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-00-32 Date: November 14, 2000

SUBJECT: ROLLBACK OF CSRS AND FERS WITHHOLDINGS RATES

P.L. 106-346, signed by the President on October 23, 2000, rolls back CSRS and FERS

withholdings rates for all employees, other than Members of Congress, to those in effect before

1999. The new lower rates will be effective on the first day of the first pay period beginning on or

after January 1, 2001. [The 0.1 percent increase in CSRS and FERS withholdings rates will be

effective in January 2001 only for Members of Congress.] 

EMPLOYEE WITHHOLDINGS

For your convenience, the following charts provide the CSRS and FERS withholding rates that will

be effective on the first day of the first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2001:

FULL CSRS

Withholding

Rate (%)

“Regular” employees 7.0

Law enforcement officers, firefighters, Capitol police, Congressional employees, and

nuclear materials couriers 7.5

Judges [Bankruptcy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, U.S. Magistrates,

and Court of Federal Claims] 8.0

Members of Congress 8.5

FERS AND CSRS OFFSET

Withholding

Rate (%)

“Regular” employees 0.8

Law enforcement officers, firefighters, Capitol police, Congressional employees,

nuclear materials couriers, and FERS-covered Air Traffic Controllers 1.3

Members of Congress and CSRS offset-covered Judges [Bankruptcy, U.S. Court of

Appeals for the Armed Forces, U.S. Magistrates, and Court of Federal Claims] 1.8
AGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS

P.L. 106-346 does not immediately reduce the agency contribution rate for CSRS-covered

employees. Rather, the contribution rate for “regular” CSRS employees will remain 8.51 percent

of basic pay through September 2002. Effective with the first day of the first pay period in October

2002, however, the CSRS agency contribution rates will be reduced to 0.5 percent above the

employee withholding rates. Then, on the first day of the first pay period in January 2003, the

CSRS agency contribution rate will revert to that in effect before 1999. [The Postal Service and

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority will continue to use the agency contribution rates in

effect before 1999.] 

For your convenience, the following chart shows the CSRS agency contribution rates that are in

effect currently, in October 2002, and in January 2003:

CSRS Agency Contribution Rate (%)

Current 10/2002 1/2003

Regular employees 8.51 7.5 7.0

Law enforcement officers, firefighters,

Capitol police, Congressional employees,

 and nuclear materials couriers

9.01 8.0 7.5

Members of Congress, Judges

[Bankruptcy, U.S. Court of Appeals for

the Armed Forces, U.S. Magistrates, and

Court of Federal Claims]

9.51 8.5 8.0

INQUIRIES

If you have any questions about the matters discussed in this letter, we would prefer that you

email them to us at finance@opm.gov, so that we may retain a record of them. You may also

call us on (202) 606-0606. 

Robert A. Yuran

Chief, Financial Policy Staff

Retirement and Insurance Service