In a survey that highlights issues surrounding the government’s attempts to move to performance-based pay, senior executives expressed misgivings about the system applying to them that is being watched as a bellwether for other agencies. The survey, conducted by OPM, focused on the SES pay system in effect since 1994 featuring pay banding and performance-based pay that is widely considered one system where the government should be able to make such a program work well, since it involves a relatively small and well-defined group of employees who have a tradition of performance-based pay. While 61 percent of respondents said they are satisfied or very satisfied with their pay, that is down from 73 percent two years before, and the percentage who believe their performance appraisal accurately reflects their performance also was down, from 74 to 68 percent. Only 26 percent said pay distinctions are meaningfully different among executives and only 32 percent said the same of bonuses; also, only 43 percent said pay for performance promotes better organizational performance in their agency.