Agencies Cut Back on Student Loan Incentives

Agencies are being forced to skimp on one of the key tools for attracting and keeping employees in high-demand occupations, the student loan reimbursement authority, according to the latest OPM data on the program. OPM said that the number of employees who received the payments—up to $10,000 a year and up to $60,000 lifetime per individual—dropped by nearly a third and the value of the payments dropped by a quarter in calendar year 2013 compared with calendar year 2012—to 7,314 employees and $52.9 million. “This governmentwide decrease in student loan repayment benefits can be mainly attributed to the continuing budgetary issues being faced by federal agencies,” OPM said. The program had peaked in 2010 with 11,359 employees receiving a total of $85.7 million for an average of $7,542 per recipient. The average amount of payments actually increased from 2012 to 2013, from $6,670 to $7,233, showing that agencies concentrated available funds among the most high-priority employees. Two of the heaviest users, Justice and Defense, were among those cutting back the most. The former provided 842 employees with a total of $5.8 million in student loan repayment benefits during 2013, down nearly two-thirds by each count. DoD reduced the amount provided by 22 percent and the number of employees receiving them by 30 percent. Other agencies using the program the most include State, SEC, VA, HHS and GAO. Four agencies, most notably HUD, stopped the program entirely.