PAYROLL OFFICE LETTER

U. S. Office of Personnel Management

Number: P-98-01 Date: January 14, 1998

 Subject: COMPENDIUM OF 1997 PAYROLL OFFICE LETTERS

 

The following is a compendium of the payroll office letters issued during the 1997 calendar

year. If you find that you did not receive any of these letters and would like a copy, please

contact us. A major challenge we face is keeping our distribution list current. Please call or

fax us any address changes to help ensure you receive these letters on a timely basis.

The 1997 Payroll Office Letters are also available on OPM ONLINE (formerly OPM

Mainstreet) for downloading. Instructions on accessing the Payroll Office Forum can be

found in Payroll Office Letter 95-02. Please note: the Retirement and Insurance Services

Forum is now accessed by selecting "A" in the Forums Menu instead of "J." 

In addition, 1997 Payroll Office Letters are available on the World Wide Web. The OPM

Home Page may be accessed at: http://www.opm.gov/asd/htm/pol.htm. Alternatively,

from the OPM web site Index, payroll office letters are listed under P. We provide the letters

in two formats: 1) Portable Document Format (PDF) for viewing online with the Adobe

Acrobat Reader (which can be downloaded from the website); 2) WordPerfect 5.1 format for

downloading to local hard drives.

If you have any questions, or to request copies, please call us on (202) 606-0666, 

fax us on (202) 606-7944, or send an email, finance@opm.gov.

Robert A. Yuran, Chief

Financial Policy Staff

Retirement and Insurance Service 

Enclosure
COMPENDIUM OF 1997 PAYROLL OFFICE LETTERS

P-97-01 provided a compendium of 1996 Payroll Office Letters.

P-97-02 announced new requirements for payment of health benefit premiums for periods of

nonpay or insufficient pay per Public Law 104-208, enacted and effective 9/30/96. 

P-97-03 requested updates of Payroll Office Directory addresses.

P-97-04 contained instructions for the March 1997 Headcount.

P-97-05 served as a reminder that the Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994 

(P.L. 103-226) requires employing agencies to remit $80 for each employee covered by the

Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System

(FERS) on March 31, 1997. 

P-97-06 announced that, beginning with the quarter ending March 31, 1997, each payroll

office must send the quarterly Health Benefits Reconciliation report to all health plans (not

just prepaid plans). 

P-97-07 announced revised agency contribution rates for Federal Employees Retirement

System (FERS).

P-97-07 (This letter inadvertently give same number as above). Effective April 30, 1997,

Prudential Healthcare HMO-Massachusetts no longer to provide benefits to enrollees under

the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). OPM authorized a special

enrollment April 1 - 30, 1997 for all current employees who would lose coverage. 

P-97-08 provided instructions for the September 1997 Headcount.

P-97-09 announced that the file format for the calendar year 1998 Health Benefits Open

Season Enrollment has been revised to include additional data fields.

P-97-10 announced revised agency contribution rate for CSRS and revised employee

withholding rate for both CSRS and FERS.

P-97-11 served as a reminder of supplemental contributions required for Voluntary

Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP's).

P-97-12 supplemented P-97-10 by providing the Civilian Personnel Data File (CPDF) codes

for revised CSRS contribution rates.

P-97-13 NOT ISSUED.
P-97-14 provided 1998 Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) premium rates

and other Open Season information.

P-97-15 announced that effective with the first pay period beginning on or after 

January 1, 1998, the maximum allowable amounts of Basic and Option B Federal Employees

Government Life Insurance (FEGLI) coverage will increase.

P-97-16 provided the 1998 interest rate for service credit deposits and redeposits. 

P-97-17 announced two revisions to the reporting procedures for the Semiannual

Headcount. The first applies to all agencies, whereas the second applies only to agencies

that perform payroll cross-servicing activities.