Salary and Benefits for Federal Agents
Annual basic pay under the General Schedule plan is as follows:
grade 1996 1999 2000 2001 2006
GS-1 $13,147 $13,362 $13,870 $14,244 $16,352
GS-2 14,781 15,023 15,594 16,015 18,385
GS-3 16,128 16,392 17,015 17,474 20,060
GS-4 18,105 18,401 19,100 19,616 22,519
GS-5 20,257 20,588 21,370 21,947 25,195
GS-6 22,578 22,948 23,820 24,463 28,085
GS-7 25,090 25,501 26,470 27,185 31,209
GS-8 27,787 28,242 29,315 30,107 34,563
GS-9 30,693 31,195 32,380 33,254 38,175
GS-10 33,800 34,353 35,658 36,621 42,040
GS-11 37,140 37,744 39,178 40,236 46,189
GS-12 44,480 45,236 46,955 48,233 55,360
GS-13 52,880 53,793 55,837 57,345 65,832
GS-14 62,488 63,567 65,983 67,765 77,793
GS-15 73,504 74,773 77,614 79,710 91,507
A given position will have a particular pay grade, or perhaps a range of pay grades; within each pay grade there are ten ‘Steps’. Employees begin at Step 1 of their initial grade, and increase their Step based on merit/performance reviews and time in grade; each Step represents roughly a 2.5% increase of the base annual pay (specifically, Step 10 is a 25% increase). Normally, agents advance one Step each year for their first four years in grade, and then one every two years in grade. GS pay is also adjusted geographically and the majority of jobs pay a higher salary. When locality payments are included, pay rates in the continental U.S. are 7.68% to 16.98% higher. Pay rates outside the continental U.S. are 10% to 25% higher. Also, certain hard-to-fill jobs, usually in the scientific, technical, and medical fields, may have higher starting salaries.
In addition, most Federal agents qualify for availability pay (also known at AUO ‘administratively uncontrolled overtime’ or LEAP ‘law enforcement availability pay’) -- and most receive it; this compensation for unscheduled duty equals 25% of the agent’s base salary.
There is of course the full range of other benefits (group health, Federal Group Life Insurance, Federal Employees Retirement System, etc.).
Vacation policies will differ slightly, but typically:
- Less than 3 years federal service: 2.5 weeks
- 3 to 15 years federal service: 4 weeks
- over 15 years federal service: 5.25 weeks
“Federal service” includes any prior time spent in the military.
Sick Leave: All federal employees earn 8 hours sick leave per month, regardless of the number of years of federal service.
Example: in 1999, Allie Levine is a Secret Service Special Agent, GS grade 12, Step 6 with about ten years in federal service (of which eight have been at GS grade 12). She is serving in an area (Washington, DC) with a 12% locality adjustment. Base pay for GS 12 + 15% for Step 6 + 12% locality bonus + 25% AUO = $72,830 gross pay per year, and receives four weeks of vacation and twelve sick days (roughly) per year.
Federal income tax rates for 1999 (filing single) were as follows:
Schedule X - Use if your filing status is Single
If the amount on Form 1040, Line 39 is:
Over -- But not over -- Enter on Form 1040, line 40 of the amount over --
$0 $25,750 $0 + 15% $0
$25,750 $62,450 $3,862.50 + 28% $25,750
$62,450 $130,250 $14,138.50 + 31% $62,450
$130,250 $283,150 $35,156.50 + 36% $130,250
$283,150 $90,200.50 + 39.6% $283,150
Personal exemption (reduction of wages before figuring taxes) for single filers was $2,750; standard deduction (also a reduction of wages before figuring taxes) was $4,300. Social Security tax (OASDI and Medicare) is 7.65% of gross pay, in addition to the above. We will assume SA Lavine has ‘employee business expenses’ up to the 2% of adjusted gross pay limit -- $1,457 (dry cleaning, wardrobe, etc.) – these also reduce her gross pay (and in fact keep her out of the 31% tax bracket).
Example: If we assume SA Levine is dedicating $7,283 (10%) of her pre-tax salary to retirement-matching deductions, she would owe $12,752 in Federal income tax, and $5,571 in Social Security taxes. She is probably spending $40 per month on health insurance. Her take-home pay is thus $47,184 per year, or $1,815 per two-week long pay period. She can afford an apartment or house costing about $1,200 per month at most (a pretty nice apartment in DC).
An average new car costs $21,420 in 1999. Financed through the Federal Employees Credit Union at 6.15% (presuming 80% financing), and a $2,000 trade in value on the previous car, monthly payments for a 48 month loan will be $357. If we assume about $30 per month phone bill, $25 per month internet access, $30 per month utilities, $24 per month gym fees, $150 per month cleaning bills, $90 per month for auto insurance … this leaves about $1,700 per month for saving or spending. If we assume she currently puts $400 per month into some kind of savings account or other investment plan, she still has $1,300 per month for spending (food, vacation, personal items). Her savings account (stock fund, or whatever) will have about $62,000 in it (if she’s been investing at the current level for her entire Secret Service career, and has managed to average about 5% annual interest).
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