level 1 regular tour of duty: 

Five 10-hour workdays (8 basic + 2 overtime hours) each week; (100 hours per pay period) 

Overtime supplement equal to 25 percent (.25) of basic pay 

2) Level 2 regular tour of duty:

Five 9-hour workdays (8 basic + 1 overtime hour) each week; (90 hours per pay period) 

Overtime supplement equal to 12.5 percent (.125) of basic pay 

3) Basic regular tour of duty:

Five 8-hour workdays (no overtime within tour) each week; (80 hours per pay period) 

No overtime supplement 

Note: There is also a possibility of a “hybrid” period, which is a combination of tours over a 

biweekly pay period that serves as a transition in which an employee shifts from one type of tour 

to another type of tour in the middle of the pay period. 
As a result of the new form of compensation, this BAL provides you with instructions on how to 

post the new overtime supplement on the Individual Retirement Record (IRR, or SF 2806, SF 

3100) for Border Patrol agents. Note, this law only affects Border Patrol agents and does not 

affect any other type of Law Enforcement Officers. 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PAYROLL PROVIDER HANDLING BORDER PATROL 

AGENTS’ RETIREMENT RECORDS

Overtime Supplement Postings on the IRR

For retirement purposes, the overtime supplement percentage is added to the annual salary to 

obtain the total annual basic pay rate. By law, the overtime supplement is treated as basic pay for 

retirement purposes and certain other purposes (such as for life insurance). 

Posting Of Basic Pay at Levels 1, 2, and Basic Regular Tours Of Duty

OPM is expecting a double posting on the IRR whenever an overtime supplement is paid. The 

IRR must first post the effective date with the annual rate of retirement-creditable basic pay, 

which includes an applicable locality payment or special rate supplement. In addition, the next 

line must post the annual rate of retirement-creditable basic pay equal to the sum of an applicable 

locality payment or special rate supplement and the overtime supplement amount. Next to this 

posting, the IRR must indicate in the “Remarks” area the percentage of overtime supplement 

(BPOS) that was assigned. 

Example of posting for Level 1 regular tour of duty 

Effective Date Action Base Pay Remarks

01-12-14 Gen Adj 78762

01-12-14 Gen Adj *98453 Incl. 25% BPOS

*Note: Base pay means the total retirement-creditable annual rate of basic pay equal to the sum 

of the adjusted rate of basic pay (including an applicable locality payment or special rate 

supplement) and the overtime supplement. In this example, the agent was at GS-12, step 5, in 

the “Rest-of-U.S.” locality pay area and entitled to a $78,762 locality rate and an overtime 

supplement at the Level 1 regular tour of duty. Thus, the base pay is $98,453 ($78,762 x 1.25 = 

$98,453). 
Example of posting for Level 2 regular tour of duty 

Effective Date Action Base Pay Remarks

01-12-14 Gen Adj 78762

01-12-14 Gen Adj *88607 Incl. 12.5% BPOS

*Note: Base pay means the total retirement-creditable annual rate of basic pay equal to the sum 

of the adjusted rate of basic pay (including an applicable locality payment or special rate 

supplement) and the overtime supplement. In this example, the agent was at GS-12, step 5, in 

the “Rest-of-U.S.” locality pay area and entitled to a $78,762 locality rate and an overtime 

supplement at the Level2 regular tour of duty. Thus, the base pay is $88,607 ($78,762 x 1.125 = 

$88607). 

Since there is no overtime supplement for a basic regular tour of duty, the IRR will only post the 

effective date with the annual rate of retirement-creditable basic pay, which includes an 

applicable locality payment or special rate supplement.

Example of posting for basic regular tour of duty 

Effective Date Action Base Pay Remarks

01-12-14 Gen Adj 78762

Capped Pay 

A Border Patrol agent’s overtime supplement is subject to the biweekly premium pay under 5 

U.S.C. 5547. If an agent’s overtime supplement is limited by the biweekly premium pay cap, the 

base pay reported on the agent’s IRR should be the annualized capped amount. For this purpose, 

use the annual rate from which the biweekly premium cap was derived. For example, if the 

premium pay cap is based on the annual locality-adjusted rate for GS-15, step 10, for a given 

locality pay area; the base pay is that GS-15, step 10, annual locality rate. If possible, indicate 

the cap by adding “(capped)” in the Remarks section to document that the base pay reflected the 

application of the premium pay cap. 

Example 

Effective Date Action Base Pay Remarks

01-12-14 Gen Adj 122530

01-12-14 Gen Adj 149333 Incl. 25% BPOS (capped)

Note: In this example, the agent was at GS-15, step 3, in the “Rest of U.S.” locality pay area and 

entitled to a $122,530 locality rate, which prevented the agent from receiving the full 25% 

overtime supplement given that the premium pay cap is based on the GS-15, step 10, locality rate 

of $149,333. Thus, the base pay was recorded as $149,333. 
Control Period Date on the IRR

The law requires a control period beginning 3 years before the agent reaches retirement age and 

service requirements (e.g., age 50 with 20 years of service) and ending when service as an agent 

ceases. Note that while the control period becomes effective as of the 3 year period prior to the 

earliest date the agent could retire under the special retirement provisions, the actual retirement 

can be much later. This may effectively extend the control period beyond 3 years depending 

upon when the agent actually retires. 

During the control period, the agent’s average overtime supplement percentage for any possible 

3-year period must be consistent (i.e., within 2.5 percentage points) with the agent’s career 

average overtime supplement percentage before the control period. The control period is meant 

to ensure agents do not artificially elevate their high-3 average salary by selecting a higher 

overtime supplement than their career average. (See 5 CFR 550.1615.) 

If, as of January 10, 2016, the date that is 3 years before the agent first met age and service 

requirements for an immediate retirement has already passed, then the agent’s control period is 

considered to have begun on January 10, 2016. 

Agencies/Payroll providers must post the Control Period Date (i.e., period beginning date) and 

the employee’s career average overtime supplement percentage in the Remarks area of the IRR

along with the posting of mandatory data such as the Retirement SCD; Last Day in Pay; Unused 

Sick Leave; Military Deposit Status; FEHB and FEGLI codes, etc.

Inquiries

If you have any questions about these requirements, please send an email to 

FinancialBals@opm.gov.

Kolo Babagana 

Acting Associate Chief Financial Officer

Financial Services