Office of Personnel Management

Retirement and Insurance Service

1920 1954 1959 

 

1986

 

Federal Employee Benefit Programs

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LETTER

Number: F-99-01 Date: January 8, 1999

SUBJECT: COMPENDIUM OF 1998 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LETTERS

The following is a compendium of the Financial Management Letters issued during the 1998

calendar year. For your convenience, a compendium of payroll office letters issued during the

1998 calendar year is also enclosed. 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 changes to help ensure you receive these

letters on a timely basis.

The 1998 Financial Management Letters are also available on the World Wide Web at: 

http://www.opm.gov/asd/htm/fml.htm. Payroll Office Letters can be accessed at: 

http://www.opm.gov/asd/htm/pol.htm. Alternatively, from the OPM web site Index, FML's

and POL's are listed under F and P, respectively. We currently provide the letters in two

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

Reader (available for download from the web site); 2) WordPerfect 5.1 format for downloading

to local computer hard drives.

If you have any questions, or to request copies, please contact us on (202) 606-0606, 

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

Robert A. Yuran, Chief

Financial Policy Staff

Retirement and Insurance Service

Enclosures
COMPENDIUM OF 1998 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LETTERS 

F-98-01 (January 14, 1998) provided a compendium of 1997 Financial Management Letters as well

as 1997 Payroll Office Letters.

F-98-02 (January 30, 1998) provided material relating to accounting for pension costs.

Limited Distribution (February 5, 1998) provided additional cost factors for pensions - Civil

Service Retirement System (CSRS) Offset.

F-98-03 (February 10, 1998) invitation to the 1998 Benefits Officers Conference.

F-98-04 (April 24, 1998) provided an update on recent legislation affecting a possible Federal

Employees Retirement System (FERS) open season.

F-98-05 (April 24, 1998) advised that because on a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals in

Conner v. OPM, some employees have been erroneously placed in the FERS. 

F-98-06 (September 4, 1998) (Limited distribution) advised that the 1998 cost factors are due to

be released October 15, 1998.

F-98-07 (October 19, 1998) provided the 1998 cost factors for pensions and other retirement

benefits expenses.

F-98-08 (November 10, 1998) provided notification and summary of significant changes to the

Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program resulting from new legislation. 

Attachments included Benefits Administration Letter (BAL) 98-208, which presented an overview

and P-98-12 which presented issues requiring immediate implementation at agency payroll

offices (APO's).

F-98-09 (December 23, 1998) requested assistance to ensure the accuracy of interdepartmental

account balances.
COMPENDIUM OF 1998 PAYROLL OFFICE LETTERS 

P-98-01 (January 14, 1998) provided a compendium of 1997 Payroll Office Letters.

P-98-02 (February 20, 1998) contained instructions for the March 1998 Headcount.

P-98-03 (April 24, 1998) announced the termination of Health Power HMO, Code 3R.

P-98-04 (April 24, 1998) provided information on the procedures that will be necessary to interact

with the Y2K-compliant Retirement and Insurance Transfer System (RITS).

P-98-05 (May 15, 1998) provided a reminder of the requirement to remit Agency Per Capita

Contributions by September 1, 1998 and advised that Annual Revenue Confirmation Reports are

no longer required; a future FML will be issued regarding alternative oversight measures.

P-98-06 (June 22, 1998) provided guidance on processing payroll changes for employees who

elect to transfer to FERS.

P-98-07 (July 22, 1998) announced that, beginning with the 1998 Federal Employees Health

Benefits (FEHB) Program Open Season, OPM will offer electronic transfer of FEHB enrollment

transactions from agency systems to health plan carriers. Please refer to the attached BAL 98-

407 for further information.

P-98-08 (August 26, 1998) announced that the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI)

Handbook has been revised and is available on CD.

P-98-09 (August 26, 1998) contained instructions for the September 1998 Headcount.

P-98-10 (November 2, 1998) gave information regarding the 1999 FEHB Open Season.

P-98-11 (November 20, 1998) gave guidance regarding necessary actions as a result of the

Conner Decision.

P-98-12 (November 10, 1998) provided notification and summary of significant changes to the

Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program resulting from new legislation.

P-98-13 (November 20, 1998) provided a reminder that the first of the three increases of revised

CSRS and FERS withholding rates required by P.L. 105-33 is effective with the first pay period

beginning on or after January 1, 1999. 

P-98-14 (November 27, 1998) provided Calendar Year 1999 interest rate for service credit

deposits and redeposits. 

P-98-15 (December 4, 1998) provided an amendment to P-98-13 on revised CSRS and FERS

withholding rates.