OPM.gov / Policy / Senior Executive Service / SES Desk Guide / Ch. 6 - Awards

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# Ch. 6 - Awards

**Statute: 5 U.S.C. 4501 - 4509 and 5384**

**Regulations:****5 CFR Parts 451****and****534, Subpart D**

The law authorizes the granting of special recognition, awards, and incentive payments to members of the SES to help attract, retain, recognize, reward, and motivate highly competent executives. These payments and forms of recognition include agency performance awards, Presidential Distinguished and Meritorious Rank Awards, and other forms of recognition. Only career appointees are eligible for rank and performance awards.

## General Information and Comparison of SES Awards Programs

### Award Programs

The three SES award programs are—
              - Performance Awards;
              - Presidential Rank Awards; and
              - Other Awards

Agencies should develop written pay and awards policies that incorporate policies for all three SES award programs.

### Relationship Among Award Programs

Performance awards and Presidential Rank Awards both recognize overall high-level performance by SES career appointees.

SES performance awards reflect performance over a single appraisal period while rank awards are based upon service over an extended period of time. A single Outstanding annual summary rating does not justify a rank nomination, but it may justify a performance award. Conversely, an unbroken record of Outstanding ratings over a period of years suggests that an individual may be a candidate for a rank award whether or not the individual has received a performance award each year.

**Performance Awards.**Recognizes excellence in performance at the end of the performance appraisal period. Career SES members with a performance rating of Fully Successful or higher are eligible for a performance award. The statute does not specify a limit on the number of awards that may be given by an agency. The supervisor nominates the executive for the award, the agency Performance Review Board (PRB) recommends, and the agency head or designee considers the recommendations but

he/she has the final authority as to who is to receive a performance award and the amount of the award. SES performance awards are 5 to 20 percent of the SES member’s base salary; payment is a lump sum. If the amount brings total compensation for the calendar year (CY) over the Vice President’s pay for executives covered by a certified appraisal system or over the rate of pay for Executive Schedule level I for executives not covered by a certified appraisal system, the excess is rolled over to the next CY (5 CFR 530.302(b)).

**Presidential Rank Awards.**Recognizes sustained extraordinary accomplishment (Distinguished) or sustained accomplishment (Meritorious) over at least three years as SES or equivalent. (Service does not have to be all in same agency.) To be eligible, an executive must have at least three years of career or career-type Federal civilian service at the SES level, currently hold a career appointment in the SES, and be an employee of the nominating agency on OPM’s nomination date. An executive cannot receive the same rank award within four fiscal years following receipt of that award. The agency head nominates, the OPM Director recommends (assisted by outside panels), and the President selects. For a Distinguished Rank Award, the SES member receives an amount equal to 35 percent of his/her annual basic pay, a gold lapel pin, and a Presidential certificate. For a Meritorious Rank Award, the SES member receives an amount equal to 20 percent of his/her annual basic pay, a silver lapel pin, and a Presidential certificate. Payment is made in a lump sum and is subject to the applicable aggregate pay limitation (same as the performance awards). There are Governmentwide limitations on the number of SES members who can receive Presidential Rank Awards each year. Only one percent of the career SES members can receive the Distinguished Rank and five percent of the career SES members can receive the Meritorious Rank.

In 2003, Distinguished Senior Professional and Meritorious Senior Professional rank awards were also established and made available (5 U.S.C. 4507a) for senior career employees paid under 5 U.S.C. 5376 (i.e., Senior-Level and Scientific or Professional (SL/ST)) under the same terms and conditions that apply to rank awards for career members of the SES.

**Other Awards.**Other forms of recognition are available to recognize a single, significant act or contribution that is not tied to overall performance. Examples include suggestion, invention, superior accomplishment, productivity gain, or other personal effort that contributes to the efficiency, economy, or other improvement of Government operations or achieves a significant reduction in paperwork; or a special act or service in the public interest in connection with/related to official employment. Unless otherwise restricted, e.g., by statute or by a Presidential Administration, all SES members are eligible.

The statute does not specify a limit on the number of awards. The process for these awards is determined by the agency in accordance with OPM regulations. Awards can be monetary, honorary, or informal recognition. The agency approves cash awards of up to $10,000; OPM approves awards greater than $10,000 up to $25,000; and the President approves cash awards over $25,000. Payment is a lump sum and is subject to the applicable aggregate pay limitation (the same as for the performance and rank awards).

