Recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives (3Rs) are compensation flexibilities available to help Federal agencies recruit and retain a world-class workforce. The 3Rs are administered under 5 U.S.C. 5753 and 5754 and 5 CFR part 575, subparts A, B, and C.
Recruitment Incentives are used to attract new employees to work in positions that are likely to be difficult to fill.
Relocation incentives are used to encourage current employees to relocate to positions in a different geographic area that are likely to be difficult to fill.
Retention incentives are paid to current employees with unusually high or unique qualifications or to meet a special need of the agency and only when the employee would be likely to leave under certain conditions.
This page can be found on the web at the following url: http://www.opm.gov/3Rs/index.asp