Benefits Summary
DC Government Employees Hired Before October 1, 1987
For more information on specific benefits or programs, select from
the following.
Federal Employees' Health Benefits
Employees hired before October 1, 1987 are eligible to participate
in the Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program (FEHB), which
is administered by the US
Office of Personnel Management. The FEHB
offers several kinds of plans, including Fee-for-Service, Health
Maintenance Organizations, Point-of-Service, and Preferred Provider
Organizations. Once you've selected which type of plan you wish
to enroll in, there are numerous options to choose from.
The cost of the monthly health insurance premium is shared with
the District government, which contributes up to 75 percent toward
the total premium cost. All health insurance premium deductions
are made on a pre-tax basis, unless a specific waiver form is requested.
A Pre-Tax Benefits Waiver form is available on this site, and also
from the Office of Compensation and Benefits (One Judiciary Square,
Suite 330S).
Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance
Employees hired before October 1, 1987 are eligible for Federal
Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), which is administered by
the US Office of Personnel Management. Term life insurance provides
coverage equal to an employee's annual salary rounded to the next
thousand, plus an additional $2,000.
The cost of the monthly premium is shared with the District. You
pay two thirds of the total cost and the government pays one third.
Additional life insurance levels are available at low cost for employees
and their dependents.
Optional life insurance is available at low cost for employees
and their dependents, but employees pay 100 percent of the cost
of optional life insurance.
| Optional
Plan |
Additional
Coverage |
Premium
Amount |
| Option A– Standard |
Provides $10,000 coverage |
Cost determined by age |
| Option B– Additional |
Provides coverage up to five times
the employee’s annual salary |
Cost determined by age and employee’s
salary |
| Option C– Family |
Provides $5,000 coverage for the
eligible spouse and $2,500 coverage for each eligible child. |
Cost determined by age |
Dental and Optical Coverage
The District provides comprehensive optical and dental coverage
for all non-union employees and union employees covered by the Compensation
Unit 1 and 2 Agreement. The District pays 100 percent of the premium
costs.
Dental Plan Information
Cigna Dental Health, Inc.
P.O. Box 189060
300 NW 82nd Avenue
Plantation, FL 33318-9060
Tel: (800) 367-1037
www.cigna.com
Optical Plan Information
Quality Plan Administrators
6101 16th Street, NW #418
Washington, DC 20011
Customer Service: (800) 900-4112
www.qualityplanadmin.com
For more information see the Benefits
FAQs* or call DCOP, Office of Compensation and Benefits (202)
442-9655.
* This document is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF). A PDF reader is required for viewing.
Download a PDF Reader or Learn More About PDFs.
Flexible Spending Accounts
The District offers all benefit-eligible employees two pre-tax
benefits: the Health Care Flexible Spending Account and the Dependent
Care Flexible Spending Account. These benefits allow you to increase
your take-home pay and lower your annual tax burden. Pre-tax benefits
reduce your gross income by the amount of the payroll deductions
for these accounts because the deduction amounts are not subject
to federal and social security taxes. Participation in these benefits
programs will not effect your future retirement benefits because
those are always calculated using your base salary, not your reduced
taxable salary. These accounts are administered by Flex
America.
Health Care Flexible Spending Account Program (HCFSA)
An HCFSA allows you to plan for and cover eligible out-of-pocket
medical expenses on a pre-tax basis, with deductions taken directly
from your base salary. Deductions for the HCSFA reduce the gross
income on your Form W-2 for federal and social security tax purposes.
Your deductions are put into a special account, which will be used
to reimburse participants for covered expenses up to a maximum of
$2,000 annually. If you have not used all of the money that you
deposited into your HCFSA by December 31, 2003, it must be forfeited,
according to IRS rules. All receipts for 2003 expenses must be submitted
by March 31, 2004. You may elect to participate in this program
and/or select a new deduction amount during the next open enrollment
period.
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account Program (DCFSA)
A DCFSA allows you to pay for eligible dependent care expenses on
a pre-tax basis, with deductions taken directly from your base salary.
These deductions reduce your gross income on your Form W-2 for federal
and social security tax purposes. The deductions are put into a
special account, which will be used to reimburse participants for
covered expenses up to a maximum of $5,000 annually. If you have
not used all of the money that you deposited into your DCFSA by
December 31, 2003, it must be forfeited, according to IRS rules.
All receipts for 2003 expenses must be submitted by March 31, 2004.
You may elect to participate in this program and/or select a new
deduction amount during the next open enrollment period.
