Federal agencies reimbursed employees for $51 million worth of student loan payments last year, the Office of Personnel Management reported Wednesday.
The benefit helped out 6,879 employees at 35 agencies. That represents a 4 percent increase in the number of participating employees and a 22 percent increase in spending on the student loan repayment program, as compared with fiscal 2007, concludes OPM Director John Berry in a letter accompanying the report.
“My commitment to the president and members of Congress is to encourage agencies to use student loan repayment and other discretionary benefits strategically to ensure that the cost of using these benefits is commensurate with the benefits gained,” Berry wrote.
The largest group of employees receiving loan repayments were criminal investigators, comprising 15 percent of the total number of recipients. Among criminal investigators, 1,020 received loan repayments, including 1,013 FBI special agents. Attorneys were second at 655 employees, or nearly 10 percent of the total. The Securities and Exchange Commission made loan payments for 214 attorneys; the Justice Department, for 186 attorneys.
Intelligence analysts were third largest group of recipients at 491 employees, or 7 percent of the total, with 448 of the intelligence analysts working at the FBI.
Four other agencies — the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the National Capital Planning Commission, the Office of Government Ethics and the Overseas Private Investment Corp. — have created loan repayment programs to use in the future.
Agencies may repay certain student loans of employees for recruitment and retention purposes.
Agencies can pay up to $10,000 a year in loans for each employee and up to a total of $60,000 for each employee. In return, the employee must sign an agreement promising to stay at the paying agency for at least three years.
Should the employee voluntarily quit or be terminated for misconduct, unacceptable job performance or other negative performance issues, the employee must reimburse the agency for all loan repayments made.
The benefit helped out 6,879 employees at 35 agencies. That represents a 4 percent increase in the number of participating employees and a 22 percent increase in spending on the student loan repayment program, as compared with fiscal 2007, concludes OPM Director John Berry in a letter accompanying the report.
“My commitment to the president and members of Congress is to encourage agencies to use student loan repayment and other discretionary benefits strategically to ensure that the cost of using these benefits is commensurate with the benefits gained,” Berry wrote.
The largest group of employees receiving loan repayments were criminal investigators, comprising 15 percent of the total number of recipients. Among criminal investigators, 1,020 received loan repayments, including 1,013 FBI special agents. Attorneys were second at 655 employees, or nearly 10 percent of the total. The Securities and Exchange Commission made loan payments for 214 attorneys; the Justice Department, for 186 attorneys.
Intelligence analysts were third largest group of recipients at 491 employees, or 7 percent of the total, with 448 of the intelligence analysts working at the FBI.
Four other agencies — the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the National Capital Planning Commission, the Office of Government Ethics and the Overseas Private Investment Corp. — have created loan repayment programs to use in the future.
Agencies may repay certain student loans of employees for recruitment and retention purposes.
Agencies can pay up to $10,000 a year in loans for each employee and up to a total of $60,000 for each employee. In return, the employee must sign an agreement promising to stay at the paying agency for at least three years.
Should the employee voluntarily quit or be terminated for misconduct, unacceptable job performance or other negative performance issues, the employee must reimburse the agency for all loan repayments made.