### Appropriate Use of Other Awards

An award may be used to recognize a contribution (e.g., service on a task force, accomplishment on a detail to other duties, or an extraordinary effort on a project not anticipated in the employee’s annual performance plan) or a scientific achievement that may have culminated after a significant period of time. These other forms of recognition should be considered for SES members only in those limited circumstances where a performance award would not be appropriate.

Receiving one of these forms of recognition does not bar an executive from receiving a performance award, or vice versa. Each award must be judged on its own merits and commensurate with the contribution it is recognizing. However, agencies should give careful consideration before granting both a performance award and another award to an SES member during the same year.

Given the sensitivity associated with executive awards, agencies should carefully document the reasons for any award to make clear that it is not being given in lieu of a performance award or in addition to an award that already recognized the same accomplishment.

### Paying for Awards

Except as otherwise authorized by law, the cost of awards to SES members must be borne by the agencies in which they are employed. Because Presidential Rank Awards and performance awards occur on an annual basis and are a significant part of executive compensation, it is important that each agency budget for the resources necessary for their payment.

If a career SES appointee transfers to a new agency after receiving an annual summary rating but before their performance award is paid out, the losing agency may still pay the award to the executive. Payment procedures should be coordinated between the losing and gaining agencies.

### Presenting Awards

Agencies are encouraged to have the agency head or other high ranking official present awards at an appropriate ceremony recognizing the contributions recipients made to the agency and to publicize the awards to the workforce as well as outside the agency. Agencies may fund travel for an employee and a guest to receive an award at a major award ceremony (e.g., Presidential Rank Awards) under the conditions in Comptroller General Decision B-233607 (October 26, 1989).

### Documentation

Agencies should document Presidential Rank Awards on an SF 50 and file it on the right side of the Official Personnel Folder (OPF). Agencies must document SES performance awards and other awards but OPM does not require an SF 50, and agencies may not file these awards on the right side of the OPF. [See OPM’s Guide to Processing Personnel Actions, Chapter 29.]

### Reporting Requirements

While OPM approval is not required before payment of most awards, there is a reporting requirement. Agencies must submit a report of their final distribution of performance ratings and performance awards to OPM in accordance with instructions in OPM’s annual data call.

## Performance Awards

**Statute:****5 U.S.C. 5384**

**Regulations:****5 CFR 534.405**

Performance awards recognize and reward excellence of career appointees over a performance appraisal period based on the annual summary rating.

### Eligibility

To be eligible for an SES performance award, an individual must have received a Fully Successful (FS) or higher annual summary rating for the most recent appraisal period under 5 CFR part 430, subpart C and as of the end of the performance appraisal period must have been—
              - an SES career appointee, including a reemployed annuitant with an SES career appointment; or
              - a former SES career appointee who elected to retain award eligibility under  5 CFR part  317, subpart H .

An individual who is no longer in the SES at the time the performance award decision is made but who was an SES career appointee at the end of the appraisal period normally remains eligible, but departure without participation in the rating process can hinder or prevent consideration.

A career SES appointee on detail to another agency is eligible in his/her official employing agency, i.e., the agency from which detailed.

An SES member who leaves an agency before the end of an applicable agency appraisal period is eligible for an award if:
              - The agency ends the executive’s appraisal period at any time after the minimum appraisal period is completed, as provided in  5 CFR 430.304(b)(5) , based upon the determination there is an adequate basis to appraise and rate the executive’s performance;
              - The agency’s process for rating and granting awards is applied, including initial rating, PRB review and recommendation concerning rating and award, and final rating of the executive at Fully Successful or higher by the appointing authority; and
              - The agency head approves an award between 5% and 20% of the executive’s salary that is accommodated within the bonus pool for the fiscal year in which the award is paid. (See Award Pool below.)

### Restrictions

To be recognized with an SES performance award, service must have been performed under an SES career appointment and must have been for no less than the agency’s minimum appraisal period. If an individual has served less than a full year as an SES career appointee, the agency may take this into account in determining the amount of the award; however, an SES performance award may not be less than five percent of the individual’s SES rate of basic pay as of the end of the performance appraisal period.

Since 5 U.S.C. 5384(a) states that SES performance awards shall be paid to career SES appointees, a career appointee contemplating SES noncareer, limited term, or limited emergency appointment should consider that timing of such a change can preclude payment of a performance award.