Short-Term Disability Insurance Program
Voluntary Short-Term Disability Insurance is now available for
all employees. Highlights of the program are: it pays regardless
of insurance you have with another insurance company; the benefits
are paid directly to you unless you specify otherwise; it covers
sickness and off-job accidents; it is guaranteed renewable to age
70; if you change jobs or leave the District government, you can
take your coverage with you; and you may choose the amount of disability
benefit you want to help meet your needs (subject to income).
Your benefit choices include: income protection of up to 66 2/3%
of your income, or a monthly maximum of $5,000; a 6-month, 12-month
or 24-month benefit period; and waiting periods of 14, 30, 90 or
180 days. Every employee gets to select what's right for him or
her. Deductions for short-term disability insurance are done on
an after-tax basis. This assures that the payments you receive from
the program are not taxed.
For more information, contact Colonial Life at (202) 724-2196 or
visit their website at www.coloniallife.com.
Annual Leave and Sick Leave
Eligible employees accrue annual leave and sick leave each pay
period.
Regular full-time employees accrue annual leave each pay
period on the following schedule:
| Years
of Employment |
Annual
Leave |
| 0 - 3 |
13 days (4 hours per pay period) |
| 4 - 15 |
20 days (6 hours per pay period) |
| 15+ |
26 days (8 hours per pay period) |
All regular full-time employees accrue 13 days of sick leave
annually (4 hours per pay period) regardless of years of employment.
Part-time employees who work at least 40 hours per pay
period earn annual leave and sick leave at a proportional rate.
Executive Service employees receive 26 days of universal
leave per calendar year, to be used for any purpose (prorated depending
on start date).
Upon termination, an employee will receive cash value for 100%
of the remaining accrued vacation days up to 240 hours.
Holidays
District of Columbia Government employees receive ten paid holidays:
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday
- Washington’s Birthday
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
|
- Labor Day
- Columbus Day
- Veterans Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
|
Annual Leave Bank
The Annual Leave Bank program is a fund of accumulated annual
leave donated by employees for the use of other leave bank members.
This program prevents or limits the loss of income by employees
who are faced with medical emergencies and who do not have sufficient
paid leave to cover their period of absence. In order to become
a member and receive leave from the leave bank, an employee must
donate a minimum of four hours of annual leave each year.
Family and Medical Leave Act
The DC Family and Medical Leave Act (DCFMLA) was made effective
on October 3, 1990, and is applicable to employees whose actual
work location is in the District of Columbia as of April 1, 1991.
To be eligible, employees must have worked for the District for
one year with no break in service and have worked at least 1,000
hours (DCFMLA) or 1,250 hours (FMLA) during the 12-month period
immediately preceding the request for leave.
DCFMLA Statutory Medical Leave
The DCFMLA allows for up to 16 weeks of unpaid leave in any 24-month
period for employees who are physically unable to work because of
a serious medical condition (including maternity). Medical documentation
is required and an expected date of return must be provided.
DCFMLA Statutory Family Leave of Absence
The DCFMLA allows up to 16 weeks of unpaid leave in any 24 month
period for specified reasons, as prescribed by the DCFMLA. The employee
must provide documentation explaining the nature of the leave.
Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)
Employees first hired by the District of Columbia government before
October 1, 1987 are subject to the provisions of the CSRS, which
is administered by the US
Office of Personnel Management.
Under each plan, you may choose to retire when you reach:
|
Optional Retirement |
Voluntary Early Retirement |
| Age 55 and 30 years of service |
50 and 20 years of service |
| Age 60 and 20 years of service |
Any age and 25 years of service |
| Age 62 and 5 years of service |
62 and 5 years of service |
The pension of an employee who chooses Voluntary Early Retirement
will be reduced by 2 percent for each year under age 55.
457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan
All District government employees are eligible to participate
in the Deferred Compensation Program, an optional savings program
that allows employees to tax-defer income and invest for the future.
The portion of salary an employee contributes reduces the amount
of taxable income in each paycheck. The Internal Revenue Service
determines that annual maximum amount that can be deferred. For
2003, the amount is $12,000.
This plan is available through ING Financial Advisors and is open
to all employees who can contribute the minimum of $20 per pay period.
Employees can choose from 16 different fixed or variable investment
options. For more information, please call (800) 584-6001 or visit
ING
Financial Advisors.
Employee Assistance Program
All employees may use the Employee Assistance program, which provides
confidential counseling and referral services for emotional, professional
or financial problems. This confidential counseling program is staffed
by non-government agency professionals through COPE,
Inc. For more information, call (202) 628-5240 or (800) 841-7406.
Direct Deposit
Employees may elect to have their paychecks automatically deposited
into their personal bank accounts.
Savings Bond Program
Any full or part-time salaried employee may purchase U.S. Savings
Bonds through payroll deduction. See www.savingsbonds.gov
for more information.
Agencies