Civil Service Federal Employees Federal Employees Federal Employees

Retirement Group Life Health Benefits Retirement

System Insurance Program System

United States

Office of

Personnel Management

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency

Retirement and Insurance Service

 Payroll Office Letter

 

Number: P-99-27 Date: November 30, 1999

Subject: Revised CSRS and FERS Withholdings Rates

In Payroll Office Letters P-97-10 and P-98-13, we informed you of the threestep increase in the rates of employee withholdings for Civil Service

Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)

covered employees required by Public Law 105-33. The purpose of this letter

is to remind you that the second of the three increases in CSRS and FERS

withholdings is effective with the first pay period beginning on or after

January 1, 2000.

The increase in the employee withholding rates, for all categories of CSRS

and FERS coverage, will be implemented as follows:

Effective Date of Increase

(first pay period beginning on or after)

Increase

(%)

January 1, 2000 +0.15

January 1, 2001 +0.10

On January 1, 2003, the withholding rates for CSRS and FERS will revert

back to the current rates.

Please also remember that there will be NO reduction in the agency

contribution rates for CSRS or FERS covered employees to correspond with

the increase in FERS and CSRS withholding rates. Thus, for “regular”

CSRS employees, the contribution rate will remain
 

Civil Service Federal Employees Federal Employees Federal Employees

Retirement Group Life Health Benefits Retirement

System Insurance Program System

at 8.51% of basic pay; and, for “regular” FERS-covered employees, the

contribution rate will also remain at the current rate of 10.7% of basic

pay, as noted in Payroll Office Letters P-97-07 and P-98-13.

For your convenience, we have provided the revised CSRS and FERS

withholding rates on the following tables. Please reference these tables

and inform your personnel of the upcoming rate increases. 

If you have any questions on this matter, please call us on (202) 606-

0606 or via email at finance@opm.gov.

Robert A. Yuran

Chief, Financial Policy Staff

Retirement and Insurance Service

Attachments
 

Civil Service Federal Employees Federal Employees Federal Employees

Retirement Group Life Health Benefits Retirement

System Insurance Program System

REVISED CSRS EMPLOYEE WITHHOLDING RATES

[effective first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2000]

Category CPDF

Code

Percentage of

Basic Pay (%)

Regular 1,R 7.40

Regular offset* C 1.20

Law enforcement officers 6,T 7.90

Law enforcement officers - offset* E 1.70

Air traffic controllers N/A 7.90

Air traffic controllers – offset* N/A 1.70

Members of Congress N/A 8.40

Members of Congress – offset* N/A 2.20

Congressional employees N/A 7.90

Congressional employees – offset* N/A 1.70

* For “offset” employees, the withholding amount is a

percentage of basic pay equal to the full CSRS deduction

rate for their category of coverage minus the current

OASDI rate of 6.20%. [e.g., “Regular” offset rate is

calculated as follows: 7.40% - 6.20% = 1.20%]. When

total basic pay reaches the Social Security maximum

taxable wages, the withholding rate reverts to the full

CSRS withholding rate.
 

Civil Service Federal Employees Federal Employees Federal Employees

Retirement Group Life Health Benefits Retirement

System Insurance Program System

REVISED FERS EMPLOYEE WITHHOLDING RATES

[effective first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2000]

Category CPDF

Code

Percentage of

Basic Pay (%)

Military reserve technicians N 1.20

Air traffic controllers L 1.70

Law enforcement officers, firefighters,

and employees under section 302 of the

CIA act of 1964 for certain employees

M 1.70

Employees under section 303 of the CIA

act of 1964 for certain employees (when

serving abroad)

N/A 1.20

Congressional employees N/A 1.70

Members of Congress N/A 1.70

All other employees N/A 1.20