An Inspector General (IG) is not eligible for SES performance awards, rank awards, or other cash awards (See the Inspector General Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. Appendix Sec. 3(f)). An IG who is otherwise eligible to elect to retain certain SES benefits under 5 U.S.C. 3392 and 5 CFR part317, subpart H may not retain eligibility for SES performance awards or rank awards (Pub.L. 110-409, § 4(c), October 14, 2008, Inspector General Reform Act of 2008).

### Award Pool

The total amount of SES performance awards an agency pays during a fiscal year may not exceed the greater of—
              - 10 percent of the aggregate amount of basic pay for SES career appointees in the agency as of the end of the fiscal year before the fiscal year in which the award payments are made. [For example, if the payments are made in September 2020 (FY 2020), the pool is calculated as of September 30, 2019 (end of FY 2019). However, if the payments are made in November 2020 (FY 2021), the pool is calculated as of September 30, 2020 (end of FY 2020)]; or
              - 20 percent of the average annual rates of basic pay for career SES appointees as of the end of the fiscal year before the fiscal year in which the performance award payments are made.

The salary of a former SES career appointee who elected to retain award eligibility under 5 CFR part 317, subpart H is taken into account in calculating the pool. If the level of basic pay of the individual is higher than the maximum rate of basic pay for the applicable SES rate range, the maximum rate of that SES rate range is used for crediting the agency award pool. Similarly, the salary of a career appointee receiving critical position pay is taken into account, but only the maximum rate of the SES rate range is used for crediting the agency award pool.

The salary of a career appointee who is on detail to another agency is included in calculating the pool of the agency from which the appointee is detailed. If the appointee is on a reimbursable detail, the agency to which the appointee is detailed may reimburse the employing agency for some or all of any award, as agreed upon by the two agencies, but the reimbursement does not affect the pool of either agency.

### Number and Amount of Individual Awards

An agency may determine the number of executives who receive performance awards and the amount of each award, based on the dollars available in the pool and the guidelines below.

**Number of Awards.**The law does not intend that the maximum number of eligible executives necessarily receive awards. Performance awards are intended to be given only when there is a clear demonstration they are merited by performance. Awards are not to be used merely as supplements to basic pay and agencies should avoid giving awards on a rotational basis (e.g., giving half of their SES members a performance award one year and the other half a performance award the next year). Agencies rating executives above Fully Successful would be expected to pay performance awards to at least some of those executives, based on the criteria established in their agency pay plans.

**Amount of Awards.**A performance award may not be less than 5.0 percent or more than 20.0 percent of the appointee’s SES rate of basic pay as of the end of the appraisal period [5 CFR 534.405(c)]. These percentages may not be rounded (i.e., the award amount may not be less than 5.0 percent or more than 20.0 percent). An individual may not voluntarily agree to accept an SES performance award of less than five percent.

When an individual whose rate of basic pay exceeds the maximum rate of the SES rate range (e.g., a SES member receiving critical pay or a former SES career appointee who elects to retain award eligibility under 5 CFR part 317, Subpart H) is considered for a performance award, the minimum (5.0%) and maximum (20.0%) award available to the individual is calculated using the agency’s maximum SES rate (EX-III or EX-II, as applicable).

### Award Determinations

When making recommendations on a performance award, a PRB must be composed of a majority of career SES members, unless OPM has approved a waiver [5 CFR 534.405(a)(3)]. The agency head (or designee) must consider PRB recommendations, but he or she has the final authority as to who receives a performance award and the amount of the award [5 CFR 534.405(a)(4)].

### Payment Procedures

Awards are paid in lump sums. Payments are not subject to retirement, health benefits, or life insurance deductions, nor are they included in the “high-three” average pay computation for retirement benefits or in basic pay for thrift savings plan computations. Payments are subject to income tax withholding and are subject to FICA tax withholding if the individual is in FERS or CSRS Offset.

Awards are subject to the EX-I aggregate pay limitation for a calendar year for executives not covered by a certified appraisal system. For executives covered by a certified appraisal system, awards are subject to an aggregate pay limitation equal to the Vice President’s salary. If the full award cannot be paid because of the ceiling, the excess amount is carried over and paid at the beginning of the next calendar year. However, the full award is charged against the agency award pool for the fiscal year in which the initial payment was made. For example, if an executive received a performance award of $15,000 in FY 2023 (e.g., August 2023), but $1,000 could not be paid until the beginning of CY 2024, that $1,000 counts against the executive’s applicable CY 2024 aggregate pay limitation; but the full $15,000 is charged against the agency’s FY 2023 award pool.

