American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
This is the fourth issuance concerning premium assistance for eligible former Federal employees with temporary continuation of coverage as specified in Public Law 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). It provides information on the implemention of premium assistance.
Direct Premium Remittance System
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Finance Center (NFC), which currently administers temporary continuation of coverage for almost all Federal agencies, will administer premium assistance for these former employees. NFC has requested the following information be provided by agencies.
For new enrollments and new opportunities to enroll, please provide:
1) A completed SF2809 that contains the normal TCC information. In addition, include in SF2809 remarks section,
a) PL 111-5
b) The ARRA Effective date
c) What type of ARRA Enrollment it is: New Enrollment or New Opportunity to Enroll
2) A copy of the ARRA election form requesting premium assistance.
For those enrollees already on TCC, please provide:
1) The following information, either on a new SF2809, the bottom of the copy of the ARRA election form or a cover sheet
a) Enrollee name
b) Enrollee SSN
c) PL 111-5
d) Original effective date
e) ARRA effective date
f) Type of ARRA enrollment: "Currently on TCC"
g) Agency Official Signature
h) Agency Telephone number
2) A copy of the ARRA election form requesting premium assistance.
Reminder: In our previous listserv on this topic, to expedite administration of the premium assistance, NFC requested the following information be forwarded as soon as possible, but no later than April 30, 2009. Any agencies which have not provided the POC and related information should do so immediately.
In our previous listserv on this topic, to expedite administration of the premium assistance, NFC requested the following information be forwarded as soon as possible, but no later than April 30, 2009..Name of Agency/Organization
Name of Primary Point of Contact
Telephone Number
Email Address
Mailing Address
Estimated Number of expected eligible ARRA-TCC individuals:
This information should be provided to:
Name: C. J. Ladner
Title: Chief, Government Debt and Insurance Services Branch
Email: cj.ladner@usda.gov
Telephone: 504-426-1026
NFC notices to eligible former employees
NFC will issue coupons to new TCC enrollees beginning in May billing enrollees for 35% of their TCC premiums.
NFC will make adjustments to current TCC enrollees’ premiums in July, which will appear in the August 1 premium billing to enrollees. Enrollees will receive an offset to their accounts for any amounts paid over 35% of TCC premiums based on the effective date of their eligibility for premium assistance on or after February 17.
Other agencies
Frequently Asked Questions
For Federal employees, the term "involuntary separation" results when a manager identifies an employee for separation and the employing agency actually separates the employee from the workforce. The reason for the separation can determine whether or not the separated employee is eligible for TCC. Generally, an employee is eligible for TCC unless separated due to gross misconduct.
The term "involuntary termination," as used in ARRA, includes an employee who is involuntarily separated from service, except if the termination is for "gross misconduct," as specified by the TCC statute, 5 USC 8905a(b)(1)(a), and implementing regulations. According to 5 CFR § 890.1102 Definitions, gross misconduct means a flagrant and extreme transgression of law or established rule of action for which an employee is separated and concerning which a judicial or administrative finding of gross misconduct has been made.
Yes, a person who resigns in lieu of involuntary separation would be eligible for premium assistance if their FEHB coverage terminated and they were eligible for TCC. For example, if while an employee is serving under a Schedule C appointment or non-career SES appointment or in a similar position and it becomes known that the Presidential appointee, whom the employee is subordinate to, is leaving, and the termination action is not covered under Rules 1-18 of the Guide to Processing Personnel Actions, and the employee submits a resignation notice in response to a written request from the new incoming Administration, then the individual would be eligible for premium assistance. We recommend the action be coded with a NOAC 312 resignation in lieu of involuntary separation, and not a NOAC 317, resignation. A person who resigns and is appropriately coded with a 312 NOAC would be eligible for premium assistance if their FEHB coverage terminated and they were eligible for TCC. In general, a separation that is coded with NOAC 317 would not be a separation that would make an individual eligible for premium assistance. However, as discussed above, it is individual circumstances which should be evaluated for TCC and premium assistance.
No. Agencies are responsible for determining who is eligible for premium assistance. Individuals who are on TCC who have received payment coupons from NFC should make their premium payments, even though they are eligible for premium assistance. The premium assistance provisions apply only to premiums for periods of coverage beginning on or after February 17, 2009. If the employee was eligible for the assistance but paid in full for periods of TCC coverage after February 17, 2009, he or she should be made aware that NFC will provide for a premium credit against future payments (or a refund in certain circumstances.
