Federal agencies in 2009 continued the trend toward greater use of the student loan reimbursement program as an employee recruiting and retention tool, although the average value of a loan reimbursement payment slipped slightly, from about $7,500 to about $7,300. Agencies may make payments of up to $10,000 a year, $60,000, lifetime, and made such payments to nearly 8,500 employees in 2009, up from about 6,900 in 2008, with the total value increasing by about $10 million to $61.8 million. In 2002, in contrast, only 690 payments were made totaling $3.2 million.