[**Note:**Agencies should pay performance awards generally within five months following the end of the applicable appraisal period to reinforce the linkage between performance excellence and its associated reward.]

## Presidential Rank Awards

**Statute:****5 U.S.C. 4507**

**Regulations:****5 CFR 451, Subpart C**

### Rank Award Descriptions

The Presidential Rank Award (PRA) recognizes and rewards career Senior Executive Service (SES) members and career senior professionals [Senior-Level (SL) and Scientific or Professional (ST)] who have demonstrated exceptional performance over an extended period of time. There are two ranks:

The ***Distinguished Executive and Distinguished Senior Professional Rank***may be awarded for “sustained extraordinary accomplishment” to no more than one percent of career SES members and no more than one percent of senior career professionals Governmentwide. The awards include a lump-sum payment of an amount equal to 35 percent of annual basic pay, a distinctive gold lapel pin, and a framed certificate signed by the President.

The ***Meritorious Executive and Meritorious Senior Professional Rank***may be awarded for “sustained accomplishment” to no more than five percent of career SES members and no more than five percent of career senior professionals Governmentwide. The awards include a lump-sum payment of an amount equal to 20 percent of annual basic pay, a distinctive silver lapel pin, and a framed certificate signed by the President.

### Agency Nominations

Each agency may nominate up to nine percent of its career SES members and/or up to nine percent of its career senior professionals for rank awards. Agencies are not subject to any prescribed ratio of Distinguished to Meritorious nominations but should keep in mind that the statute permits only one percent of career SES members and one percent of career senior professionals to receive the Distinguished Rank, and only five percent of career SES members and five percent of career senior professionals to receive the Meritorious Rank. Agencies with fewer than 12 career SES members or fewer than 12 career senior professionals may nominate one individual in either category.

The IG Reform Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-409) provides for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) to serve as agency head for Offices of Inspector General with respect to 5 U.S.C. 4507(b) (SES Rank Awards). In that capacity, CIGIE reviews recommendations for career SES members from each Office of Inspector General to receive rank awards and may nominate up to nine percent of career SES appointees serving in Offices of Inspector General Governmentwide for rank awards, and 5 U.S.C. 4507a provides for Senior Professional rank award recommendations to be “made, reviewed, and awarded under the same terms and conditions (to the extent determined by the Office of Personnel Management) that apply to rank awards for members of the Senior Executive Service under section 4507.”

### Eligibility

**SES Career Appointees – Distinguished and Meritorious Ranks**

Nominees must —
              - Hold a career appointment in the SES;
              - Be an employee of the nominating agency; and
              - Have at least three years of career or career-type Federal civilian service at the SES level. Service does not have to be continuous. Qualifying service includes career or equivalent appointments in the SES, Senior Foreign Service, and the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service, and other SES-equivalent systems (e.g., FBI/DEA SES). Appointments not qualifying include noncareer, limited term and limited emergency SES appointments, and Senior-level (SL) or scientific and professional (ST) appointments.

**Senior Career Employees (SL/ST)**

Nominees must —
              - Hold a career appointment in a Senior-Level (SL) or Scientific or Professional (ST) position that is subject to OPM position allocations under  part 319  of this chapter and paid under  5 U.S.C. 5376  on the nomination deadline set by OPM;
              - Be an employee of the agency on the nomination deadline set by OPM; and
              - Have at least three years of career or career-type Federal civilian service above GS-15. Service need not be continuous. Qualifying service includes appointments that are not—                 - Time-limited; or
                - To positions that are excepted from the competitive service because of their confidential or policy-making character. 

A career SES member or career senior professional who is a reemployed annuitant or who has a part-time or intermittent work schedule is eligible as long as he or she meets the other criteria for nomination. However, agencies are advised to carefully consider whether such a nomination would be in the best interests of the agency and the program, in view of the limitation on awards that can be given.

An individual who leaves the SES or senior professional position after being nominated (e.g., retires, resigns, or takes a position outside the SES), but before being approved by the President, remains eligible unless the agency withdraws the nomination. An individual also remains eligible posthumously.

