NIH Fellows Handbook
Pay Information
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Civil Service Employees Only
NIH operates on a biweekly payroll system, which means you get paid every 2 weeks (alternate Tuesdays). Direct deposits are transmitted to your designated financial organization on the Friday preceding payday. Your rate of pay depends primarily on the pay plan and grade of your assignment. The majority of NIH employees work in professional, administrative, technical, and support positions and are covered by the General Schedule Pay System (GS-1 through the Senior Level). Other positions (such as trade, craft, or labor) are covered by the Federal Wage System (WG-1 through WS-15).
Under either system, your grade level is based primarily on the kind and level of difficulty of work you perform. In addition to receiving your basic salary, you may be paid premium pay, differentials, and allowances for working overtime, holidays, Sundays, nights, or to meet certain recruitment and retention needs. Many NIH employees are also subject to the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Comparability increases to these scheduled rates of pay are generally made on an annual basis. In addition, GS employees receive locality pay based on the locality rate of the geographic pay region of their duty station. Federal Wage System rates are determined by the geographic area(s) where the work is performed.
Each GS grade level is divided into 10 steps, also known as within-grade increases (WGI's) increases in salary without a change in position or grade. If you are a permanent NIH employee and have not reached the maximum rate of pay for your position, you become eligible to receive a WGI to the next higher step of your grade based on satisfactory performance during the following timeframes (this series of advances applies to grades GS-1 through GS-15):
| Number of Calendar Weeks |
In Step |
Advances to Step |
| 52 | 1 | 2 |
| 52 | 2 | 3 |
| 52 | 3 | 4 |
| 104 | 4 | 5 |
| 104 | 5 | 6 |
| 156 | 7 | 8 |
| 156 | 8 | 9 |
| 156 | 9 | 10 |
Each Wage Schedule is divided into three levels (Wage Grade, Wage Leader, Wage Supervisor) with 15 grades which are divided into 5 steps each. Federal Wage employees may earn a WGI based on the following timeframes:
| Number of Calendar Weeks |
In Step |
Advances to Step |
| 26 | 1 | 2 |
| 76 | 2 | 3 |
| 104 | 3 | 4 |
| 104 | 4 | 5 |
A WGI is subject to the following conditions:
- You have not received an equivalent increase (i.e., a promotion) in pay during the waiting period.
- Your LWOP is not in excess of 80 hours.
- Your supervisor has certified that your performance meets acceptable levels based on the critical elements and standards of your position. If your supervisor does not feel you are working at an acceptable level, he or she will promptly notify you in writing of that determination and give you an opportunity for reconsideration. You will be told specifically what you must do to improve your performance and will be given a specific time period in which to improve. Contact your Personnel Generalist for more information.
Your Paycheck and Earnings Statement
NIH encourages you to have your pay directly deposited. Direct deposit is convenient and safe: It ensures that you will receive your check on payday and eliminates the possibility of your check being stolen or lost in the mail. It also saves you a trip to the bank. If you're interested in direct deposit, contact your personnel office to obtain an SF 1199A, Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form. NIH cannot guarantee the timely and safe arrival of your paycheck unless it is directly deposited.
The DHHS payroll office in Washington, DC, processes NIH's payroll. You will receive an Earnings and Leave Statement (ELS) every pay period at your office. The ELS is a detailed description of your current and year-to-date wages and mandatory and voluntary deductions. You should review your ELS every pay period so you know what has transpired with your pay. The ELS has six primary sections:
- Remarks
The remarks block contains information ranging from general remarks for all employees to specific remarks regarding your pay.
- Itemized Earnings And Deductions
- Earnings: This section shows the number of base hours (and, if applicable, overtime hours) for which you are being paid.
- Deductions: This section shows both mandatory and voluntary deductions.
Mandatory deductions include Federal, State, and local taxes; retirement contributions; and Medicare and, if applicable, Old Age Survivor Disability Insurance (OASDI).
Voluntary deductions are optional and include deductions for life insurance, health insurance, union dues, charitable contributions, U.S. savings bonds, the Thrift Savings Plan, and personal savings allotments.
Information about these deductions is coded. For more information on these codes, consult your Federal Employees Government Life Insurance supplement, your Federal Employees Health Benefits brochure, or your Personnel Generalist. The last entry in this section shows your net pay (your pay after deductions) and indicates whether the check was mailed to you or deposited in your bank. Other items such as court-ordered garnishments, child support, alimony, or tax levy may be listed in this column. A garnishment is listed as a refund because the money is refunded to the entity garnishing your pay. A tax levy is listed as a levy, and child support and alimony are listed as allotments.
- Salary
- Current: This column shows your earnings and deductions for the pay period. These figures should not change from one statement to the next unless you have had a change in hours, pay, or deductions.