For former employees on TCC prior to February 17, the effective date of premium assistance is the first period of coverage beginning on or after February 17.
Example 1: A federal employee’s last day of employment is December 4, 2008. He receives 31 days of free coverage, beginning December 7, the first day after the end of the pay period in which he is separated. His 31-day temporary extension of coverage ends January 7. TCC begins on January 8 and he is charged a prorated premium for the remaining days in January. Thereafter, TCC is provided on a calendar month basis. Thus, the terminated employee has a full month of TCC coverage for February 2009. March 1 is the effective date of premium assistance because March is the first period of coverage beginning on or after February 17, 2009, the date of enactment of ARRA. See IRS guidance Q&A-31.
The following examples show a separation date that is assumed to be the last day of a pay period for expediency:
Example 2: A federal employee’s last day of employment is January 3, 2009 and he receives 31 days of free coverage, beginning on January 4 and ending on February 4. TCC begins on February 5 and he is charged a prorated premium for February. Thereafter, TCC is provided on a calendar month basis. March 1 is the effective date of premium assistance because March is the first period of coverage beginning on or after February 17, 2009, the date of enactment of ARRA. See IRS guidance Q&A-30.
For former employees not on TCC prior to February 17, the effective date of premium assistance is the first day of the month following the election of TCC unless the employee requests a retroactive enrollment with an effective date of March 1.
This applies to those individuals who are offered a second election opportunity under ARRA because they were offered TCC prior to the implementation of ARRA, and either declined to elect it or elected it and then discontinued it.
Example: A federal employee’s last day of employment is November 8, 2008. He receives 31 days of free coverage, beginning on November 9 and ending on December 10. He declines to elect TCC. He is afforded a second election opportunity under ARRA. He turns in his election on May 25. The effective date of premium assistance is June 1 (the first day of the month following the date that the former employing office receives the election of TCC), unless the individual requests a retroactive enrollment with an effective date of March 1. See IRS guidance Q&A-32.
For employees who are first eligible for TCC on or after February 17 and who received notice of their premium assistance eligibility when they terminated, the effective date is the 32nd day following the end of the pay period in which separation occurred.
Example 1: A federal employee’s last day of employment is January 17, 2009 and he receives 31 days of free coverage, beginning on January 18 and ending on February 18. TCC begins on February 19 and he is charged a prorated premium for the period February 19 through February 28. Thereafter, TCC is provided on a calendar month basis. February 19 is the effective date of premium assistance because the period February 19 through February 28 is the first period of coverage beginning on or after February 17, 2009, the date of enactment of ARRA. See IRS guidance Q&A-32.
Example 2: A federal employee’s last day of employment occurs in the pay period ending March 25. He receives 31 days of free coverage beginning on March 26 and ending on April 26. April 27 is the effective date of premium assistance.
For agencies that have already submitted documentation with premium assistance effective dates that do not meet the requirements of this guidance, NFC will change the effective dates to meet the guidance so that corrected coupons are generated in May.
No additional information relating to the subsidy is to be submitted with the Form 941, either electronically or in paper form. However, those claiming the credit must maintain supporting documentation for the credit claimed. Such documentation includes:
Building upon the original December 2005 draft, the Guide has been updated and revised to include: a) enhanced job aides for identifying succession targets; b) System, Standards, and Metrics exercises for the Leadership Resource Chart, Bench Strength Chart, and Competency Profile Chart; and c) an extensive checklist for performing an annual review of an existing leadership succession plan.
OPM is providing this Guide online to assist agencies in conducting the annual review and modifications of existing leadership succession plans. The Guide should also prove useful for agencies’ work on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act initiatives. Succession management is a requirement of the Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004 and §1103(c)(1) of title 5, United States Code.
Your OPM Human Capital Officer can provide additional consultation on strategic leadership and succession management strategies.
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As many of you know, OPM recently concluded a pilot of innovative methods for SES selection, including a streamlined resume-based hiring process, and one using an applicant accomplishment record instead of the traditional narratives on the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).
Agencies now have a choice of filling specific vacancies through either of these processes as well as the standard ECQ-based process. The workshop will provide detailed guidance on hiring procedures for all three options, including vacancy announcement templates and instruction on structured interviews, which have been shown to be a vital component of valid executive selection processes.
