Office of Personnel Management

Retirement and Insurance Service

1920 1954 1959 1986

 

 

Federal Employee Benefit Programs

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LETTER

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

SUBJECT: COMPENDIUM OF 1997 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LETTERS

The following is a compendium of the Financial Management Letters issued during the 1997

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

1997 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 1997 Financial Management Letters are also available on OPM ONLINE 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." FML's are found under Payroll Office Letters - Other.

In addition, other 1997 Financial Management Letters are 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 website); 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) 606-0666, 

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

Robert A. Yuran, Chief

Financial Policy Staff

Retirement and Insurance Service 

Enclosures
COMPENDIUM OF 1997 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LETTERS

F-97-01 (January 13, 1997) was a reminder that supplemental contributions are required for

Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP'S).

F-97-01 (January 17, 1997) provided a compendium of 1996 Financial Management Letters.

(Note - This letter was inadvertently given the same number as above).

F-97-02 (May 30, 1997) provided information about Health Benefits enrollment reconciliation

and taxability of death gratuity payments to the personal representative of an employee who

died from an injury sustained in the line of duty on or after August 2, 1990.

F-97-03 (August 21, 1997) transmitted the following Payroll Office Letters:

P-97-01 Compendium of 1996 Payroll Office Letters (January 17, 1997)

P-97-02 New Requirements for Payment of Health Benefit Premiums for Periods of

Nonpay or Insufficient Pay (January 17, 1997) 

P-97-03 Payroll Office Directory (February 18, 1997) 

P-97-04 March Headcount (March 7, 1997) 

P-97-05 Agency Per Capita, Annual Revenue Confirmation Reports (March 14, 

1997) 

P-97-06 Quarterly Reporting of Health Benefits Data (March 27, 1997) 

P-97-07 Revised Agency Contribution Rates for Federal Employees Retirement 

System (June 26, 1997) 

F-97-04 (August 20, 1997) provided instructions for the September 1997 Headcount by

transmitting P-97-08.

F-97-05 (September 2, 1997) requested assistance with addressing problems pertaining to

the headcount reporting submitted semi-annually to the Office of Personnel Management. 

F-97-06 (August 19, 1997) announced that the file format for the calendar year 1998 Health

Benefits Open Season Enrollment has been revised to include additional 

data fields and transmitted P-97-09.

F-97-07 (August 27, 1997) announced the revision of Civil Service Retirement System and

Federal Employees Retirement System contribution rates and transmitted P-97-10.
COMPENDIUM OF 1997 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LETTERS

F-97-08 (October 23, 1997) provided cost factors for pensions and other

retirement benefits, as required by Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standard

Number 5 for fiscal year 1997 financial reporting.

F-97-09 (November 19, 1997) provided audit assurance regarding cost factors in 

F-97-08.

F-97-10 (December 12, 1997) (NOT issued).

F-97-11 (November 10, 1997) (NOT issued).

F-97-12 (November 17, 1997) was issued to clarify the impact on the employee benefit

programs of offsets from salary payments for debt collection purposes.
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 and the Federal Employees Retirement System 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 the Federal Employees Retirement

System.

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

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

the FEHBP. OPM authorized a special enrollement 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 VSIP's.

P-97-12 supplemented P-97-10 by providing the Civilian Personnel Data Files codes for

revised CSRS contribution rates.

P-97-13 NOT ISSUED.

P-97-14 provided 1998 Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program 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 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.