PMF Benefits

Social Security Administration, San Francisco Regional Office is located in the Frank Hagel Federal Building in Richmond, CA (about 8.6 miles northwest of Berkeley, 12.7 miles west of Oakland, and 18 miles northeast of San Francisco). As a Regional PMF, you have access to several services at a reduced cost including:

BENEFITS TO FRANK HAGEL FEDERAL BUILDING EMPLOYEES:

Child Care Center (located in the Frank Hagel Federal Building in Richmond, CA)
La Petite Academy was established in 1997 as the childcare center serving federal employees and the local community. The center is designed and operated with the highest standards of early childhood practice in mind and seeks to provide nurturing, supportive, educational experiences for the children and families it serves. The center is specially designed for young children. La Petite Academy provides full day care for 70 children from age 3 months to 5 years. The daily activities include, but are not limited to literature, dramatic play arts, fantasy play, music, dance, and movement. Tuition discounts are available to employees. Hours: Monday through Friday 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Credit Union
SSA employees anywhere in the Region are eligible for membership in the Sun Pacific Federal Credit Union. Located within the Frank Hagel Federal Building (Richmond, CA), Sun Pacific offers a range of financial services including savings and investments, checking, loans, and financing for second mortgages. Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Fitness Center
The on-site Fitness Center is a fully equipped facility. The facility is located on the first floor of the Frank Hagel Federal Building. The membership fee is reasonable, costing $23.00 per month. The Fitness Center is newly built, spacious and furnished with free weights, weight machines, treadmills, elliptical walkers, bicycles and stair climbers. Whether you are into aerobics classes or doing your own routine as you watch the nightly newscast, the Fitness Center is a great place to keep fit. Hours: Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Group Activities Association (GAA)
GAA provides activities to benefit all employees at the Frank Hagel Federal Building. GAA offers discounts to offset prices for amusement park fees and other entertainment/sporting events. GAA also organizes 2-3 outside travel getaways during the year and sponsors See's Candy sales, bake sales and book sales. Hours of Operation: Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 a.m. -10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. -1:00 p.m. 

Health Unit
The Health Unit provides a wide range of health programs and services for SSA employees located in the Frank Hagel Federal Building. The Unit provides emergency care, intervention and referral. In addition, the Unit conducts ergonomic workstation evaluation, when requested. A nurse is on-duty Monday to Friday from 6:45 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
 

BENEFITS TO ALL SSA EMPLOYEES:

Locality Pay
As a Presidential Management Fellow in the San Francisco Region, you may be entitled locality pay (depending on the geographic location in which you work). You may check the salary and locality pay for the GS-9, GS-11, and GS-12 pay levels in the San Francisco General Schedule and Locality Pay Tables).

Promotional & Career Development Opportunities
SSA has over 1300 offices nationwide with numerous staff/management positions up to the GS-15 level. The SF Region alone has 167 field offices, 65 contact stations, 6 teleservice centers, 20 hearing offices, 17 disability determination service centers, one large regional office, and one large processing service center. 

Transit Subsidy
A transit subsidy is offered to employees who use public mass transportation while commuting to and from work. Qualified employees are provided commuter vouchers (up to $60 a month) that can be applied to the Bay Area Rapid Transportation  (BART) system or other local transit systems throughout the region. The Frank Hagel Federal Building is located across the street from the Richmond BART station. 

Annual and Sick Leave
As federal employees, SSA employees earn 4 hours of annual leave per every 2 week pay period. Employees who have three years of federal service, the amount of annual leave increases to 6 hours per pay period. Employees with 15 years of federal service earn 8 hours per pay period. Employees also earn 4 hours of sick leave every pay period or 13 days per year. Unlimited hours of sick leave may be accumulated and carried over to succeeding years. It is possible to use annual and sick leave in ¼ hour increments. 

Credit Hours
Employees are allowed to work from 1/4 to 3 credit hours daily after they complete their workday with advance approval from their supervisors.  A full-time employee may carry over no more than 24 credit hours from one pay period to the next. 

Federal Holidays
Employees are entitled to ten paid holidays each year: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB)
Employees are given the opportunity to enroll in an approved group health benefits plan, regardless of age, health status or pre-existing medical condition. Employees may chose from a variety of fee for service (PPO) and HMO plans based in Northern California or nationally. The federal government covers approximately 72% of the premium and the balance is paid through the employee's payroll deduction. Employees have the opportunity to cover themselves, their spouses and their unmarried dependent children under age 22.

Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) 
All SSA employees are covered under FEGLI Basic Life insurance, unless waived. FEGLI is equal to an employee's annual basic pay rounded to the next $1,000 plus $2,000. Optional coverage packages are available for additional premium fees.

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)
FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan consisting of Social Security benefits, a Basic Annuity Plan and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). TSP is the tax-deferred retirement savings and investment plan similar to many 401k plans offered in the private sector. Employees can contribute up to 15 percent of their basic pay to the TSP. SSA also makes Agency Matching Contributions of up to 100% for the first 3% of contributions and 50% for the next 2% once you are eligible for them.

Flex Savings
With the optional Flexible Spending Account, employees who are eligible for Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) can use pre-tax deductions to pay for certain medical and dental expenses (such as deductibles, coinsurance and co-payments) that are not reimbursed by any other source and not claimed on their income tax return. In addition, all employees who choose to participate are eligible to use pre-tax deductions to pay for dependent care expenses that enable them or their spouses to work or seek work.

Employees who elect to participate in FSA will be able to set aside an annual amount of salary to be contributed to their FSA. The agency will deduct these contributions from the employee's pay--before taxes--throughout the plan year and will deposit them into the employee's FSA account. For example, an employee may choose to contribute $1,040 to their Health Care FSA and $520 to their Dependent Care FSA. An allotment of $40 and $20 respectively will then be deducted from the employee's bi-weekly check, before taxes, and sent to their FSA account. The employee can then draw upon his or her FSA accounts for reimbursement as s/he incurs eligible expenses.

Long Term Care Insurance
SSA employees are eligible for long term care insurance as part of a new federal program sponsored by OPM. The insurance is intended to help employees pay for long term care services in the event of an extended illness, injury or age-related disease.  The total premium for this insurance is paid by the employee; no federal government contribution is provided.