The workshops will be held at OPM from 9:30 – 3:30 on the following dates: April 23, May 7, and July 9. To register for one of the workshops, please contact the Center for Learning, Executive Resources, and Policy Analysis at 202-606-8046.
Questions regarding the workshop should be directed to Mr. Paul Thompson, Manager, Executive Resources Group, Center for Learning, Executive Resources, and Policy Analysis at 202-606-1429 or paul.thompson@opm.gov.
cc: Human Resources Directors
Inspectors General
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The forum is open to Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCOs), Deputy CHCOs, other human resources leaders, and key program officials whose agencies are supporting the ARRA through grants management and HR work. This event will be held Friday, March 27, 2009, in Room 1350 of the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building. The grants management session will be from 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., and the HR session will begin at 10:45 a.m.
Please RSVP by Tuesday, March 24, 2009, to Julie Saad at Julie.Saad@opm.gov, 202-606-1777. Please provide the names, titles, and email addresses of all participants your agency will send to this event. We look forward to working with you to address this important issue.
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Section 4 of Public Law 109-313 (October 6, 2006) already grants to agencies the authority to reemploy annuitants to fill acquisition-related positions where a temporary emergency hiring need makes the reemployment of an individual essential, where there is exceptional difficulty recruiting or retaining a qualified employee, or where the individual to be reemployed demonstrates through his or her service unusually high or unique qualifications.
In order to expedite other requests, OPM strongly encourages agencies to use the attached template for delegated salary offset waiver authority for the positions listed above. These templates are also available at: www.chcoc.gov/Transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalID=1409. These templates will help your staff better focus on the kinds of information required in a dual compensation waiver request. In addition, use of the templates may shorten the time it takes OPM to process your request by eliminating the need for follow-up information.
In addition, you may also wish to rehire retirees or others who left the Federal Government with Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (buyouts). Depending upon the specific statute under which an individual received the buyout, you may request a repayment waiver from OPM when the individual is uniquely qualified for the position being filled.
For additional information, please contact your assigned OPM Human Capital Officer.
cc: Chief Human Capital Officers
Human Resources Directors
]]>When documenting the SF-50 “Notification of Personnel Action” for such appointments, cite as the first authority “W9R/Sch. A, 5 CFR 213.3102(i)(3)” and cite “ZEA/Pub. L. 111-5” as the final authority.
As discussed at OPM’s March 3, 2009, interagency forum on the Recovery Act’s Human Capital Management issues, there are a number of talent strategies and authorities, to include competitive hiring, that can be used to meet your human capital challenges under the Act. Workforce planning is the critical first step to identifying which talent strategy is best suited to accomplish your human capital goals for Recovery Act implementation. OPM strongly encourages agencies to deploy hiring strategies that support our veterans, such as the Veterans Recruitment Appointment, the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act, and the 30 percent or more disabled Veterans authority.
Your assigned OPM Human Capital Officer (HCO) is ready to assist you in reviewing your workforce plan, recruitment options and deployment strategies as you execute this authority.
cc: Chief Human Capital Officers
Human Resources Directors
New legal authority code “ZEA/Pub. L. 111-5” is established and must be cited, in addition to any existing OPM required legal authority code(s) for the appointment, as the final OPM required legal authority on the SF-50. Cite “ZEA/Pub. L. 111-5” on appointment actions effective as of
To support Federal agencies, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will host an interagency forum to strategize with agencies about potential approaches to meeting the human capital management support needed to implement the Recovery Act, to provide information about authorities that are already available to them with respect to certain categories of positions, and to provide guidance about what OPM will expect to see with respect to requests for permission to use authorities administered by OPM. The forum is open to the Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCOs), Deputy CHCOs, other human resources leadership and key program officials whose agencies are directly responsible for the implementation of the Recovery Act. This event will be held on
At the forum, OPM’s leadership team will brief you on the technical assistance OPM can provide to help agencies meet their particular human capital challenges under the Act. OPM will work with agencies individually to design and implement human capital solutions that meet your mission requirements, while also applying Government-wide tools, flexibilities, and broad-based solutions, to the extent they are appropriate.
Please RSVP by
I look forward to seeing you at this important discussion.