After the Office of Personnel Management held a forum
recently meant to advance the use of the federal student
loan repayment program in hiring and retention, it said
that while the program is steadily expanding it is still
under utilized.
said agencies should use the program to manage their
workforces strategically and develop a budget plan for
using recruitment and retention incentives.
ncies may pay up to $10,000 for an employee in a
calendar year and up to a maximum of $60,000 total. The
employee in return signs a service agreement to remain at
the paying agency for at least three years.
e program is an important component of the federal
government’s efforts to offer competitive incentives,
and we encourage agencies to use it as a recruitment tool
to attract top notch talent into the civil service,” said
OPM director Linda M. Springer.
ncies stepped up investment in the program by 79
percent in fiscal 2004 over fiscal 2003 – five times
more than in fiscal 2002.
fiscal 2004 28 federal agencies provided $16.4
million in loan repayments to 2,945 employees according
to the annual report.
Generating Opportunity by Forgiving Educational Debt
for Service Act, HR-1765, passed by the House in June,
together with a companion bill in the Senate would make
loan repayments tax free to employees, and could make the
program even more effective.
t report and further information on the program is
available here: www.opm.gov/oca/PAY/StudentLoan/index.asp
