PAYROLL OFFICE LETTER

U. S. Office of Personnel Management

Number: P-98-01	Date: January 14, 1998

Subject: COMPENDIUM OF 1997 PAYROLL OFFICE LETTERS

The following is a compendium of the payroll office letters issued during the 1997 calendar year. If you find that you did not receive any of these letters and would like a copy, please contact us. A major challenge we face is keeping our distribution list current. Please call or fax us any address changes to help ensure you receive these letters on a timely basis.

The 1997 Payroll Office Letters are also available on OPM ONLINE (formerly OPM Mainstreet) for downloading. Instructions on accessing the Payroll Office Forum can be found in Payroll Office Letter 95-02. Please note: the Retirement and Insurance Services Forum is now accessed by selecting "A" in the Forums Menu instead of "J."

In addition, 1997 Payroll Office Letters are available on the World Wide Web. The OPM Home Page may be accessed at: http://www.opm.gov/asd/htm/pol.htm. Alternatively, from the OPM web site Index, payroll office letters are listed under P. We provide the letters in two formats: 1) Portable Document Format (PDF) for viewing online with the Adobe Acrobat Reader (which can be downloaded from the website); 2) WordPerfect 5.1 format for downloading to local hard drives.

If you have any questions, or to request copies, please call us on (202) 606-0666,

fax us on (202) 606-7944, or send an email, finance@opm.gov.

Robert A. Yuran, Chief

Financial Policy Staff

Retirement and Insurance Service

Enclosure

COMPENDIUM OF 1997 PAYROLL OFFICE LETTERS

P-97-01 provided a compendium of 1996 Payroll Office Letters.

P-97-02 announced new requirements for payment of health benefit premiums for periods of nonpay or insufficient pay per Public Law 104-208, enacted and effective 9/30/96.

P-97-03 requested updates of Payroll Office Directory addresses.

P-97-04 contained instructions for the March 1997 Headcount.

P-97-05 served as a reminder that the Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994

(P.L. 103-226) requires employing agencies to remit $80 for each employee covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) on March 31, 1997.

P-97-06 announced that, beginning with the quarter ending March 31, 1997, each payroll office must send the quarterly Health Benefits Reconciliation report to all health plans (not just prepaid plans).

P-97-07 announced revised agency contribution rates for Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).

P-97-07 (This letter inadvertently give same number as above). Effective April 30, 1997, Prudential Healthcare HMO-Massachusetts no longer to provide benefits to enrollees under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). OPM authorized a special enrollment April 1 - 30, 1997 for all current employees who would lose coverage.

P-97-08 provided instructions for the September 1997 Headcount.

P-97-09 announced that the file format for the calendar year 1998 Health Benefits Open Season Enrollment has been revised to include additional data fields.

P-97-10 announced revised agency contribution rate for CSRS and revised employee withholding rate for both CSRS and FERS.

P-97-11 served as a reminder of supplemental contributions required for Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP's).

P-97-12 supplemented P-97-10 by providing the Civilian Personnel Data File (CPDF) codes for revised CSRS contribution rates.

P-97-13 NOT ISSUED.

P-97-14 provided 1998 Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) premium rates and other Open Season information.

P-97-15 announced that effective with the first pay period beginning on or after

January 1, 1998, the maximum allowable amounts of Basic and Option B Federal Employees Government Life Insurance (FEGLI) coverage will increase.

P-97-16 provided the 1998 interest rate for service credit deposits and redeposits.

P-97-17 announced two revisions to the reporting procedures for the Semiannual Headcount. The first applies to all agencies, whereas the second applies only to agencies that perform payroll cross-servicing activities.