DoD was by far the largest user of recruitment,
retention and relocation incentives in the government
in calendar year 2005, paying some 3,500 incentives
worth about $26.5 million, followed by HHS, which paid
about 1,100 totaling $13.8 million, according to OPM.
Following them were Agriculture, Energy, Justice, and
Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security, Interior,
Veterans Affairs, and NASA. Government-wide there was
a total of about 6,000 incentives, worth $51 million.
The report covered the first year since a change in
law loosened some of the rules for making the payments
and increased the amounts available in some
circumstances. Lack of available funds is most commonly
blamed for failure to use the authorities more widely,
but OPM said it expects an increase in their use in
coming years “as agencies increase their competition for
talent during the upcoming retirement wave.”