A Presidential Rank Award nominee remains eligible for the rank award even if the individual leaves the nominating agency:
              - If the individual is selected as a finalist, the original nominating agency continues to have authority to award the individual after the individual leaves the agency and is responsible for paying the full award amount to the individual.
              - The nominating agency can withdraw the nomination of the individual at any time during the process, however, should the nominating agency allow the individual to continue through the process, OPM recommends the nominating agency contact the new agency to verify that the individual is still deserving of the award and that there are no issues that would cause embarrassment to the President or Administration if the individual is selected.
              - If the nominating agency withdraws its nomination that ends the individual’s consideration for a rank award for that fiscal year.

Appointed employees in PAS Executive Schedule positions may **not**receive incentive awards, including Presidential Rank Awards, according to 5 U.S.C. 4509, except that a career SES member who receives such an appointment without a break in service and elects to retain eligibility for rank awards under 5 U.S.C. 3392 continues to be eligible. OPM Guidance on the CHCOC Website implementing the President’s memorandum of August 3, 2010, freezing discretionary awards, bonuses, and similar payments for political appointees also makes an exception for a former career SES member who elects to retain eligibility for awards under 5 U.S.C. 3392. Nevertheless, an agency may consider a variety of factors, including concerns expressed by Congress or the Administration regarding awards for political appointees when deciding on rank award nominations.

Section 5 of the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-409) provides that an Inspector General of an establishment or a designated Federal entity may not receive any cash award or cash bonus, including a Presidential Rank Award; however, other SES members in IG offices are eligible for performance and other awards, including Presidential Rank Awards. As noted above, Pub. L. 110-409 provides for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) to determine which SES members from Offices of Inspector General are to be nominated for rank awards.

### Restrictions

The recipient of either a Distinguished or Meritorious Rank Award may **not**receive the same rank again during the four fiscal years following the one for which the award is given. (For example, if an individual received a meritorious award in FY 2023, he or she is not eligible for another meritorious award until FY 2028.) However, there is no restriction on receiving one rank (i.e., either Distinguished or Meritorious) and subsequently receiving the other rank at a closer interval. There is also no requirement that an individual receive a meritorious award before receiving a distinguished award.

An individual may receive both a rank award and a performance award during the same calendar year.

### Nomination Criteria

Career SES and senior professional appointees are nominated and evaluated on the following criteria:

#### Career SES appointees

              - Program Results
              - Executive Leadership

#### Career Senior Professional appointees

              - Program Results
              - Stature in the field

Specific examples are requested for each criterion cited showing how the nominee has demonstrated qualities of strength, leadership, integrity, industry, and personal conduct of a level that has established and maintained a high degree of public confidence and trust.

Although nominees will come from professional fields too diverse to permit a common definition of unusual accomplishment, their contributions will clearly have to greatly exceed simply “doing the job well.” These awards carry significant prestige — they are **not**to be proposed simply to recognize long and dedicated service.

### Nomination and Selection Procedures

**OPM call.**OPM issues an annual call memorandum for rank award nominations which states the criteria and deadline for submitting nominations and includes nomination forms.

**OPM and Review Boards.**Review boards composed of private citizens (normally from outside the Government) are established to assist the Director in reviewing and ranking nominations from agencies. OPM also conducts a background inquiry and criminal records check to verify the qualifications and suitability of nominees recommended by the boards for distinguished and meritorious rank.

After the completion of the review boards, background inquiries, and records checks for potential concerns relating to federal taxes, EEO, prohibited personnel practice, Inspector General or other complaints, and criminal records, the Director of OPM recommends candidates to the President for a final decision.

Nominees are considered on the basis of relative merit Governmentwide and not on the basis of agency size or number of submissions.

**Agency withdrawals.**Heads of Agencies may withdraw a nomination at any time during the process, up until the time of the President’s final decision.

**Presidential action.**The President makes the final selections from the nominees recommended by the Director of OPM. Agencies must wait for OPM authorization to make external announcements of award recipients and to hold internal recognition ceremonies.

### Award Payment Procedures

The award is paid by the recipient’s nominating agency as a lump-sum payment, in addition to basic salary. It is not subject to retirement, health benefits, or life insurance deductions. It is not included in the “high three” average pay computation for retirement benefits or in basic pay for thrift savings plan computation. The payment is subject to income tax withholding as well as FICA tax withholding if the individual is in FERS or CSRS Offset.

