SUGGESTED CHANGES TO THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90M00005R000200010029-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 26, 2012
• Sequence Number: 29
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/26: CIA-RDP90M00005R000200010029-3
STAT
Deputy Director of Personnel
for Compensation, Automation and Planning
SUBJECT: Suggested Changes to the Senior Executive Service
1. As you requested, below are brief descriptions of three SES
initiatives we believe should be examined.
2. The law which set up the Senior Executive Service (SES) provides that
not more than three percent of the aggregate annual SES payroll of an agency
may be paid in the form of performance awards. This law also stipulates that
the minimum award must be five percent and the maximum award may not exceed 20
percent. By increasing the size of the awards pool from three percent, it
would be possible to give performance awards to more members of the SES and/or
give more higher percentage awards. Efforts to increase the awards pool have
begun outside the Agency. The Senior Executive Service Advisory Board (this
board is composed of SES members from all parts of the government and serves
in an advisory capacity to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management)
has recommended that the SES bonus pool be increased to five percent and the
President's Commission on Executive Pay recommended in its report that the
pool be increased to 10 percent. We would like to see it go to at least five
percent.
3. The award amounts for the SES Distinguished Rank award, currently
$20,000, and the Meritorious Rank award, currently $10,000, were set in 1979
by the SES law referred to above and have not been changed since. In 1979,
the Distinguished Rank award amount of $20,000 was 38 to 40 percent of SES
salary and the Meritorious Rank award amount of $10,000 was 19 to 20 percent.
Because SES salaries have increased since 1979 and these awards have remained
fixed, the relative value of the Distinguished Rank award now ranges from 26
to 31 percent of salary and the Meritorious Rank award from 13 to 15 percent
of salary. This decline in the relative values of the awards has resulted in
a situation where it is possible for someone who receives an Meritorious Rank
award to receive less money than someone who receives a 15 percent performance
award. The choice is between an award of greater prestige but less monetary
value and an award of less prestige but greater monetary value. Both the SES
Advisory Board and the President's Commission on Executive Pay have
recommended that the Distinguished and the Meritorious award be valued at 40
percent and 20 percent of salary respectively, thus restoring them to the same
relative values they had when the SES program was established. This change
would also have the advantage of keeping the value of the stipends consistent
with any future increases in the SES salary scales.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/26: CIA-RDP90M00005R000200010029-3
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/26: CIA-RDP90M00005R000200010029-3
SUBJECT: Suggested Changes to the Senior Executive Service
4. Finally, another change we feel deserves serious consideration is the
introduction of an option for SES members to "cash out" a portion of their
accumulated annual leave each year. As you know, SES members may accumulate
annual leave without limit throughout their careers and then receive a lump
sum cash equivalent when they resign or retire. Allowing SES members to cash
out annual leave prior to leaving Government represents a win-win change for
the SES member and the Government. An SES member who needs a lump sum, for
example to help with college tuition for dependent children, would not have to
resign to get the money. The Government, for its part, would avoid incurring
a large unfunded obligation by discharging annual leave obligations at lower
salary rates. The President's Commission on Executive Pay has recommended
that SES members be allowed to "cash out" each year any accumulated annual
leave above 120 hours. Independently of the Commission's recommendation, OPM
is preparing draft legislation on this benefit for submission to Congress.
5. I hope this information is of some use to you. Please contact me or
John Witmer if you have any questions or need additional information.
STAT
ADMINISTRATIVE-INTERNAL USE ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/26: CIA-RDP90M00005R000200010029-3