Comment Number: OL-10509359
Received: 3/15/2005 2:44:54 PM
Subject: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment
Title: National Security Personnel System
CFR Citation: 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901
No Attachments

Comments:

I have some concerns related to the NSPS system. Having been a federal employee for almost 30 years, I have reached a point where I am at the top step in my grade. My concern lies with how raises will be calculated, assuming that my current pay rate and grade would put me at the upper limit for a pay band. What type of a raise would I be eligible for assuming a fully successful appraisal? Under the current system, I am guaranteed the cost of living increase annually, which at least helps offset the increases in health insurance, taxes and life insurance. If that amount of a pay raise is not a certainty for fully successful employees, the system is doing them an injustice along with their families by reducing their standard of living. On top of that, with another 7 years until retirement, my future annuity is also effected. It sounds as if this new system is much more beneficial to new employees, and tends to forget about the older employees who have served the government faithfully for many years. My other concern with the new system is the performance appraisal system. I have worked under several systems in my career, none have been very accurate methods of employee evaluation. I realize there is no good method of doing evaluations, but it seems under NSPS there is the possibility of an average evaluation having a direct effect on your financial future. I realize we have employees performing at various levels of competency and that rewarding employees for their contribution to the Air Force sounds good. But if implementation of this system does not put in some safe guards for your core group of employees who do not receive the outstanding appraisals and then are forced to cope with a salary increase which is less than what they would of gotten under the same system, is that fair for that group of people? Has there been any thought to grandfathering current employees with a set number of years of government employment under the current system? Or giving them the choice of converting or staying with the old system, similar to what was done when FERS was implemented. I hope as you go through the process of formulating this new system, you will keep these concerns in mind.