PAYROLL OFFICE LETTER

U. S. Office of Personnel Management

 Number:P-97-08 Date: August 15, 1997 

Subject: SEPTEMBER 1997 HEADCOUNT

This letter is the call for your September 1997 semiannual Headcount Report. The

Headcount Report is reported semiannually (in March and September) by all payroll

offices that withhold monies from salaries for participants in the Civil Service

Retirement System, Federal Employees Retirement System, Federal Employees

Health Benefits Program, and/or the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance

Programs. The Headcount Report is a "snapshot" of enrollment in these programs

as of these two points in time. The information you report to us plays a pivotal

role in our system of internal accounting control, the negotiation of Health and Life

Insurance premium rates, and in the determination of the employer contributions

for Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) employees. 

The Headcount is submitted on OPM Form 1523 (Supplemental Semiannual

Headcount Report); reporting of enrollment by individual health benefits plan is

accomp-lished via the SF 2812-A. This reporting will be for the LAST pay period

PAID DURING THE FIRST 15 DAYS of September 1997. If you pay twice during

the first 15 days of September, the Headcount will cover the second pay period

paid in that period. For monthly pay cycles, the reporting period will be for August

1, 1997, through August 31, 1997. 

In the interest of time, we ask that you FAX your Forms 1523 and 2812-A to us. 

If you still report via the hard copy SF 2812, please fax your SF 2812 in addition

to the OPM Form 1523 with your SF 2812A. Please fax from CLEAR originals

THAT DO NOT CONTAIN SMALL PRINT to insure that we receive legible copies. 

Our FAX numbers are:

F (202) 606-0701

F (202) 606-0195
We would like to receive your report on the applicable payroll paid date. If this

cannot be accomplished, we must receive it no later than September 22, 1997. 

Please, under no circumstances, delay submitting your normal Retirement and

Insurance Transfer System (RITS) or hard-copy SF 2812 because your Headcount

Report is not ready to be submitted. 

It is very important, for the reasons cited above, that the information you report on

your Headcount is ACCURATE and TIMELY. Payroll Office Letter 95-4 contains

detailed Headcount reporting requirements. It is available electronically through

our electronic bulletin board service or a copy can be obtained by using the

contact information provided in the last paragraph of this letter. 

The Headcount Report due date has been moved up to September 22, 1997

to facilitate the increased reporting of Headcount data in the yearly financial

statements. 

Otherwise the instructions for your September 1997 report are virtually the same

as for prior reports, except for the following changes incorporated after the

issuance of Payroll Office Letter 95-4: 

The SF2812-A with your Headcount should contain totals for the dollars and

enrollees reported on it. The total dollars and enrollments on the SF2812-A

must agree with the dollar and enrollment totals reported on line B3 of your

OPM Form 1523; and the total dollars must agree with the total dollars

reported on Retirement and Insurance Transfer System (RITS) (or the hard

copy SF 2812).

The name of the preparer, in addition to the signature of the authorized

official, is required.

In the Retirement section, the amounts reported on Line C3 (Total

Retirement) in the "Deductions Made" and "No Deductions Made" columns

should not include the number of enrollees for Salary Offset, Military

Deposits, and for Civilian Service Credit reported on lines C1i, C1j, C1k, C2i

and C2k.

We would also like you to place emphasis on your reporting of AGGREGATE

BASE SALARY (ABS) data. We require ABS for each CSRS and FERS

category included on your OPM Form 1523. The ABS is the total gross

salary, subject to retirement withholding, for the reported pay period, for

each category of CSRS and FERS retirement. For example, on Line C.2.a,

the amount reported will be the total salary (subject to retirement

withholding) paid this pay period to individuals with CPDF retirement code
K. Your ABS reporting provides us with an important accounting control

over RITS/hard-copy SF 2812 reporting. We compute withholdings and

contributions amounts for each Retirement category on your OPM Form

1523 based on the ABS, and compare that to the corresponding amounts

you reported to us via Retirement and Insurance Transfer System (RITS) or

on your hard-copy SF 2812. We will contact you for an explanation, if this

analysis reveals a significant variance. 

If you have any questions concerning the preparation of your Headcount report,

please call Dick Osberg at (202) 606-4709 or via email, finance@opm.gov. 

Robert A. Yuran, Chief

Financial Management Division

Retirement and Insurance Service