Awards are subject to the applicable aggregate limitation on pay for a calendar year. (See Chapter 5, Aggregate Limitation on Pay.)

Agency payment of ceremonial expenses in connection with the actual presentation of awards is authorized under 5 U.S.C. 4503.

### Tips for Writing Nominations

Based on feedback we receive from board members as they review agency cases, here is some advice on preparing agency nominations for Presidential Rank Awards. In general, board members are impressed by the professionalism and accomplishments of the executives. However, there are some things that you can do to strengthen the case for your nominees.
              - Avoid acronyms and “bureaucrat speak.” Most PRA board members have not worked in a Federal environment and some are turned off by overly bureaucratic language. Be direct, be clear.
              - Avoid broad statements. Describe how the nominee’s  actions  led to specific  results .
              - Show the nominee’s performance was exceptional and sustained. Board members give low scores to individuals who were “just doing their job.”

## Other Awards

**Statute: 5 U.S.C. 4501-4503, 4505, 4508, 4509**

**Regulations: 5 CFR Part 451, Subpart A**

Under chapter 45 of title 5, agencies may grant cash, honorary, or informal recognition awards, or grant time off without charge to leave or loss of pay to SES members individually or as a member of a group to recognize the following:
              - a suggestion, an invention, superior accomplishment, productivity gain, or other personal effort that contributes to the efficiency, economy, or other improvement of Government operations, or achieves a significant reduction in paperwork; or
              - a special act or service in the public interest in connection with or related to official employment.

A time-off award may not be converted to a cash payment under any circumstances. If permitted by agency policy, an SES member may use a time-off award received prior to the SES appointment.

### Eligibility

In general, SES appointees of all types are eligible for awards under chapter 45 of title 5 unless the award would conflict with certain related statutes or is restricted by applicable statute, regulation, or administration policy. See examples below.

### Restrictions

Agencies **cannot use**these chapter 45 awards **to circumvent**either the statutory or regulatory provisions concerning—
              - the limitations on eligibility for performance awards. For example, an agency should not give superior accomplishment awards to noncareer appointees in recognition of performance of their regular job duties and responsibilities to make up for their exclusion from performance award eligibility under  5 U.S.C. 5384 ;
              - the limitations on the size of individual performance awards. For example, an agency should not give job-related superior accomplishment awards to career SES employees to supplement performance awards for overall performance or pay less than the minimum performance award required; and
              - the limitations on the total amount of funds available to pay performance awards. For example, an agency should not give superior accomplishment awards to career SES employees in order to grant larger or more awards for job performance to executives than the agency’s award pool can support.

The following statutory restrictions have been placed on awards under chapter 45, subchapter I, for senior political officials.
              - agencies may not grant any award under  5 CFR part 451, subpart A  to noncareer or limited SES appointees, or Schedule C appointees, between June 1 of a Presidential election year and the following January 20 [ 5 U.S.C. 4508 ];
              - agencies may not grant a cash award to Presidential appointees with Senate confirmation (PAS) in Executive Schedule positions or positions for which pay is set in statute by reference to a section or level of the Executive Schedule [ 5 U.S.C. 4509 ]. However, career SES members who are appointed to PAS positions and elect to continue SES performance award and rank award eligibility under  5 U.S.C. 3392(c)  may still receive a performance award or rank award; and
              - an Inspector General may not receive any cash award or cash bonus, including any cash award under  chapter 45 of title 5, United States Code . [See the Inspector General Act of 1978,  5 U.S.C. Appendix Sec. 3(f) ]

It is generally recommended that an agency consult with its White House Liaison on awards for noncareer SES members; however, on August 03, 2010, a Presidential Memorandum placed a freeze on discretionary awards for Federal Political Appointees (see OPM guidance).
              - Agencies may not authorize or pay single contribution-based special act awards for either individual or group achievements under the authority of  5 U.S.C. 4503  and  5 CFR part 451, subpart A,  to political appointees as of August 3, 2010.
              - Time-off awards and nonmonetary awards (e.g., a plaque or certificate) are not subject to the freeze. Agencies may continue to authorize or grant time-off awards and nonmonetary awards to political appointees. However, time-off awards are among the awards prohibited for certain employees during a Presidential election period.
              - The freeze on discretionary awards for Federal Political Appointees remains in effect until further notice.