DoD has once again changed direction on how payouts work under its national security personnel system, dropping a formula it had announced several months ago regarding how payouts would work in 2008 and later years that would have placed high emphasis on performance.
The new formula reflects language in the fiscal 2008 DoD authorization act that President Bush pocket vetoed but that is expected to be enacted into law soon, perhaps within a week or two, after Congress reconvenes and deals with a provision having to do with Iraqi assets that caused the White House to reject the bill.
That provision would guarantee that NSPS-covered employees will annually receive a raise of at least 60 percent of the amount going to local general schedule employees. For 2008, the average GS raise is 3.5 percent, divided as 2.5 percentage points across the board and 1 percentage point divided up as locality pay, producing raises ranging from about 3-4.5 percent, varying by locality.
Under NSPS, the payout is working out this way:
• Sixty percent of the base salary increase (1.5 percent) is applied to pay band adjustments for employees who received a final rating of record of 2 or higher.
• Forty percent of the base salary increase (or 1.0 percent) is allocated to pay pools and paid out as performance-based base salary increases to employees who received a final rating of record of 3 or higher.
• Local market supplement adjustments are granted in the same manner and extent as GS locality pay for employees who received a final rating of record of 2 or higher.
Employees who did not receive a 2007 final rating of record receive the equivalent of the January 2008 GPI.
Meanwhile, NSPS has released new pay schedules, reflecting increases to pay band ranges, along with other supplements. They are available here: http://www.cpms.osd.mil/nsps/paytables.html