- Adjusted: This column shows adjustments to your pay, such as corrections of prior mistakes.
- YTD: The year-to-date (YTD) column lists the total earnings and deductions for the year up to and including the pay period represented by the ELS.
- Other Pay Information
- Cumulative Retirement: This entry shows how much money you have paid into your retirement fund while employed with NIH or any other agency within DHHS. It does not include any amount paid into a retirement fund under a different agency or department payroll system. Two separate figures may be shown if you have previously contributed to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and later converted to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).
- YTD TSP By Fund: The year-to-date Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) By Fund information will vary depending on the retirement system to which you contribute and whether you are participating in the TSP.
- Employee Contribution: If you participate in the TSP, your contribution will be shown here.
- Employer Matching: If you are a participating FERS employee, these entries reflect the amount DHHS has contributed to match your TSP contributions.
- Employer Basic: This entry shows the Agency Automatic Contribution for all FERS employees eligible to participate in the TSP. This contribution is made by DHHS and is equal to 1 percent of your base salary. This 1-percent contribution is not deducted from your pay, nor does it increase your pay for income tax or Social Security purposes. (For more information on the TSP, please refer to the TSP section of this handbook, the TSP summary booklet, or your Personnel Generalist.)
- Leave
- Type of Leave: This column lists different types of leave used: annual leave, sick leave, administrative leave, military leave, compensatory time, leave without pay (LWOP), continuation of pay (COP) due to injury, etc.
- Used This PP: This column lists how many hours of each kind of leave you used during the pay period (PP).
- Prior Yr Bal: This column shows the amount of leave you carried over from the previous year. You may not carry more than 240 hours of annual leave into the next leave year. (Exceptions include SES, overseas assignments, and conversion from the Commissioned Corps.) You may, however, carry over an unlimited amount of sick leave.
- Earned YTD: This column lists the amount of leave you have accrued during the year, including the current pay period.
- Advanced: This column indicates the amount of leave, if any, you have been advanced.
- Used YTD: This column lists how much leave you have used during the year, including the current pay period.
- Current Balance: This column is calculated by adding your carryover leave to your earned leave and subtracting the leave you have used this year to date.
- Other Leave Information: This column includes the following information:
- SCD (service computation date), which dictates how much annual leave you earn per pay period, based on your creditable civilian and military service.
- Lv Cat (leave category), which is the number of annual leave hours you earn per pay period, based on your SCD.
- Max C/O (maximum carryover), which is now at 240 hours. At the end of the leave year, you will forfeit any annual leave in excess of 240 hours. (Exceptions include SES, overseas assignments, and conversion from the Commissioned Corps.)
- Personal
The last section of your ELS is not labeled. It is divided into two parts:
- Your name as it appears in the personnel and payroll master file. It is most important to keep this information up-to-date, even if you have direct deposit.
- Your personnel and payroll information:
- SSN. Social Security number.
- PPE (pay period ending) date. The last day of the pay period represented by the ELS.
- Grade. The level of work difficulty, responsibility, and qualification required of your position.
- Step. Your within-grade pay level, based on experience and performance.
- Timekeeper. The number assigned to the person responsible for maintaining your time and attendance records.
- Pay Plan. The pay system or pay schedule under which your rate of basic pay is determined.
- Terminal. A number used by DHHS payroll to identify NIH employees.
- Base Salary. The amount of money you can earn in a payroll calendar year, not including overtime, pay differentials, or special pay.
- CAN (common accounting number). An account number used to maintain budgetary expenses.
- Hr Rate. Hourly rate (computed by dividing your base salary by 2,087).
- Perm/Temp Code (permanent/temporary code). A number that identifies you as a permanent or temporary employee.
It is a good idea to save your ELS's. Take a few minutes to review them to ensure everything is accurate. If you believe something is incorrect, check with your timekeeper, Personnel Generalist, Personnel Assistant, or the payroll liaison.
Employee Express
Employee Express is a computer-based administrative system that gives you direct control over your payroll and personnel actions, without using forms or the mail system or visiting your personnel office. With Employee Express you can:
- Change Federal tax withholding
- Change State tax withholding
- Directly deposit net paycheck
- Change financial allotments
- Change home address
Two methods are available to access the system:
Commissioned Corps
Commissioned officers are paid by check on the last day of the month except when that day is a Saturday or Sunday, in which case the check will be issued on the following Monday.
Training Fellows
(Postdoctoral Fellows (IRTA, Visiting Fellows), NRSA, Biotechnology Fellows, Epidemiology Fellows, Special Experts, Special Volunteers, etc.)
Information regarding pay matters should be addressed to the trainees supervisor or Administrative Officer (AO).
Currently you are paid by check which should be received by the 10th working day of the month.
Checks may be mailed to your home or directly to the bank for deposit.
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